Millions of parents are fighting to protect kids from pollution — and the mom who started the movement isn't resting: 'We're going to get this done'

What if the secret weapon for fighting for a healthier planet is actually your mom?

"I'm sick and tired of people thinking of moms as these nice little ladies over there. You know, getting upset about stuff," Dominique Browning, co-founder of Moms Clean Air Force, told The Cool Down. 

"We have power. We are a force. If we put all our energy into changing systems, laws, rules, protections, we can get stuff done."

That's how the name for Moms Clean Air Force (MCAF) came about nearly 15 years ago. And now, Browning explained that the 1.5 million-member organization is continuing to tap that parental energy to fight against three major threats to our kids' health: climate pollution (like greenhouse gas emissions from power plants), air pollution (which often overlaps, but when it's also more likely to be breathed by humans, like tailpipe emissions), and toxic chemicals (like lead in baby food). 

And as part of the larger non-partisan Environmental Defense Fund organization, MCAF is "grounded in science, in data, in accuracy," Browning continued. "Everything we put out is seriously fact-based."

The Cool Down caught up with Browning in an exclusive interview to learn more about how moms, dads, and caregivers are protecting their children's health through MCAF — and what actions everyone can take right now to keep the momentum going.

🩻 Making the connection between climate health and personal health 

For a long time, when nonprofits wanted you to care about the environment, they showed you scenes of endangered creatures and habitats — most likely a polar bear stranded on an ice floe. But envisioning a cleaner future with less pollution actually hits a lot closer to home.

In fact, when Browning saw the famous cover of Time magazine with a polar bear on it nearly 20 years ago, she had an epiphany: "We need to connect this [climate] problem with people's lives."

While she had a great deal of compassion for the bears, that was an issue happening far away from people's daily routines. "As I read more and learned more, I felt like what was missing was a sense of the urgency of how this impacts … everyone's health right now."

So she co-founded MCAF to drive home the connection between climate pollution and human health. And now, over 1.5 million voices around the nation have joined the movement to fight for clean air and climate solutions for this generation and the ones to follow.

✋ How to become a member of Moms Clean Air Force

MCAF is a national organization with local chapters in states and cities across the U.S. All you need to do to become a member is start taking action, and that can be as simple as signing an MCAF petition.

"We call this 'naptime activism,'" Browning said. "As the mother of two sons and now a grandmother, I am extremely sensitive to how hard it is to hold a job, run a household, etc., and there are people who cannot have climate be their No. 1 position, but they really care desperately, and they can't do that much, so [we] find ways for people to get [involved], even if it's for two minutes."

And as mentioned above, you don't need to be a mom, just like you didn't need to be one to support MADD. Whether you're passionate about…

• getting your school district to switch to electric school buses to reduce childhood asthma 
• sharing firsthand stories at local panels of how extreme heat has affected your family 
• holding the EPA accountable for mercury and toxic air standards around coal-fired power plants
• petitioning Congress to stop letting companies burn plastic and call it "advanced recycling"
• and many, many other actions

…you can find solutions and solidarity with Moms Clean Air Force.

In fact, signing petitions and contacting your legislators are two of the most important things that everyone can do, Browning told us. MCAF has template language and automated messaging to make reaching out as easy as possible — there's no need to agonize over crafting the perfect email to your elected representatives just to make your voice heard. Check out a few of the pre-filled templates here.

Furthermore: "There's no price to entry," for MCAF membership, Browning said. "You never know when somebody is going to be inspired to write a letter, call a senator, call for a job, do whatever." 

❓ Do I need to be a mom to join, though?

"We welcome caregivers of any stripe — and we welcome anyone who cares," Browning said. 

👏 The power of EcoMadres

People of color and low-income communities are especially vulnerable to consequences of pollution and a rapidly warming planet. For example, MCAF reports that nearly 10 million Latinos live in U.S. counties with failing grades on ozone or particulate pollution — measures of how clean the air you breathe is. So in 2018, the organization launched its EcoMadres program to provide Latino communities with bilingual resources and tools to advocate for the health of their families. 

"The idea is to talk about the injustices that have been laid on communities since the Industrial Revolution, since the beginning of the build out of plastics or fossil fuel industries," Browning explained.

That takes many shapes and forms on a day-to-day level. For example, Karin Stein, an Iowa field organizer for EcoMadres, has organized a band of Latino musicians called SonTierra that uses music to encourage listeners to reach out to legislators and leaders. You can also stream one of their albums on Soundcloud.

👀 What other on-the-ground projects are Moms up to?

"I feel very excited about the electric school buses [MCAF is working to replace dirty diesel-powered transportation fleets with electric school bus fleets] — that work is terrific — and it should continue to spread," Browning said. 

"I'm really excited about state-level work on climate emissions, things like that, but taking it right down to the individual level," she continued, "I'm really excited if people start to understand phthalates and all the toxic chemicals that are in our stuff, and start to be much more mindful of how much plastic they buy. And you know, at the smallest individual level that matters, because that also gets you into a mind space of 'Wait I'm one person…how do I make this good for a million people?' and that gets you into a political mind."

Beyond that, Browning mentioned MCAF is working on a project with the Environmental Defense Fund to plug orphan wells, which they talked about in a recent webinar. 

Do you worry about air pollution in your town? All the time 💯 Often 😢 Only sometimes 😟 Never 😎 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"That sounds really wonky, but these are gas wells that have been abandoned, thousands and thousands of them all over the country, [because right now] they are spewing invisible emissions into the air [often near] parks and playgrounds."

MCAF and EDF are working together to, first and foremost, find the thousands of abandoned gas wells and then collaborate with relevant government authorities to clean up the sites, each of which poses safety risks because they leak pollutants that can contaminate groundwater and impact air quality. Trapped flammable gas also poses risk of explosion in homes and other buildings.

💚 What gives you hope for a cleaner, safer future?

"What gives me hope is every single person working with me and all the people around the country who engage with us on social media, who sign our petitions, who read our stuff, who understand that it's a fight that is a long, long, long-term fight," Browning said. " It shouldn't be this hard, but it is what it is."

"We're going to get this done," she continued. "We're going to be OK."

Click here to connect with MCAF and explore other ways you can help your health while helping the planet.

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