American Lung Association
For The Public Health Campaign For Clean And Healthy Air
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Amount$400,000
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Program
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Date Awarded2/23/2011
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Term12 Months
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Type of SupportProject
Strategies
Overview
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in the midst of a critical Clean Air Act rulemaking cycle that will substantially reduce air pollution and protect the lives and health of the American public. These rules will impose new costs on coal-fired power generation, leading utility executives to consider retiring some of the existing fleet of coal plants. Along with the public health risk, burning coal is also the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, and reducing the nation's reliance on coal is a high priority for the Foundation. However, there is strong industry opposition to these efforts, and already these forces are pressuring EPA to dramatically weaken many of the pending rules.
The most effective message in this debate will be that failure to act will cost lives, impact the health of children and shift tens of billions of dollars in continuing health costs to families, seniors and those with chronic diseases. This message must be delivered by respected public health and medical community advocates in order to best counter conflicting messages coming from the coal industry and its allies.
The American Lung Association (ALA) is one of the most prominent public health organizations in the United States, and has long worked on reducing the health impacts associated with industrial air pollution, including promoting the strong enforcement of the Clean Air Act. This grant will allow ALA to expand its work in this area, both through its own activities and by engaging other leading public health and medical organizations on this matter.
About the Grantee
Address
55 West Wacker Drive, Suite 1150, Chicago, IL, 60601, United States
Grants to this Grantee
for wildfire resilience and air quality workshops
The American Lung Association works to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through research, education, and advocacy. This grant supports the association’s effort to build institutional knowledge and staff capacity to engage in public debate about prescribed fire policy. (Substrategy: Wildfire)
for the Public Health Campaign for Clean and Healthy Air
The EPA’s Clean Air Act rule-making cycle could, for the first time, limit global warming emissions from existing power plants, leading to the retirement of some U.S. coal plants. Coal conglomerates and other opponents of clean, modern energy spend millions promoting the narrative that the EPA, and the Clean Air Act in particular, are "job killers" and that improvement in standards will stifle economic growth. The American Lung Association has put a human face on the issue and changed the narrative to one of support for healthy air as support for healthy children. It has played an important role alongside environmental groups as part of a broad Clean Air Act Defense Campaign. This grant will allow the Association, one of the most prominent U.S. public health organizations, to continue its work on clean air and climate change through its own activities and by engaging other leading public health and medical organizations.
for the Public Health Campaign for Clean and Healthy Air
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a new regulation to limit global warming emissions from power plants. If a strong regulation and accompanying state plans are adopted, carbon pollution from power plants could be reduced 25 percent by 2020, and cut in half by 2030. While coal companies and their allies are vigorously attacking the EPA, the American Lung Association puts a human face on the issue and changes the narrative to one of support for healthy air. This grant would allow the Association, one of the most prominent U.S. public health organizations, to continue its work in support of clean air, climate action, and a strong EPA regulation for power plants.
