Florida mom comes to DC to fight climate change

A peaceful protest on Capitol Hill. What may look like a playful scene has a powerful message.

“We actually had to move from Atlanta because the pollution was so bad and came back to Tallahassee where I grew up so that really opened by eyes to what we’re doing to our air," Cara Fleischer, a mom from Tallahassee, FL said.

Fleischer said she was willing to relocate just to keep her kids from breathing in toxic air. But she's is worried moving homes isn’t enough.

“In the spring there’s a lot of burning and a lot of pollen so there’s breathing issues at that time. Also in Florida we are ground zero for climate change we’re seeing the sea level rising," she added.

That’s why Flesicher joined other mom’s here in Washington for a play-in on the lawn of the US Capitol to get lawmakers attention on the issue.

“This is an imminent matter, it’s a critical issue and we need all sides to come together," Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-8) said.

The rally caught the eye of both Republicans and Democrats who are speaking out after recent moves by the Trump administration to roll back clean air protections and pull out of the Paris climate agreement. However, some Republicans support the presidents moves

“The Paris accord and what the Obama administration pursued was an act of war on coal that is fundamentally changing and hurting our ability to power America," Ohio Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH-15) said.

Stivers said while he understands the concern he believes there is a smart approach to addressing it through cleaner coal production.

“You know we have a lot of coal jobs in our region, whether you’re in West Virginia and Southern Ohio, coal is a god given natural resource and we need to avail ourselves of it.”

The families met Thursday with some of the lawmakers on Capitol Hill hopeful their voices will be heard.