FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 21, 2013
Contact: Jeff Gohringer, (202) 454-4573 or jeff_gohringer@lcv.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) and the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters today launched a television ad campaign praising Senator Kay Hagan’s support for commonsense safeguards to protect the public from harmful mercury pollution. The ad begins running today in the Charlotte market, and is part of LCV’s national $1 million ad campaign to thank five members of Congress for protecting public health and promoting clean energy jobs.
“Senator Hagan understands that the health of our families isn’t a partisan issue. She’s worked with members of both parties to defend commonsense safeguards that are protecting North Carolina families from the dangers of mercury pollution,” said Gene Karpinski, President of the League of Conservation Voters.
“One child going to the ER because of dirty air is one too many. Senator Hagan deserves a lot of credit for standing up to polluters, and the general assembly should follow her lead,” said Carrie Clark, Executive Director of the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters.
The ad highlights Senator Hagan’s support for commonsense safeguards to reduce mercury pollution, which has been linked to birth defects, asthma attacks, and heart attacks. Senator Hagan has repeatedly voted with members of both parties to defend EPA protections against mercury pollution.
The EPA estimates that these safeguards against mercury pollution will “avert up to 11,000 premature deaths, 4,700 heart attacks and 130,000 asthma attacks” across the country every year. In North Carolina alone, these safeguards “will prevent up to 480 premature deaths…while creating up to $3.9 billion in health benefits in 2016.”
LCV urges her constituents to contact Senator Hagan and thank her for voting to protect families from mercury pollution. Backup for the ad is available here.
Senator Hagan’s voting record has earned her an 84% lifetime score on LCV’s National Environmental Scorecard. The non-partisan scorecard is a nationally accepted yardstick used to rate members of Congress on environmental and clean energy issues. For more information, visit http://scorecard.lcv.org.
