This story originally appeared in the Huffington Post and is republished here as part of the Climate Desk initiative.
The American Lung Association released a new television ad on Wednesday defending limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that the Environmental Protection Agency issued this week.
The ad is a first shot in what’s likely to become an advertising war over the new rules. The ad features a young boy and argues that regulators are now closing the “loophole” that allows power plants to “pump unlimited carbon pollution into his air.”
“Don’t let polluters weaken our clean air protections,” it says.
“We’re trying to help people understand what’s at stake when it comes to carbon pollution and climate change,” said Lyndsay Moseley Alexander, assistant vice president and director of the healthy air campaign at the American Lung Association. “It’s a call to action to keep our clean air protections strong.”
The Lung Association has been one of the more prominent groups cheering the new regulations. The group held a call with supporters on Monday afternoon, featuring President Barack Obama and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.
The administration has focused much of its public outreach on the health benefits of the new rules, including the avoidance of asthma, heart disease, and respiratory problems, that would come from cutting both carbon and conventional pollutants from power plants. The ads are airing nationally on cable channels such as CNN, Fox, MSNBC, and Comedy Central. Alexander declined to say how much the group is spending on the ads, but said it is “a significant investment” in the six figures.
