Coal Industry Attempts to Muddy School Curriculum
I have been writing a lot about air quality as part of my work with Moms Clean Air Force, an initiative by the Environmental Defense Fund. While I have always been passionate about preserving our environment for my children and future generations, I have also learned a lot on the job.
For one, I never realized that half of our electricity is produced by coal plants — heavily polluting coal plants that not only sicken workers and their communities with lung disease, asthma and other respiratory illnesses, but are also responsible for a significant amount of green house gases that are causing erratic weather patterns. (Please see my story on this season’s allergies and how they are related to global warming.)
No doubt that part of the problem is US, the American consumer, failing to conserve energy, like turning off the lights and appliances in the house. But another problem is the manipulation by the coal industry to remain one of the top producers of energy in the country. Now, it’s taking its message to our children directly — in their