For many students, the college years are a time of hope and idealism. By advancing environmental education, practices, and activism on campus, we can lay the groundwork for a more sustainable future. Such a comprehensive approach during this unique window of opportunity could revitalize the environmental movement today and perhaps restore to this planet a semblance of its former health. The future of the environmental movement depends on coalitions of people and groups with different agendas and interests working together for an environmental goal. One of the most promising partnerships is between environmentalists and public health activists.
Studies show that children are particularly vulnerable to air pollution, especially ozone.
One American Lung Association study found that approximately 27 million children live in areas with unhealthy levels of ozone. Minorities are disproportionately affected in areas that violate air quality standards. Fossil fuel combustion in energy production is the largest source of particulate air pollution, and motor vehicles are the principal source of ground level ozone. Physicians for Social Responsibility, another NCF grantee, engages doctors, especially pediatricians, in community education activities that make the link between automobile pollution and children's health. Many of our environmental grantees have invested some of their resources in conducting focus groups and conversations with citizens, environmental organizers, and public officials to discover our common values as a society.