Dorthea Thomas 

Detroit, Ml 

dortheatho masl @gma i I. com 

313-704-4655 

Good afternoon, my name is Dorthea Thomas, 

I'm here on behalf of the NAACP Michigan State Conference As the Environmental Justice Colead and advocate of conservation and sustainability management. I'm from the heart of the city 

that is known for it's bad air quality, Detroit MI. But my grand parents are from here from 

Chicago, IL. 

I'm am the Grand daughter of Dorothy Ervin, a envangelist and woman of ministry that was 

loved and cherished in her community yet pasted away from Lympnoia Cancer because of the 

toxins that existed in the air of her community. 

If the efforts of the EPA are enforced, this could significantly reduce mercury, soot and smog 

pollution, announcing historic new emissions standards that combined could save 46,000 lives a 

year. I watched her suffer until her death, wishing there was a way to escape the environment 

exposure just to prolong her life a little while longer. The only advice her doctor gave her was to 

move to another, cleaner, and safer environment. Yet, because of our current circumstances she 

was financial incapable of leaving everything she had worked hard all her life to own. 

My grandfather had always loved to fish and enjoy the weather on bright sunny days. But, now 

he's too afraid to go out for too long because of the quality of our air. After Years of fishing in 

the Belle Isle River and surtonding lakes, after coming across a fish infested with cancerius 

disease, not only was the love of his life and wife taken away from him but his hobby and quality 

of life was now shattered too. 

Coal-fired power plants spew hundreds of thousands of pounds of toxic mercury into our air 

every year, which falls to earth in the fmm ofrain and contaminates rivers, lakes and streams. 

And it doesn' t take much mercury to have a big impact on our health. Scientists found that a 

single gram of mercury can contaminate an entire 20-acre lake. 

My grandparents done all they could do to raise me in the most loving, safe and up right way. 

One day, i wish to start my own family but I want to feel comfortable knowing that my children 

and family is born into an all round healthy society.Passage of the Carbon Pollution Standards 

will ensure that communities worldwide will not face new threats from plants that will degrade 

their health today and the future to come. 

At least I in 12, and as many as I in 6 American women of childbearing age have enough 

mercury in their bodies to put a baby at risk for mercury poisoning. Mercury and other dangerous 

air pollutants are connected to extreme health problems: brain damage, learning disabilities, birth 

defects, heart disease, cancer and even pre-mature death. 

Mercury impairs 3,781 bodies of water across the country. More than 6 million acres of lakes, 

reservoirs, and ponds in the United States are contaminated by mercury pollution. 
With the help of the EPA and political backing, we can save 46,000 lives!As we our efforts to 

continue to constantly work closely with our allies in the public health community, lobbying key 

senators, and thousands of activists, we can stand up for our future, present, and generations to 

come. 

The carbon rule prevents 123 billion pounds of carbon pollution annually. EPA's proposed rule 

will help mitigate climate change and achieve immediate carbon pollution reductions from new 

power plants. 

My health has declined over the years and I've been diagnosed with a rare eye disease, called 

Scleritis that my doctor has directly correlated with environmental exposure. Without health 

insurance, the government turned me down saying in did not qualifY for assistance because I was 

not blind, yet. 

We must protect our families and create a sustainable society. Not only do I support the EPA 

proposal on enforcing new power plants to abide by these rules, but I hope exsiting plants shall 

also be in the near future as well. Our people are suffering and dying slowly without any help or 

assistance. Something must be done. Finalisizing a new standard to reduce carbon pollution is 

one of those things. This will save lives, communities, and the quality of life for all people to 

come. We must stand by investing to create healthy people in order to create a healthy economy 

in general. Thank you.