Category: Health

Fourth of July

Be Patriotic: Everyday Acts of Civil Engagement

On By Carolyn M. AppletonIn CCLATX, HealthLeave a comment

The American Lung Association in “A Declaration on Climate Change and Health” observes that climate change is a health emergency, one “already harming health and causing loss of life. The window to prevent the worst impacts is rapidly closing.”

The organization points out several worrisome facts:

  • Climate change puts everyone’s health at risk, regardless of where you live.
  • Lots of people are at increased risk of getting sick or injured as a result of climate impacts, even if they don’t realize it. They include kids, seniors, people with chronic diseases like asthma or diabetes, people who are pregnant, people with disabilities, people who work outdoors, people with low-incomes, people of color and many more.
  • Extreme heat is killing people. It causes more deaths than any other weather-related hazard, and climate change is making it much worse. Heat is also linked with a wide array of short-term and long-term illnesses.
  • Wildfires are becoming more frequent and intense, spreading dangerous smoke that is making people sick. Particle pollution and other harmful substances in the smoke are linked to lung disease, lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, dementia, and preterm birth.
  • Climate change is making smog worse. Warmer temperatures increase smog (also called ozone pollution), which is linked to asthma attacks, lung disease, cardiovascular disease, preterm and low birthweight infants, cancer, harms to brain health and premature death.
  • Storms and flooding are getting more severe, causing injuries, worsening physical and mental health, and cutting people off from their healthcare.
  • Disease-carrying insects like ticks and mosquitoes are multiplying and spreading to new areas, increasing exposure to illnesses like Lyme disease and Dengue fever. Water- and food-borne pathogens are also spreading.
  • Allergy seasons are getting longer and more intense.
  • Rising carbon dioxide are projected to decrease the nutritional content of crops.

If we care for our families and our fellow citizens of the United States of America, then we must care about the impact of climate change on their health and well-being. We must be vocal. In this way, America will remain strong, vibrant, healthy and productive for generations to come.

Citizens’ Climate Lobby is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization. CCL insists – and we agree – “The everyday acts of civil engagement that CCLers do around the country – calling, writing, or meeting with lawmakers; creating dialogue and building coalitions in our communities – will be incredibly powerful. With every climate action we take, we’re making the voice of the American people louder in a time when it’s far too easy for those voices to be drowned out.”

Further, “Because we believe in a government that listens to the people it represents. So, we intend to keep showing up to be heard. We hope you’re with us and ready to make your voice heard, too.”

Our growing community of CCL members must remain engaged, and we must keep speaking up in writing and by calling our elected officials about bills and issues that are of critical importance to our communities.

Rex Huppke writes for USA Today, “This July Fourth, my patriotism looks like two middle fingers – and that’s OK | Opinion” (June 30, 2025).

What does our patriotism, in this rather pivotal moment in American history, look like? How do we celebrate America – the right-now version of America – when democracy looks as fragile as a cracked sheet of thin ice over a warming pond?

My America won’t tolerate racists or xenophobes or clout-chasing knuckleheads who think the American dream involves trampling carelessly over others while forgetting the very things that make this country great …. My America fights back against tyranny and indecency with ridicule, peaceful public protest, voting and a unified voice.

I’m not happy with the state of America …. But I’m not going to look at the American flag and feel ashamed. That flag still represents a country I believe to be well worth fighting for ….

Fourth of July
Happy Fourth of July!

If you are not receiving regular email from Citizens’ Climate Lobby, especially those alerting you to take simple yet meaningful actions about bills that harm human health, our shared natural resources, and the safety and well-being of our fellow Americans – sign up today! We need your voice now more than ever.

Join Citizens’ Climate Lobby Today!

You might enjoy reading Flannery Winchester’s blog post with several additional helpful links, “These times call for us to hold the line on climate” (June 25, 2025).

Congressman Lloyd Doggett Responds: Guarantees for Those Who Work Outside

On By Kalpana SutariaIn CCLATX, HealthLeave a comment

Kalpana Sutaria, Media Team leader for Citizens’ Climate Lobby Austin Metro Chapter, conveyed her concerns to Congressman Lloyd Doggett about protecting outdoor workers from escalating heat conditions resulting from climate change. She shares his response below:

“Thank you for your recent communication advocating guarantees for those who work outside the right to water breaks and shade. I am pleased you raised this issue.

With over 100 of my Democratic colleagues, I have urged the Department of Labor to quickly implement the Occupational Safety and Health Administration workplace heat standard proposed in 2021. This standard would ensure adequate heat-conscious treatment of workers by requiring water breaks and access to medical treatment. You can see this letter here. I have also sponsored legislation that would ensure construction workers have access to the breaks they need to cope with extreme heat. The bill is H.R. 785 and if passed it would guarantee at least one fifteen minute paid rest break every four hours.

Every worker deserves a water break, and it’s outrageous that extreme Republicans like Governor Abbott are banning protections from extreme heat at the local level. I welcome your continued guidance on this and other important issues. You can follow my work and share your priorities through survey responses by subscribing to my email list. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @RepLloydDoggett, and email me at Lloyd.doggett@mail.house.gov.”

Kalpana Sutaria

Project Manager, City of Austin and Member, Citizens’ Climate Lobby Austin Metro Chapter

July 29, 2023

To read Kalpana’s original article on this topic, on Voices of Austin, follow the link.

