NRDC/Environment Massachusetts Radio Ads Call on Bay State Residents to Tell U.S. Sen. Scott Brown: Stop Trying to Cripple EPA Efforts to Curb Carbon Pollution

Brown Would Derail Health Benefits From EPA Action to End Unlimited Dumping of Carbon Pollution

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a statewide radio campaign starting today, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Environment Massachusetts call on U.S. Sen. Scott Brown to abandon his efforts to block the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from updating public health protections, warning that his actions threaten the health of hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents, especially children with asthma and seniors.

Brown has expressed support for congressional efforts to block EPA from limiting carbon dioxide pollution. Carbon dioxide pollution increases the risk of heat stress, promotes the spread of infectious diseases and makes it more difficult to reduce smog pollution, which threatens the health of asthma sufferers and others with respiratory problems.

Unless EPA acts, polluters will be able to continue to dump unlimited amounts of carbon dioxide pollution into the air.

The full text of the radio ad running this week in Massachusetts reads as follows:

"For 40 years, the U.S. EPA has protected the health of all Americans by cracking down on big polluters and the life-threatening pollution they pour into our air. But now Senator Scott Brown wants to cripple the EPA when it comes to protecting us from carbon dioxide, by letting big polluters dump unlimited amounts into our air. Please call Scott Brown at 202-224-4543 and ask him why he's putting corporate polluters and their profits ahead of the health of our families. Paid for by NRDC."

NRDC Climate Center Legislative Director Franz Matzner said:  "EPA has proposed sensible safeguards that will improve health and save lives – safeguards that are in the interest of Massachusetts residents.  Senator Brown needs to hear from his constituents, who should call on him to protect their health."

Ben Wright, Director of  Environment Massachusetts, said: "Senator Brown was a member of the first legislature in the country to recognize the need to protect public health by regulating carbon dioxide.  Massachusetts residents have known for a long time that our kids' health is too important to let polluters police themselves.  For 40 years, the EPA has helped clean up our and protect our health.  Now is certainly not the time to weaken EPA's authority." 

The radio ads are running this week in the Greater Boston area and the Springfield region on more than 12 radio stations.

For more information about the health-related benefits of the EPA rules under attack by Sen. Brown, go to http://www.nrdc.org.

EDITOR'S NOTE:   An downloadable audio file of the Brown ad is available on the Web at

http://www.nrdc.org/multimedia/audio/brown_2011_01_ma.mp3.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 1.3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Livingston, Montana, and Beijing. Visit us at http://www.nrdc.org.

Environment Massachusetts is a statewide, citizen-based environmental advocacy organization. Our professional staff combines independent research, practical ideas and tough-minded advocacy to overcome the opposition of powerful special interests and win real results for Massachusetts' environment. Environment Massachusetts draws on 30 years of success in tackling our state's top environmental problems.  For more information, go to http://www.environmentmassachusetts.org.

SOURCE Natural Resources Defense Council and Environment Massachusetts