We at PennFuture are completely over-the-moon excited about the announcement this week of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed standard to limit carbon pollution from filthy, old power plants.
But it's a long, long road till this takes effect. What started with EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy's announcement on Monday will take years to finish.
We're now in the first phase, which is is the comment period of the proposed rule. This is when we the public (this means you and me!) get to tell EPA what we think of the proposal. (Here's your chance to tell them: Click here.)
The comment period will be open throughout the summer. EPA will track the content of the comments (to look for substantive suggestions or criticisms). And they will also tally the number of supportive comments versus non-supportive comments to gauge public sentiment.
This is why it's so important that those of us who want this rule to go into effect take action and tell the EPA about our support. (So easy to do: Just click here.) We need to ensure that the pro-rule comments vastly outnumber the anti-rule comments.
In addition to submitting a comment electronically to the EPA, we urge anyone who can to come to the EPA hearing in Pittsburgh on Thursday, July 31 (9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Wm. S. Moorhead Federal Bldg., Rm. 1310, 1000 Liberty Ave., Pittsburgh 15222).
It's always best to pre-register for a hearing. To request a time, contact Ms. Pamela Garrett of the EPA at 919-541-7966 or at garrett.pamela at epa dot gov .
Simply put, we need to pack the room in Pittsburgh on July 31. Our plans are just emerging, and PennFuture is hoping to organize carpools, vans, and perhaps buses to Pittsburgh from around the state. Wanna learn more? Send me an email: bergey at pennfuture dot org.
We can supply you with talking points and background material for your testimony. The EPA wants to hear from community activists, health care providers, gardeners, bus drivers -- in other words, regular folks. Please don't think you need to have any special qualifications in order to testify.
If you care about climate change, and want the EPA to act, let us know (reach me at bergey at pennfuture dot org) and we'll help you get involved.
Joy Bergey is federal policy director for PennFuture and based in Philadelphia.