Opinion: Texas leaders determined to stop progress on measures to reduce air pollution

On By CCLATXIn CCLATX, HealthLeave a comment

Re: January 13 2023, Texas Tribune article, “EPA Moves away from Permian Basin air pollution crackdown”.

Texas leaders are determined to stop progress on measures to reduce air pollution by oil and gas operations in the Permian Basin no matter what it does to Texans’ health. Oil and gas companies have wielded their power for many years and continue to do that. the Biden administration is trying to lower oil prices after oil shortages around the world after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Oil companies have pressurized Texas leaders enough for the EPA to back down from air pollution crackdown.

We need policies that can reduce our dependence on oil and gas and encourage clean energy research and development. Ask your members of Congress to enact laws to transition away from pollution causing energy sources to clean energy that would lower ozone levels and improve air quality. I suffer from pollution regularly.

We want leaders who would work for their constituents’ health and well- being.

Kalpana Sutaria

Project Manager, City of Austin and Member, Citizens’ Climate Lobby Austin Chapter

Submitted to the Austin American-Statesman

January 2023

LTE Under Consideration: Austin’s Ozone Action Days

On By CCLATXIn CCLATX, HealthLeave a comment

Re: October 15, 22 Article, “City sees record 25 Ozone Action Days”

People suffering from pollen allergies as I do, have an instant physiological effect when ground level ozone increases along with pollens from ragweed, grass, mold, trees and other pollutants. Sneezing, headaches, post nasal drainage and general sense of tiredness are the symptoms that I suffer from even after staying indoors.

It is alarming to have 25 “Ozone Action Days” in just 2022 which tops the combined total for past 8 years. Clearly, Austinites have to pay attention to the Ozone Action Days by taking measures like reduction in use of gasoline powered vehicles, equipment and manufacturing for the short term.

For the long term, we need to transition away from fossil fuels and polluting emissions and invest in clean energy sources. There are incentives in bills passed this year including the Inflation Reduction, Infrastructure and the CHIPs Acts. Continuing on the path will improve our health and quality of life.

Kalpana Sutaria

Project Manager, City of Austin and Member, Citizens’ Climate Lobby Austin Chapter

Submitted to the Austin American-Statesman

December 2022

State’s next looming health crisis is climate change

On By CCLATXIn Health, Texas LegislatureLeave a comment

What kind of world do we want to live in, and what kind of world do we want our children to inherit? Do we want to be faced with recurrent and prolonged extreme heat waves, wildfires and hurricane seasons? Our climate crisis is not simply an environmental issue, it is a health crisis that has the potential to be more damaging than even our current pandemic in the long-term. As fellow Texans and medical students, we invite you to join us in supporting key bills currently in the Texas Legislature to fight climate change and protect our friends and families.

Texas summers are only getting hotter. Without further action to combat climate change, we could see almost two months of extreme heat each year in the next few decades, compared to fewer than 10 days now. This puts infants, young children, and people over 65 at risk of heat exhaustion and stroke. For the nearly 2 million Texans who have an underlying cardiovascular disease, heat waves make their hearts have to work much harder, which causes more emergency room visits, severe illnesses and deaths. Our homeless population and low-income communities who struggle to keep the A/C on will have to fight to stay alive during such overwhelming heat.

With these heat waves come megadroughts, which significantly increase the risk of wildfires, such as the massive 2011 Texas wildfire that burned almost four million acres. For the over 2 million Texans with COPD or asthma, wildfires severely exacerbate these and other respiratory diseases. Pregnant mothers exposed to wildfire smoke and air pollution have much higher rates of preterm birth, low-birth weight infants and stillbirths. If we don’t act, the terrifying red skies and black clouds we saw all over California last year may become common in Texas, too.

Heat and wildfires are not the only threats. Texas will be hit harder by hurricanes and flooding. The surface waters of the Gulf are warming up, and this heat creates an ideal environment for monstrous hurricanes. As we witnessed with Hurricane Harvey, these severe storms destroy homes and health care infrastructure, damage sanitation systems, and cause great physical and mental harm.

Let’s talk about how to fix this climate and health crisis. While we’re proud to be Texans, it is alarming that if Texas was a country, it’d be in the top 10 carbon emitters worldwide. We contribute heavily to climate change, and we are doing Texans a disservice if we say that the oil and gas industry provides quality jobs. The industry occupational fatality rate is seven times higher than that of general industry, and their employees are frequently exposed to dangerous chemicals and particulates that have major long-term health consequences such as lung disease and cancer. Transitioning to more sustainable energy sources translates into safer, more reliable jobs, which are healthier for employees and our communities.

The state legislature must recognize this urgent crisis and take long-overdue action to protect our beautiful state and its people. There are specific steps we can take. The Texas Legislature needs to pass HCR 22, HB 1044, SB 243 and other legislation to address climate change. HCR 22 and HB 1044 would be instrumental in setting the stage for future sensible, nonpartisan legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to these extreme weather events. SB 243 will improve energy efficiency, lowering demand on the electrical grid while providing weatherization to people’s homes and businesses. These are just a few of many critical bills that will safeguard our future. Please contact your state legislators today and ask them to support these bills. Let’s make sure our kids and grandkids will have a state and planet worth living in.

Hancock and Tee are medical students at Dell Medical School at UT-Austin and executive board members of the school’s Environmental Health Interest Group.

Canaan Hancock and Michael Tee

Austin American-Statesman

April 28, 2021