FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jake Thompson, 202-289-2387, [email protected] | Contact: Keith Gaby, 202-572-3336, [email protected]
**View the ads:**
EDF Action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6jrWp97bs0&feature=youtu.be
NRDC Action Fund: http://youtu.be/113W5CacMLg
PHILADELPHIA, PA (September 1, 2015) – The NRDC Action Fund and EDF Action today launched a seven-figure TV and digital ad campaign urging Senator Pat Toomey to stop voting against the federal Clean Power Plan, which cuts dangerous carbon pollution from power plants, and against vital public health and climate protections for Pennsylvanians.
Sen. Toomey, who has taken $1,163,431 in campaign contributions from polluters, has repeatedly voted to undermine environmental protections, including the Clean Power Plan, putting the health and safety of Pennsylvania families in jeopardy. The groups are launching the lobbying ads to highlight his votes and urge the senator to vote for public health and climate action if additional measures to dismantle them are considered, as expected, this fall in the U.S. Senate.
“Carbon pollution, the key driver of climate change, harms public health and causes more asthma attacks in children,” said Elizabeth Thompson, president of EDF Action. “No one wants to breathe dirty air, especially the most vulnerable among us. Senator Toomey ought to support the EPA’s Clean Power Plan and its safeguards that protect Pennsylvanians’ health.”
“Climate change is a clear and present danger to the health of Pennsylvanians, and one that Senator Toomey has ignored for too long,” said David Goldston, director of government affairs, NRDC Action Fund. “Senator Toomey should stop siding with polluters and start protecting Pennsylvanians from dirty air that worsens asthma attacks, and the best way is to strongly support the Clean Power Plan. It will curb the dangerous carbon pollution fueling climate change and help Pennsylvanians breathe easier.”
The television and digital ads begin September 8th on Pennsylvania broadcast and online news outlets in the greater Philadelphia and Pittsburgh metropolitan areas, and will continue for several weeks.
The Environmental Protection Agency finalized the Clean Power Plan on August 3rd. It places the first-ever federal limits on carbon pollution from power plants, the pollution that fuels climate change. Those limits will also cut pollution that leads to increased asthma attacks for Pennsylvanians and other Americans.
The Clean Power Plan will cut carbon pollution from power plants 32 percent by 2030. As a result of the new standards, Americans will experience health benefits worth an estimated $14 billion-$34 billion in 2030, including avoiding 3,600 premature deaths and 90,000 asthma attacks in children. In addition, average electricity bills for consumers are projected to decline by more than $80 per year when the Clean Power Plan is fully implemented.
The ad campaign in Pennsylvania is part of a larger effort by four leading environmental and conservation groups to highlight key senators’ votes against carbon pollution protections that protect families and communities and urge the senators to vote for public health and climate action. Similar ad campaigns will run in North Carolina, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
EDF Action is sponsoring an ad titled “Facts” that will begin airing September 8. The ad’s audio text is:
“Let’s clear the air. There are no limits on the amount of carbon pollution power plants can release. And our Senator, Pat Toomey, led the fight to keep it that way.
“Carbon pollution, a major cause of climate change, leads to more asthma attacks in children. Over a million Pennsylvanians now suffer from asthma. And Senator Toomey took over a million dollars from polluters.
“Tell Senator Toomey: it’s time to clear the air. Vote for the Clean Power Plan.”
NRDC Action Fund is sponsoring an ad titled “Outside” that will begin airing September 18. The ad’s audio text is:
“More kids are suffering from asthma. And we still have no limits on carbon pollution, which can lead to more asthma attacks in children.
“But Senator Toomey has voted repeatedly to let polluters keep releasing unlimited carbon pollution into the air. And took more than one million dollars from the polluters.
“Tell Senator Toomey to vote for the Clean Power Plan. Because unlimited pollution shouldn’t be a right. But playing outside… should be.”
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EDFAction (www.edfaction.org), a 501(c)(4) organization, is at the forefront of educating legislators about developing new solutions that protect the natural world while growing the economy. Through grassroots and direct lobbying, EDFAction amplifies Environmental Defense Fund’s ability to champion laws that are based on science, economic incentives, and, above all, the protection of our environment
The NRDC Action Fund’s mission is to build political support in the United States for protecting the planet and its people. We mobilize influential constituencies, experts, community leaders and others to directly advocate for clean air and water, public health, biodiversity, and a stable climate. We support candidates who stand up for environmental protection, and we expose those who side with polluters rather than the public good.
Please note: the NRDC Action Fund is an affiliated but separate organization from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). 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 therefore needs to be identified as from the NRDC Action Fund.
