MEDIA ADVISORY
BALTIMORE (November 10, 2017) – Against the backdrop of the current Administration’s all-out assault on environmental safeguards, particularly on curbing methane emissions from the oil and gas industry, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the nation’s foremost civil rights organization, Clean Air Task Force (CATF) and the National Medical Association (NMA) are releasing a first-ever report on the growing threats to the health of African American communities across the country from airborne oil and gas pollution. Our November 14th panel will include discussion from experts on the quantification of these elevated health risks which millions of African Americans face.
What: The study, entitled Fumes Across the Fence-Line, is jointly published by researchers at CATF and NAACP, and quantifies the health risks, including cancer and respiratory illnesses, which are caused by emissions from the natural gas supply chain. The disproportionate health impacts are the result of decades of building fossil fuel facilities close to the properties of African American and low-income people, or “fence-line communities”, and the threat is growing as the natural gas industry has boomed in recent years. The study also examines the toxic and hazardous emissions from oil refineries.
Who: Speakers at the Press Club panel will include:
- Al Green (D-TX), member of the Congressional Black Caucus
- Marcus Franklin, Co-author of Fumes Across the Fence-Line, Environmental & Climate Justice Program, NAACP
- Lesley Fleischman, Co-author of Fumes Across the Fence-Line, Clean Air Task Force
- Doris Browne, President of the National Medical Association
When: Tuesday, November 14, 2017, 9:30 – 11:00am
Where: National Press Club, 529 14th Street, Washington, DC
Contacts:
Katherine Taylor
NAACP
ktaylor@naacpnet.org
Stuart C. Ross
Clean Air Task Force
914-649-5037
sross@catf.us
Brittany Coleman
National Medical Association
202-480-4139
bcoleman@nmanet.org
ABOUT THE NAACP:
Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities. You can read more about the NAACP’s work and our six “Game Changer” issue areas by visiting www.naacp.org.
ABOUT CATF:
Clean Air Task Force is a nonprofit environmental organization with offices across the U.S. CATF works to help safeguard against the worst impacts of climate change by catalyzing the rapid global development and deployment of low carbon energy and other climate-protecting technologies through research and analysis, public advocacy leadership, and partnership with the private sector. For more information, please visit www.catf.us.
ABOUT NMA:
Formed in 1895, the National Medical Association (NMA) is the oldest and largest non-profit national professional, educational, and scientific organization representing the interests of African American physicians and the patients they serve. While throughout its history the NMA has focused primarily on health issues related to African Americans and medically underserved populations, its principles, goals, initiatives, and philosophy encompass all sectors of the population. The NMA is a leading force for parity in medicine, elimination of health disparities, and promotion of optimal health. To learn more about the NMA visit www.nmanet.org.
# # #
