46 | July/August 2023
MOMS Clean Air Force
continued from previous page
getting away with something; we have
trees and a deep well and plenty of ac-
cess to nature and local agriculture. In
my relief to live here is a shadow of
awareness: I know we aren't immune
to what's already happening else-
where. Soon it will be our turn too—
and consistently. We all share air.
This time, rain will come, and winds
will shift and this wildfire smoke will
clear. I know this. Wind connects us all.
I really deeply profoundly hope when
this week's smoke dies down, people's
newfound concern will linger. The cyn-
ic in me is convinced they won't. That
woman I spoke to who was also buying
several containers of the ethereally de-
licious strawberries that are in season
locally for a too-brief window of time
won't suddenly vote for candidates
running on climate initiatives. She
won't get involved lobbying the school
board for electric school buses.
Or will she?
I must hope. My kids—and all our
kids—deserve hope. They can't be left
alone in tears with wildfire smoke, or-
ange skies, and health impacts. Maybe
the strawberry lady will remember ex-
actly how many times her grandkid had
to use his asthma medication this hazy
week and realize it's not an aberration.
And she will help us curb the cli-
mate crisis.
Alexandra Zissu is the author of six
books about the connections between
environment and health: Earth Squad,
Get on Top, The Conscious Kitchen,
Planet Home, The Complete Organic
Pregnancy, and The Butcher's Guide to
Well-Raised Meat. A longtime journalist,
she has worked for the Times Union,
New York Magazine, T: The New York
Times Style Magazine, the New York
Observer, and Women's Wear Daily,
and her stories have appeared in doz-
ens of publications.
TELL EPA:
CUT CLIMATE POLLUTION
FROM POWER PLANTS
