FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 2, 2012
Five-Figure Television Ad Buy Highlights Senators’ Vote to Stand Up to Polluters
WASHINGTON, D.C. –The NRDC Action Fund today launched a five-figure TV ad campaign in Maine to commend Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, the state’s two senators, for voting on June 20, against a proposal to repeal historic public health protections against mercury pollution from power plants.
“Thanks to the leadership of Senators Collins and Snowe, the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard, an essential clean air standard, remains intact,” said Heather Taylor-Miesle, NRDC Action Fund Director. “Families and children across Maine can literally breathe a sigh of relief because Senators Collins and Snowe protected public health while standing up to dirty polluters. ”
The ad reflects the feelings of millions of families, as well as, public interest advocates across the country who opposed Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe’s use of an obscure Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution (S.J. Res 37) to try to overturn the Environmental Protection Agency’s finalized Mercury and Air Toxics Standard. Stopping this attempt to weaken public health standards will save thousands of American lives annually and will prevent these dangerous industrial air pollutants from endangering families and children in Maine.
According to the EPA, the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard will save as many as 11,000 lives, prevent as many as 130,000 asthma attacks among children, and prevent as many as 4,700 heart attacks each year. And, according to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, mercury levels in Maine fish, loons, and eagles are among the highest in North America.
The ad campaign, sponsored by the NRDC Action Fund, will run in Portland and Bangor from July 2 until July 6, 2012. See the ads here: http://youtu.be/2jbvtbdLr4s
CONTACT: Melissa Harrison (NRDC Action Fund), 202-486-1905, mharrison@nrdc.org; Keven Kennedy, 202-276-3159, keven@kevenkennedy.com
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The NRDC Action Fund’s mission is to rebuild the environmental majority to achieve the passage of legislation that jump-starts the clean energy economy, reduces pollution, and sustains vibrant communities for all Americans. Now is the time for leadership and action from our elected officials — our current goal is a comprehensive clean energy policy that will repower our economy and fuel our future. www.nrdcactionfund.org
Note to reporters/editors: The NRDC Action Fund is an affiliated but separate organization from the Natural Resources Defense Council. As a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, the NRDC Action Fund engages in various advocacy and political activities for which the Natural Resources Defense Council, a 501(c)(3) organization, faces certain legal limitations or restrictions. News and information released by the NRDC Action Fund needs to be identified as from the “NRDC Action Fund.” The “Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund” is incorrect. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the NRDC Action Fund can not be used interchangeably. Also please note that the word “National” does not appear in Natural Resources Defense Council.
