Kids stage play-in for clean air at City Hall

Some young people held a unique protest to get their message across to officials at Philadelphia City Hall. 

Instead of a sit-in, the young people held a “play-in” for clean air in the fountain at Dilworth Park.  Two recent studies show that limiting air pollution and ground-level ozone can help protect children’s health, said Christine Doole of the Moms Clean Air Force.

“Ozone is a powerful lung irritant,” she said. “Children are developing, they take in lots of air and they are particularly vulnerable to these effects.”

State Rep. Donna Bullock, D-Philadelphia, said the fight for clean air is a city, state and federal issue.

“We have increased rates of asthma in our community, particularly in our low-income and minority communities,” she said. “Literally, our children can’t breathe.  They are struggling to breathe in our city, they are struggling to breathe in their homes, and I wanted to take action as a legislator and a mother to make sure our children can breathe.”

The group is calling for states to commit to cutting air pollution, even though the Obama administration’s effort on this is stalled in the courts.