Testimony for the EPA Clean Power Plan 

Wendy Fleit, Silver Spring, Maryland 

July 29th, 2014 

Thank you for holding these hearings on the Clean Power Plan. My name is Wendy Fleit, and I appreciate 

the opportunity to make my voice heard. Though I am no expert on energy policy, I know that the sooner 

we take responsibility for a clean environment, for clean air and water to go along with our electric power, 

the better it will be for our people, our nation and the world. We can afford to be responsible for reducing 

our carbon emissions and other pollutants associated with power generation. As one of the richest nations 

in the world, it is our responsibility to take a leadership position on clean air, clean water, a clean 

environment. 

I am a Mom and a wife, a daughter and a daughter-in-law, a sister and a sister-in-law, and if I am lucky, 

someday I will be a mother-in-law and a grandmother. And everyone I am related to, and everyone you are 

related to, benefits by having clean air. The literature talks about how we will save seven dollars in health 

care costs for every dollar of investment. To my mind, though health care savings may be used to justify the 

monies invested, making the investment is in fact our responsibility as stewards of this incredible planet on 

which we live. All of us having a healthier place to live and breathe is more important than the monies that 

the investment would cost each of us. The Clean Power Plan with cleaner power and cleaner air, is the right 

thing to do. 

As I think about the Clean Power Plan, my mind turns to China. A colleague of mine was visiting family 

there. I asked if she wanted to return to China to live. In reply she said that when she was in Beijing, the 

sky was gray and low, due to pollution. No blue skies, no sunshine. And she, her son and husband could not 

leave the hotel for the four days they were there due to the unhealthy air. I am so thankful that we have 

pollution standards, pollution controls here in our country. Yes, complying with pollution regulations cost 

money, but the result benefits all of us. We have been where China is, we have had burning rivers and acid 

rain killing lakes and forests. I hope China will wake up to the cost of their actions sooner rather than later. 

As I prepared my testimony, a recent trip to Spain also came to mind. As we drove through the countryside, 

we came upon wind turbines, generating clean energy for Spain. They were in numerous places across the 

landscape, a part of everyday life. Spain is taking responsibility for clean power. 

As a resident of Maryland, neighbor to Pennsylvania, I also want to say that I have concerns about Natural 

Gas obtained through tracking. Not all Natural Gas is clean; the extraction of some of it poisons our ground 

water. Please, let us wake up to the long term effects of our energy production, not only in the air, but in 

our water as well. Please put a stop to tracking and the damage it does to our ground water. 

As I said earlier, it is time that we, as one of the richest nations in the world, take a leadership position for a 

clean earth, a leadership position we have too often left to others. It is common sense to make the power 

we consume clean power, so that we can leave our country and the world in better condition for the 

generations to come. For me, that image of a burning rivers and forests damaged by acid rain are iconic of 

the low points in our environmental stewardship. We have made great strides and the next step is to have 

clean energy now. Let us stop mortgaging our future for the sake of energy that is a few dollars cheaper 

today. Thank You.