I want my air back.

My youngest son is having difficulty breathing again. It’s a spring cold. They’re hard on him because of his Reactive Airway Disease, or RAD. Sometimes, he and my wife make a sniffling, wheezing duet – she also suffers from RAD. It’s not just outmoded 80’s slang – it’s a type of asthma caused by things in the environment. We aren’t alone – not by any stretch of the imagination. Asthma is the ninth leading cause of hospitalization nationally. Over 10% of Ohioans will suffer from asthma at some point during their lives. In 2004, Dayton was among the worst twenty cities in the nation for asthma sufferers. Industrial polluters want to make it worse. We all know that pollution makes asthma worse – and may even cause the disease. Yet “lobbyists for the chemical industry, manufacturers, and other businesses” are trying to let polluters spread their mess in our lungs. The Ohio EPA protects us from over 690 pollutants, some of which cause cancer. Ohio requires new businesses to use up-to-date technology to keep our air safe. Yet big business wants to strip these protections away from us. Over five hundred pollutants would not be regulated if they have their way – and you can bet that our health would suffer. Their whiny excuse is that the 30-year-old rules are “too restrictive”. Even those rules are not enough – Ohio still has the worst air pollution in the nation. Does having a sick workforce “attract jobs”? I don't think so. Pollution doesn’t help anybody make money – except the out-of-state fat cats poisoning our air, and the Republicans they’re paying off. I’m not hopeful for our health – Republicans control our state government. It’s another pattern of behavior. It starts at the top and goes all the way to state and county Republicans. They let businesses do whatever they want – no matter how unsafe it is. There’s nothing wrong with making money – but it’s just plain wrong to make us sick to do it. Call or write your state congress critters TODAY to let them know you want to have safe air. You can easily find their contact information at Project Vote Smart. Your ability to breathe may depend on it.