What This Heroic Mom Wants You To Know, with Kari Rhinehart

Admittedly, Danielle hasn't been very involved in the environmental lane of activism. We each have our lanes in which we feel most "qualified" and experienced to make an impact. And while this isn't one Danielle has concentrated on very deeply, members of her family have dedicated their life to this exact lane of activism. So when Danielle's incredible sister-in-law and her team at the Environmental Defense Fund, asked her to help disseminate crucial information that people (especially parents) may not otherwise acquire due to acts by the current administration, she of course knew she needed to use her platforms for this exact reason.

Luckily, Kari Rhinehart, a mom from Indiana who has gone through the unimaginable, is beyond determined to retell her daughter's story to ensure we don't tune out and assume that just because we aren't hearing about "invisible" injustices and life-threatening exposures happening in our communities, that they aren't there. At 13-years-old, Kari's charismatic, passionate teen daughter, Emma, was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer. Determined to find out the cause, Kari began researching, and led to the overwhelming evidence that it was caused by trichloroethylene (TCE), a carcinogen that contaminated groundwater in Franklin, Indiana. Within a decade, over 50 other local children would be diagnosed with rare forms of blood, brain, and bone cancer. Devastatingly, Emma died three months later. Kari has not stopped fighting since then. Her story is heartbreaking, brave, and a stark reminder that we live in a society in which the greatest dangers are often the ones about which we've never been informed, on purpose.

This conversation is not meant to instill overwhelming fear, but is a call-to-action for each of us to be increasingly observant, alert, and to trust our gut. With the enormous federal cuts taking place in environmental protections, even the limited information we once had is greatly at risk. For the unforeseeable future, it will be up to each of us and all of us to share stories, search for truth, and fight for justice, just like Kari.

One small act can help this fight! Fill out the petition telling congress to protect our communities from TCE!

Want to find out if your community is at risk for Petrochemical Air Pollution? Check out this map.

Passionate about Climate Action and Environmental protections? Learn more about the amazing work the EDF is doing, and donate to further support their impactful agenda.

SOMETHING EXCITING IS HAPPENING! Sign up for emails to learn more about Danielle's new community for women, The 3AM Uprising!

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