Today the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will conduct hearings in Washington, D.C. and Chicago about the proposed new standard to limit carbon pollution from new power plants. These hearings are an opportunity for people who feel passionately about the importance of EPA’s proposal to talk personally and publicly about how industrial carbon pollution affects them.
I was at the DC hearing today, to testify along with nearly 200 others, besides those in Chicago. As I wrote here on Monday, each person’s voice in support of this issue and the proposed carbon standard is critical right now.
EPA’s proposed carbon standard represents an historic step toward creating healthier, more secure communities, by placing national limits on industrial carbon pollution from new power plants -- a critical milestone toward protecting the health of our children and families from climate change.
Carbon pollution causes climate change, and that constitutes one of the most serious threats to public health facing our nation – and the world – in the 21st century. Rising temperatures trigger a host of environmental changes that affect health: extreme heat, air pollution including ground-level ozone smog, and airborne allergens including pollen from plants, among other harms to health. A 2012 paper from the American Thoracic Society describes how lung doctors expect asthma cases to rise as carbon pollution and climate change soars.
If you can’t attend or participate in the EPA hearings in person today, you have several great options:
- You can join more than 1 million other Americans who’ve already sent comments in support of this proposed standard. You have until June 25th to send in written comments, so the next month really matters. NRDC has a new zip code lookup tool that makes it easy to learn about extreme weather and climate change where you live, and send a support letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, to help get the number of letters to 2 million.
- And tune in here for more blog posts and tweets about today's DC and Chicago hearings!
- You can click on the button at the top of this blog to add your voice to the 1,000,000-plus citizens who’ve told EPA they support strong carbon pollution standards for power plants.
*This blog was updated at 3:25 pm Eastern time Thursday May 24, 2012*