We’ve used almost every tactic to convince Congress to pass the Safe Chemicals Act, which would help us keep toxic chemicals out of our everyday products. We’ve held stroller brigades, sent tens of thousands of emails, staged rallies at the U.S. Capitol, joined twitter town halls, and more. But there’s one thing we haven’t tried yet: a music video.
Since everyone from Justin Bieber to the U.S. Olympic Swim Team has done their own renditions of the summer hit “Call Me, Maybe,” we decided it was time for us to make our own video to raise awareness about why Congress must pass the Safe Chemicals Act now.
Yesterday, Congress returned from their August recess. But since it’s an election year, they will only be in session for eight days before hitting the campaign trail until November’s elections. We can’t wait any longer for legislation that will keep cancer-causing BPA out of canned food or dangerous flame retardants out of our couches. So, we must convince the Senate to vote now to protect our health and our families.
How do we do that? We have to flood their inboxes with thousands of messages that they cannot ignore. To get the numbers that will make them pay attention, we need to rally everyone who cares about this issue and educate everyone who doesn’t know about it yet. That’s why we made this “Test It, Maybe” video along with a series of other videos from our state LCV partners featuring testimonies from people who have been affected by the toxic chemicals in our everyday products that have gone unregulated for decades.
Right now, our nation’s primary chemical law is the Toxic Substances Control Act, which has not been updated since it was passed in 1976. The law is badly broken, allowing the EPA to test only a few hundred of the over 84,000 chemicals on the market today. This means that most of the chemicals in our products — everything from the backpacks our children wear to the furniture in our houses — are not tested for their long term effects on our health and the environment.
Rising rates of diseases like asthma, diabetes, childhood cancers, infertility, and learning and behavioral disorders have been linked to toxic chemical exposure. We need our government to protect our families from these chronic illnesses by requiring adequate testing of chemicals before they accumulate in our bodies and environment. The Safe Chemicals Act will ensure that the chemicals surrounding us every day are safe, but we’ll only be able to make it a reality if you speak out today.
After you send your email to your senators, we’ll set you up with a page where you can watch and share the “Test It, Maybe” video. So, don’t wait to take action. Make your voice heard now.
Together, we can hold the chemical industry accountable to safer standards and protect our families from harmful chemicals. So let’s go!
Best,
 Vanessa Kritzer Online Campaigns Manager League of Conservation Voters  |
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