It's Earth Day: Support the Safe Chemicals Act!

Legislation to overhaul the nation’s failed chemical law has finally been introduced in Congress. The Safe Chemicals Act is landmark legislation that will overhaul the way the government protects families from toxic chemicals.

The Safe Chemicals Act puts our health first, provides better information to businesses, and helps moms and dads (and everyone!) avoid toxic chemicals in every day products.

This important bill still has room for improvement, and with your help we’re confident it can be fixed. We want to work with Congress to strengthen the bill to make it harder for new harmful chemicals to enter the marketplace.

Please send the letter below to your members of Congress TODAY:

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It's Earth Day. Here's a Simple way to help!

Your message to friends:

Dear Friend,

I celebrated Earth Day by taking action to support a critical change for our planet, and the health of our families: Safer Chemicals. I hope you will join me by taking action too. Here's some more information from MomsRising:

My kindergartener went to school today with an empty 2-liter bottle. The plan? Quite frankly, it's a mystery to me, but I know it involves celebrating Earth Day, and so I was happy to do my part by digging through the recycling bin for the perfect contribution. She, like millions of kids across the country today, will come home excited to tell me about her Earth Day project.

How will I respond? I'll proudly tell her I too did my part for the environment today by sending a letter to Congress urging support for safer chemicals in products for babies, kids, and all consumers.

Will you join me? (I won't tell your kids how easy we made it for you!):

http://action.momsrising.org/cms/letter/EarthDayLetter/?source=taf

Why are the chemicals in everyday products an urgent Earth Day issue? Time Magazine put it really well:

"Those chemicals have a habit of finding their way out of everyday products and into the environment — and ultimately into living organisms...."[1]

Once these chemicals are in the environment, and our bodies, they can have a serious impact on our health and the health of our children. Even at very low levels of exposure, some chemicals have been linked to a wide range of serious problems, including infertility, early onset of puberty, learning disabilities, behavioral disorders in children, and certain cancers. [2] And these are only the health impacts we already know about!

The big problem is that chemicals are poorly regulated under a 34-year old law that really needs to be updated for modern times, consistent with modern science. And when this law is updated, it needs to ensure chemicals are proven safe before they go on the market. Now, after months of organizing from MomsRising and our allies, the Safe Chemicals Act was finally introduced in Congress by Senator Lautenberg and Congressmen Bobby Rush and Henry Waxman.[3] This bill is an excellent start, but it can still be made stronger to protect the environment and our health.

Please contact your Senators and Representative today and urge them to support a strong version of the Safe Chemicals Act! http://action.momsrising.org/cms/letter/EarthDayLetter/?source=taf

*Please also forward this email to friends and family so they can have their voices heard too. The more people who speak up for real chemical reform, the more likely we are to be able to counter the chemical industry lobbyist and make real change for safer products.

Here's that action link again so you have it handy to share with others: http://action.momsrising.org/cms/letter/EarthDayLetter/?source=taf

Together we can build a safer and healthier nation for our children. And, we can prove you're never too old to celebrate Earth Day.

---Ariana, Claire, Joan, Kristin, Donna, Mary, and the whole MomsRising team

[1]Time Magazine, April 1, 2010, "The Perils of Plastics" http://action.momsrising.org/go/97?akid=.7.FhFtKK&t=7&source=taf

[2] Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families Health Report http://action.momsrising.org/go/98?akid=.7.FhFtKK&t=11&source=taf

[3] The New York Times, April 15, 2010, "Senator Lautenberg Introduces Chemicals Reform Bill, Says Current System 'is Broken'"http://action.momsrising.org/go/100?akid=.7.FhFtKK&t=13&source=taf

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As a constituent, and a member of MomsRising.org, I look forward to your support of the Safe Chemicals Act and encourage you to strengthen the bill to keep dangerous chemicals out of the marketplace.

This landmark legislation would do a lot to protect the public from toxic chemicals. For example, it would require basic health and safety information for all chemicals, ensure that chemicals meet health-based safety standard that protects vulnerable groups, including workers and children. It would also provide fast action for some of the most notorious chemicals, like formaldehyde, lead, and toxic flame-retardants.

As a member of MomsRising, which supports the legislation, I urge you to work with your colleagues in Congress to amend the bill to make it harder for potentially harmful new chemicals to arrive in the marketplace, and easier to take known toxins out of the marketplace.

For example, one provision would allow new chemicals on the market without having to meet the new safety standard. If ensuring consumer confidence and protecting public health are top goals in this reform, this seems to be a step in the wrong direction. I look forward to working with you to ensure this is fixed and the final bill will truly be protective of American families.

We applaud Senator Lautenberg and Congressmen Rush and Waxman for their leadership and encourage your leadership as this bill moves through Congress.

Parents across America are rallying for real reform and we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to get this bill right. Please co-sponsor and work to strengthen key provisions in this bill.

Sincerely,