Clean Air

by Dra. Evelyn Montalvo-Stanton Summer approaches and as the temperature rises so does the threat of more asthma attacks for children and adults suffering from this fearful disease. As a pediatric pulmonologist I see the burden faced by families due to asthma on a daily basis. The emotional, physical, and economic costs are overwhelming. In New Jersey, where I practice, Latino children (10.4%) and blacks (12.8%) were the most commonly diagnosed with asthma. And Latino children nationwide are one and a half more likely hospitalized with asthma and visit the room of emergency versus non-Latino children. That's why we created RESPIRA, a bilingual education program which offers bilingual education about asthma for children and their families, through schools and in local communities. This month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the opportunity to protect our children's health thanks to a new rule to limit carbon emissions from new coal burning power plants. But this standard will not be adopted without your help. Join us and hundreds of other health professionals who are calling on EPA to adopt this new health protective standard to limit greenhouse gases that cause global warming and the high temperatures that worsen the pollution that triggers asthma attacks. Power plants account for about 40 percent of America's global warming emissions -- with the bulk of that coming from coal-fired plants. These higher temperatures result in more pollution that in turn triggers the asthma attacks we at RESPIRA work so hard to prevent. Read the full article here.