00                   HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 25                                                                   
01 Relating to children's environmental health.                                                                            
02 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
03       WHEREAS the President of the United States and the United States Environmental                                  
04 Protection Agency have placed an emphasis on protecting children's environmental health;                                
05 and                                                                                                                     
06       WHEREAS children are more vulnerable to substances in the environment because                                   
07 they breathe more air, drink more fluids, and eat more food in proportion to body weight than                           
08 adults; and                                                                                                             
09       WHEREAS the small size, high metabolism, and close proximity to ground-level                                    
10 pollutants of children make our youngest Alaskans the most vulnerable of our citizens to                                
11 environmental toxins and other dangers; and                                                                             
12       WHEREAS good health early in life is crucial to good health throughout life, and the                            
13 state will realize great financial benefit through the improved health of its citizenry; and                            
14       WHEREAS four percent of children under six years of age have dangerously high                                   
15 levels of lead in their blood leading to intelligence quotient deficits, learning disabilities,                         
16 behavioral problems, and nervous system disorders; and                                                                  

01       WHEREAS 5,000,000 children and adolescents suffer from asthma, which is the                                     
02 leading chronic illness in children and which causes 10,000,000 missed days of school a year                            
03 nationwide; children absorb greater concentrations of smoke and other air pollutants than do                            
04 adults, further aggravating the asthma symptoms of an estimated 1,000,000 children;                                     
05       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature recognizes Alaska's children as                                
06 our most important resource, whose health must be protected; and be it                                                  
07       FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature intends to continue its support for                                       
08 smoking cessation programs and encourages schools to help minimize asthma triggers                                      
09 through improving the air quality in school facilities; and be it                                                       
10       FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature supports the use of nontoxic products,                                    
11 the use of integrated pest management practices, and the protection of children from products                           
12 dangerous to them; and be it                                                                                            
13       FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature will seek ways to promote protection of                                   
14 children from environmental harm through partnerships in business, voluntary organizations,                             
15 and programs to teach safer habits to children and their parents.                                                       
16       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Shirley J. Holloway,                                   
17 Commissioner, Department of Education and Early Development; and to the Honorable                                       
18 Michele Brown, Commissioner, Department of Environmental Conservation.