Nebraska 

Interfaith 

Power 

& Light 

Testimony in Support of EPA Section 111(d) Regulations 

for Coal-Fired Power Plants 

Rev. Kim Morrow 

Director, Nebraska Interfaith Power & Light 

Denver, Colorado 

July 28, 2014 

Climate change is the most pressing moral issue of our time. Climate 

scientists are nearly unanimous in their warnings of a significantly altered climate in 

the years ahead, and the dramatic effects that will have on agriculture, public health, 

housing, food supply, transportation, the economy and more. We are moving into a 

world that none of us has ever seen before; a world where the very pillars of our 

lifestyles and our economy and will shift. Our society is not prepared for these 

changes, and I fear the large-scale human suffering that is bound to follow. Those 

among us with the fewest resources to adapt are suffering and will continue to 

suffer the highest burden of these changes. 

The projections for how climate change will impact Nebraska are sobering. 

The annual mean maximum temperature for Lancaster County, where I live, is 

projected to rise 7 degrees F by 2074. These rising temperatures will lead to 

increased demand for water and energy. At the same time, we are likely to have less 

water available as less snowpack in the Rocky Mountains will lead to less water 

flowing into our streams, rivers and aquifer. We will see changes in crop growth 

cycles, leading to the need for different agricultural practices. We will see both more 

periods of drought and more episodes of heavy downpours, along with more 

extreme storms. 

It is urgent that we take steps to curb carbon pollution and to mitigate the 

worst projected effects of climate change. We are at a time when the solutions of the 

past are no longer viable. Since power plants are responsible for 40% of our nation's 

carbon pollution, it is critical that we make bold changes in this sector. Regulations 

from the EPA developed in partnership with individual states is the way to make a 

profound difference in our nation's future. 

In the second creation story from the book of Genesis, God calls forth 

creation from the ground itself. All of life- plants, animals and humans- have their 

common origins in the sacred and fertile ground. God then puts Adam in the Garden 

of Eden to till it and to keep it—not to exploit it: but to keep it. In Deuteronomy we 

hear that "the Lord your God is bringing you into a good Land, a land of flowing 

streams, a land of olive trees and honey, where you will lack nothing, and where you 

will bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you." 

In these examples we are reminded that we are only here but for the grace of 

God, who brought forth all creation in God's image. The earth on which we live has 

3151 South St., Suite B I Lincoln, NE 168502 I www.nebraskaipl.orqI 402.405.9425 
been entrusted to us as a gift of life, and we have been asked from the beginning to 

be its stewards. 

The people of faith in Nebraska support strong Carbon Pollution Standards 

for power plants—because we know that what God promised us is a world that is 

powered by love and justice. Thank you.