My name is Megan Severson, and I'm the State Advocate with Wisconsin Environment. In Wisconsin, 

global warming isn't some distant threat. It's here now, in the present. We've already seen severe 

droughts, extreme storms and flooding. I grew up on a farm in western Wisconsin, about 10 miles from 

the Mississippi River and surrounded by bluffs and small river valleys. The farm has been in my family 

since the 1860s. In 2012, our region experienced a record-breaking drought that killed off many of 

crops. The following year there were devastating floods, which delayed the planting season by weeks. 

I'd like to be able to say that my kids and grandkids will someday be able to experience the same farm 

and quality of life that I did as a kid, but I'm growing increasingly nervous that this will not be possible. 

Scientists are clear that unless we act now to reduce the pollution fueling global warming- most 

importantly carbon dioxide- things will be much worse for our children, and we won't be able to turn 

back. That's why Wisconsin Environment believes the Clean Power Plan is a vital step, and support the 

finalization of the strongest possible plan cut carbon pollution. 

Scientist are warning that if we allow the planet to warm above 2°C, the likelihood greatly increases that 

we will not be able to prevent the worst impacts of global warming. That requires cutting carbon 

pollution in half globally by 2050, and wealthy countries need to cut carbon emissions much more 

deeply than emerging nations like China and India. To do its part, and leverage the leadership we need 

to compel other countries to act, the United States must reduce its global warming pollution at least 80 

percent by 2050. 

Power plants are the largest single source of U.S. carbon pollution. While we must move quickly to limit 

. carbon from all sources, the power plants is our best opportunity in the near term to achieve dramatic 

reductions in carbon. Our recent report America's Dirtiest Power Plants found that the 50 dirtiest power 

plants emit more carbon each year than all but 5 other countries. 

Fortunately, the solutions to global warming are at our fingertips. We have the technology to 

dramatically reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by using energy more 

efficiently and generating the energy we do use from truly clean sources, such as the wind and the sun. 

Wisconsin's power plants contribute 43 percent of our state's carbon pollution, and the Clean Power 

Plan would clean up our power plants by 13 percent. Wisconsin Environment applauds EPA for 

responding to the urgent need to protect public health and our children's future by reigning in unlimited 

carbon pollution. But given the scope of the problem, and the urgent need to act we can do even better 

by harnessing the power of clean energy. 

Fortunately, we're not starting from scratch: the Clean Power Plan builds on nearly a decade of 

investment in clean energy. It's not the first step, and it can't be the last. Wisconsin has made great 

strides already, by passing its Renewable Energy Standard to get 10% clean energy by 2015. And 

programs like Focus on Energy have been successful in incentivizing energy efficiency and solar 

electricity. 

We know that clean energy works to cut pollution. Already, clean energy policies have cut carbon 

pollution in Wisconsin in 2012 equivalent to taking 5.2 million cars off the road. And we have the 

potential to get even more of our energy from solar and wind, decreasing our need for coal and fossil 

fuels. 

I can clearly envision a future in which all of our electricity comes from the wind that rolls across our 

fields, and the sun that shines on our rooftops every day. And I know that we can make our homes and 

businesses and barns so efficient that, with solar panels on top, they produce more energy than they 

use. 
This is the future I imagine for my family, and for all Wisconsinites. It's the future we deserve, and it's 

one that the Clean Power Plan has the potential to take us one step closer towards. 

Thank you for your time. 

Megan Severson 

Wisconsin Environment 

122 State Street, Suite 500B 

Madison, WI 53703 

608-385-9946 

megan@wisconsinenvironment.org