The first miracle was that I was able to exchange my black Greenpeace coal shirt that I was wearing with an olive green one, much rarer, that another lady had donned.  How fortuitous, since I look better in green than black, which prepared me for the next adventure.

While walking from one location outside the State House to the entrance, who should pass me but the honorable Senator himself! So I turned to him and said, “This is a Greenpeace rally to make MA coal-free. We need clean energy.”

And he said, “I agree!” So I retorted, “Then DO it!

Amazing!

                                                                                                            Bedford, MA 01730

                                                                                                            January 27, 2011

Senator Scott Brown

2400 JFK Building

55 New Sudbury Street

Boston, MA  02203

Dear Senator Brown,

I am contacting you to urge you to read this letter to the Boston Globe editor, copied below, and published on January 30, 2011. Please note the reference to the Clean Air Act in the last paragraph and the necessity of preserving it.

Rising rates of asthma, and other respiratory conditions, drastically escalate health costs here in the Bay State. To be truly cost conscious, your vote must be pro health, which preserves the ability of the EPA to regulate the air we breathe under the Clean Air Act.

Please preserve our health and save money for the citizens of Massachusetts.

Thank you,

Susan Shamel
To the Editor:

In your January 20th editorial “A new culprit: antibiotics,” Yale scientists link early antibiotic use with increasing rates of childhood asthma. While potentially true, the following statement from the article is misleading:  “One of the great public health mysteries is why asthma has become more common among children, even as air pollution has decreased…”
      
Many forms of air pollution are on the rise. Ground-level ozone, a key component of smog, has risen from a pre-industrial level of zero parts per billion (PPB) to as high as 86 PPB during summer in urban localities, far exceeding safe human health levels of 60 PPB. Ozone is linked to increased asthma attacks, lung damage, and breathing problems.

The article also mentions a higher incidence of asthma among children in lower-income families and states that the Yale study indicates that these children are more likely to have been treated with antibiotics. Can we be sure that this is a cause and effect relationship? Perhaps the correlation here is more about lower-income children residing in urban areas and thus suffering the ill effects of air pollution at a very young age.

Antibiotic use is a red herring relative to the larger, overarching issue of air pollution. The time has come for citizens to speak out about the detrimental health effects of ozone formed as a result of fossil fuel burning, and to advocate for enforcement of all provisions of the Clean Air Act.

Susan Shamel
32 Page Rd
Bedford, MA 01730

781-275-2340

To the Editor:

       “Will Scott Brown go on to become a transformational political figure?” queries the author of the “Bostonian of the Year” article.
  
       Senator Brown is to be commended for supporting both Democratic and Republican initiatives during the past year.  His real challenge will soon unfold as the US Congress attempts to eviscerate the science of climate change, now accepted by 97% of the world’s leading scientists. While a MA senator, Brown voted for the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA), which mandates the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in MA, and positions our state to be a leader in the development of clean energy technologies.

       Although mentioning that the Tea Party helped to propel Brown to victory, the article fails to note that the Tea Party is largely funded by the largest independent oil company in the United States, Koch Industries. The Kochs have spent many millions  spreading disinformation about the authentic science of climate change.

       Scott Brown could indeed be a transformational figure if he holds firmly to the solid science that prompted his supportive GWSA vote. He would thus create an opportunity for the entire nation to follow the path of his home state in starting an energy revolution that could propel the United States into a position of global economic leadership.

Susan Shamel
32 Page Road
Bedford, MA
781-275-2340

Wrapping an oily hand around Senator Scott Brown

August 25, 2010 – Shadowing Senator Brown in Boston

Sporting large, brown ‘oily hands,’ and carrying signs reading “Fight Climate Change Now,” a dedicated group of climate activists spent nearly two hours ‘shadowing’ US Senator Scott Brown at several fundraising events in Boston.

Four groups were involved in planning and carrying out the shadow event: 1Sky, 350.org, the Global Warming Education Network, and Paint Brown Green. Activists first gathered outside the Liberty Hotel, a former prison in Boston chanting, “Climate change victims, hear them wail; climate change deniers belong in jail!” Senator Brown was not seen entering or leaving the event.

After 45 minutes the protesters marched past the offices of both US senators Kerry and Brown to a second fundraiser, held at the Kinsale restaurant, where they chanted “Six weeks of drought, then four inches of rain; how do you like your climate change?”

Then, just as the demonstrators were told that “security had been notified,” Senator Brown approached the restaurant. Activist Susan Shamel immediately went to the senator’s side to voice her request for strong US climate legislation. Shamel and Brown spoke for nearly a minute before the senator waved to the other activists and disappeared inside.

“He was supportive of my request for legislation, but blamed democrats for not bringing appropriate legislation to the senate for a vote,” said Shamel.

Scott Brown fundraiser

Reception for Brad Marston with Senator Scott Brown

The Kinsale 2 Center Plaza (Cambridge St.) Boston

8/25/2010

6:30-8:30pm

Scott Brown fundraiser

Karyn Polito Candidate for State Treasurer and Senator Scott Brown

215 Charles St., Boston

8/25/2010

5:30-7:30

Hope to see you! Numbers count! Let’s make Brown take note of our presence!

Thanks,
Susan

     Phone #’s: 202-224-4543 617-565-3170

      As you are probably aware, Senator Harry Reid is trying to piece together an oil spill, energy, and climate change bill that may impose a carbon emissions cap on utilities. So, in return for agreeing to this demand, the powerful utility companies are demanding roll backs on long-standing and life-saving pollution controls on soot, smog, and toxics such as mercury, currently required under Clean Air Act regulations.

     Tens of thousands of lives have been saved every year due to these pollution controls, as well as avoidance of severe illness. The Senate climate and energy bill must not be crafted to trade out air quality, signed into law by President Nixon 40 years ago. The utility companies have to no right to bargain when our health and well-being are at stake.

      Please tell Brown we citizens demand strong climate and energy legislation to keep us secure, both militarily and economically, and that we refuse to accept loop-holes in the Clean Air Act to be included in this bill.

     Also, check out this petition on change.org to Harry Reid regarding this: http://credoaction.change.org/petitions/view/urge_harry_reid_to_back_a_good_carbon_cap_on_utilities

Thanks,

Susan Shamel

1Sky is planning to deliver oily bird awards to the 47 oily Senators who voted for the Murkowski resolution. We found the idea delightful, so we signed on to participate!

We will be presenting Brown’s award in Boston at 11:00 AM on Thursday, June 17th, at his office, 2400 JFK Federal Building, 55 New Sudbury Street, Boston.

Please join in the fun!

Thanks,
Susan Shamel