How does Coal Care™?
We at want to make Asthma-Related Bullying (ARB) a thing of the past. Studies have shown that ARB unnecessarily burdens our children with traumas they may never outgrow, and that may influence them to develop in ways we wouldn't like. Studies have also shown that the single best way to reduce the stigma of childhood asthma, and therefore stop ARB, is simply to make inhalers cool. By giving kids a wide range of choices for enhancing their inhalers, they'll no longer feel obligated to try to hide their condition—a near-impossible task anyhow. Kids should never be ashamed of having asthma—after all, many of their classmates likely have it as well!
How else does Coal Care™?
Another way is showing we care is by making it easier for families to purchase the medication that goes into each free inhaler actuator. Sign up now for the chance to obtain a $10 coupon off your child's next prescription for asthma medication. Also, for every 1,000 inhaler actuators donated via Coal Cares™, will make a $500 donation towards the cost of one lung-replacement therapy. Order your Puff-Puff™ today!
Why now?
May 3rd is World Asthma Day, and May is Asthma Awareness Month, a time for all of us to do our part to raise awareness about asthma, and to help raise the confidence of those afflicted by this challenging ailment. For our part, has decided that reducing Asthma-Related Bullying (ARB) is the single most effective way to combat public misperceptions of our industry.
What causes asthma?
There is actually no single cause of childhood asthma. In fact, many non-asthmatic children experience asthma-like symptoms while engaging in strenuous exercise, as we all do. More seriously, air-borne particulates from certain plants can cause severe vasal restriction in the airways of particularly susceptible children, leaving them gasping for air at the most inopportune moments. Even more worrisome, bee and wasp stings and snake bites can cause paroxysms and a drawn-out death in particularly allergic individuals. Symptoms from long-term coal particulate exposure, while a great deal more common than the above, are many times less dramatic than the symptoms brought on by extreme allergic reactions.
Why are "scrubbers" not a good solution?
Some environmentalists have suggested that coal companies should install an untested technology called "scrubbers" atop coal plants to make them burn more cleanly, reducing coal particulate exposure as one cause of childhood asthma. There are two problems with this idea. For one thing, these "scrubbers" will by no means remove enough of the coal particulates to avoid causing asthma. More importantly, the "scrubbers" are very expensive, and would inevitably result in a rise in the price of energy—hammering already hammered American household budgets. Locating the filtering mechanism at the point of consumption (i.e., your child's mouth) is dramatically more cost-effective than locating it at the point of emission (smokestacks), and in turn means less need for intrusive and costly regulation. You and your child can choose how, when, and if to apply treatment—and, thanks to the Puff-Puff™ line of inhalers, what that treatment will look like!
How can you afford to give away free inhalers and coupons?
How can we afford not to? Coal is a $7 billion per year industry, producing more than half of all U.S. electricity. We know we can't do this without you, the consumer, and especially without your children, who will continue consuming coal long after you're gone. We depend on your children's mental well-being and goodwill.
How can I join Mothers Against Asthma-Related Bullying?
Mothers Against Asthma-Related Bullying (MAARB) is a brand-new organization founded with a grant from 's communication department to help spread the word on the perils of ARB. Please write to MAARB@CoalCares.org for more information.
How do you decide where to build coal plants?
For humane reasons, and in order to keep energy costs low for you, the consumer, locates coal plants strategically in areas where the health effects of coal particulate exposure will be as small as possible in statistical terms. More precisely, areas already associated with enhanced mortality rates, such as lower-income or underprivileged areas, will experience the effects of long-term particulate exposure in a proportionately much less profound way than areas in which residents lead statistically above-average lives in terms of health. The relative costs—in health terms, as well as from an insurance perspective—will be lower.
What about sustainability?
Environmental stewardship is a key part of Coal Cares™, and all our inhalers are made with eco-friendly recycled plastic, as well as with coal ash, a by-product of combustion from our plant smokestacks.
What are the experts saying about Coal Cares™?
"For many kids their inhaler is a shameful thing, a drab medical device that reminds them, and everyone around them, of why they always get picked last for team sports," said Angela Smith-Wooten, President of 's Global Corporate Social Responsibility Division. "But why should weak lungs mean the end of your social life? We are excited to help a whole new generation of children hold their heads high while inhaling."
How do I find out whether I'm eligible for a free Puff-Puff™?
If you live within two hundred miles of a coal plant, you are eligible for a free inhaler and a $10 coupon towards medication. Unlike wind farms, coal plants are often tastefully disguised and nearly invisible, so we have provided this zip code coal-plant finder to help you discover whether you're Puff-Puff-eligible.
