I have had the great fortune to spend most of my life surrounded by nature. In my younger years, I worked in a greenhouse and developed a passion for planting trees.
Plants play a tremendous role in protecting the air we breathe. In an ideal world, I’d love for every city to have 20 percent of its land use set aside just for nature.
As a professional musician, I have the great pleasure of teaching violin to talented students from around the world. My students from China have made me aware of how much worse our air here the United States could be if we don’t fight to protect necessary safeguards like the Clean Air Act.
Everyone deserves the right to breathe healthy air and it is clear that climate change spurred by pollution has a harmful and far-reaching impact. I recently had a friend pass away from lung cancer at just 61-years-old. She never smoked, which makes me wonder how pollution in her city may have played a role.
I’m not a doctor but do know that clean air is essential to good health. I’ll continue to do my part by planting trees and encouraging the young musicians I teach to do the same.
Like a fine-tuned symphony, the music sounds best when we all play together. This not a dress rehearsal. We’re already feeling the impact of climate change and need to do everything in our power to protect the air we breathe.
