Greens target parents in smog ads

The Sierra Club is targeting parents with a new advertising campaign aimed at building support for a stronger ground-level ozone standard, which would reduce smog pollution.

The digital ads show a young child playing outside dressed as a superhero, and say “keep our little superheroes safe from air pollution.”

{mosads}The campaign launched Tuesday in areas with the worst air quality, like Los Angeles; Fort Collins, Colo.; and Cincinnati.

“The smog pollution hearings are just the start of the fight to protect our children and the air they breathe,” Mary Anne Hitt, director of the Sierra Club’s “Beyond Coal” campaign, said in a statement.

“With this new campaign we’re sounding the alarm for moms and dads, calling on them to join in the national push for clean air by urging the EPA to do the right thing and follow the science on smog.”

The Sierra Club wants to encourage parents to support the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to restrict the allowable level of ozone in air from 75 parts per billion to between 60 and 70 parts per billion.

Ozone, a byproduct of fossil fuel pollutants, can cause or exacerbate respiratory illnesses like asthma and bronchitis.

Fossil fuel companies and Republicans say the EPA’s proposal would be one of the most expensive regulations in history with little to no health benefits.

The EPA is accepting comments from the public on the rule until March 17.

The Sierra Club said it is spending five figures — or between $10,000 and $99,999 — on the campaign