Celebrated Explorer, Environmentalist Headlining Clean Air Forum

The EPA is working to strengthen the Clean Air Act, some in Congress are acting against it, and this evening the public is invited to learn more about it.

Along with Mayor Jim Hovland, scientist J. Drake Hamilton, Minnesota Conservation Federation executive director Gary Botzek, and the Edina Energy and Environment Commission’s Air Quality Working Group Chair Julie Risser, celebrated explorer and environmentalist Will Steger will speak as part of a panel event at the  at 7 p.m. tonight, Aug. 10. The event is co-sponsored by the Will Steger Foundation. 

"It is extremely important to take this seriously," Steger said.

Why? Because air quality impacts "the health of our planet, our own health and, ironically, the health of our economy."

Through focusing on cleaner energy, conservation and new technologies, Steger believes positive change can be realized in all three arenas.

Nicole Rom, executive director at the Will Steger Foundation, told Patch the foundation elected to co-sponsor this event because it supports protecting the EPA's authority to regulate air pollutants which contribute to human-induced climate change. The Will Steger Foundation is part of a coalition working to defend the Clean Air Act.

In addition to learning about the EPA’s goals and the congressional response, attendees at the event will also learn how to make their voices heard by the EPA and Congress. Gary Botzek of Minnesota Conservation Federation and Capitol Connections said now is a fitting time to do so. 

"As Congress finishes its work on the debt ceiling bill, it provides concerned citizens and organizations an opportunity to update and address Congressman (Erik) Paulsen in his district regarding the importance of the Clean Air Act and the need to allow the EPA to properly address the 40-year-old federal law, which is under attack in Congress by utilities and industry," Botzek said. 

J. Drake Hamilton, Science Policy Director at Fresh Energy, sees the issue as a moral imperative with scientific backing, a cause we must address now in the interest of our own health and that of future generations. 

"Fresh Energy is working on these issues, because without science-based limits on pollution coming from power plants, human health suffers," he said. "We need to prioritize our kids’ health, and commit to cleaning up the air."

Hamilton also noted that the Clean Air Act, is here to protect the health of the public. Updates to the Clean Air Act—which would reduce pollution—are currently under fire by some in Congress. 

On a local level, Julie Risser of Edina’s Energy and Environment Commission said this is a particularly important issue in Edina because of the city’s high ratio of senior citizens, a sector of the population which is particularly vulnerable to the effects of poor air quality. 

Risser said it’s easy to forget about the issue of air quality when we don’t notice it in our daily lives, but she believes Edina residents can be depended upon to do the right thing.

“We’re really known as a community that steps up,” Risser said. “We’re a leader on energy issues in so many areas. We really need to acknowledge the air.”

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