EPA Carbon Pollution Hearing 

Thursday, May 24'h 2012 

Testimony- Quentin James 

2:30 minutes to 3 minutes 

Hello, my name is Quentin James and I am the National Director of the Sierra Student 

Coalition, the youth arm of the Sierra Club. I am also proud to serve on the National 

Board of Directors of the NAACP. At the Sierra Club, working with more than 13,000 

high school and college students and 250 groups nationwide, our mission is to train, 

empower and organize the next generation of leaders in the environmental movement. 

A great many of the youth we work with are members ofthe Sierra Student Coalition 

because they treasure and enjoy our country's great outdoors and wild places. They are 

hikers, campers, anglers, hunters, swimmers, beachgoers, skiers and snowboarders. They 

share a common interest in the Sierra Club's mission, to explore, enjoy and protect the 

planet. Unfortunately, air pollution often hinders our ability to be outside, and is a 

particular burden for young people suffering from asthma and other respiratory diseases. 

We know that approximately 20 million Americans suffer from asthma, and we know 

that children are more likely than adults to have asthma. Doctors tell us that ground level 

ozone, or smog, is a leading cause of asthma attacks and contributes to missed school 

days, increased use of medicine, and trips to the hospital and emergency room. Further, 

scientists tell us that carbon pollution, which contributes to hotter days and summers, 

leads to increased ozone pollution and thereby more days when it's unsafe for many 

young people to be outside. 

So, simply put, young people are uniquely affected by carbon pollution and they are also 

uniquely aware of the environmental and ecological challenges facing our country. Most 

of them have literally seen climate disruption in their lifetimes, and they are keenly aware 

of the fact that, if not addressed, today's environmental problems could become 

tomorrow's environmental catastrophes- catastrophes that they and their children will be 

forced to live with. 

When I talk to students across the country, the feedback is clear: They know climate 

disruption is happening. In fact, polling tells us that in greater numbers than any other age 

group, young people aged 18-29 consider a warming planet a serious problem. They 

know climate disruption means increased respiratory health issues, such as childhood 

asthma, because of more asthma-inducing smog. They know climate disruption means an 

increasingly less secure world, both domestically because of extreme weather and 

globally because of dwindling resources. They know that if we are to thrive economically 

in a changing and constantly advancing world we must decrease our dependence on 

dangerous, dirty fuels and increasingly turn to homegrown renewables. And they know 

that the time to act is now, that we must support steps such as the new carbon pollution 

standards to get America back on track, putting the next generation to work and staving 

off the worst effects of the climate crisis. 
In closing, I want to again reiterate that the Sierra Student Coalition stands with the EPA 

on the carbon pollution standard for existing power plants, and we strongly encourage the 

Administration to continue to act to protect our health, economic future, and 

environmental quality by addressing the very real threat of carbon pollution. Thank you.