Remarks at July 2014 EPA hearing, Washington, DC 

Ryan Arnold- ry_a@hotmail.com 

Thanks for the chance to speak here today. 

Climate change is a threat to national and global security, a threat to public health, and a threat to our 

economy, according to senior military leaders 1

, the CDC2

, and financial leaders including former Treasury 

secretaries3

. 

A recent report from the American Association for the Advancement of Sciente sums it up this way: "We 

are at risk of pushing our climate system toward abrupt, unpredictable, and potentially irreversible 

changes with highly damaging impacts .... The sooner we act, the lower the risk and cost. "4 

This is not news; I've been hearing most of it since I was in elementary school, in the eighties. 1 am 

deeply disappointed that in all this time, our government, especially Congress, has done so little to solve 

this urgent problem. That's why the EPA's proposal to limit carbon pollution from power plants is a 

welcome piece of good news. 

I know that we can end our production of greenhouse gases and ensure a long and prosperous future. 

What worries me is that, although we've long had a scientific consensus on the causes and risks of 

climate change, we don't have political or social consensus. A recent Gallup poll found fewer than 60 

percent of Americans even believe it's caused by human activitl. Considering the magnitude of the 

threats climate change poses, we should be able to come together and demand solutions. Lack of 

widespread agreement on the urgency or even existence of the problem hinders our ability to enact 

comprehensive remedies, or even to follow through on the good solutions that are already being 

proposed and implemented6

. 

Sociologists tell us that the idea of climate change raises uncomfortable emotions, feelings of fear, guilt, 

helplessness7

. Maybe denial or delay is a natural response. I once met a guy who agreed that climate 

change is a man-made problem but was convinced there's nothing we can do about it. They say a good 

strategy to overcome that kind of denial is to bring messages of hope: We can make a difference; we can 

ensure a bright future. 

I think one message we were hearing for a while, that the thing to do is change our light bulbs and keep 

our tires inflated, wasn't really working, because we know the challenge is so much bigger than what we 

can do as individuals. We need government to set fair rules and credible plans to get our emissions down 

so our quality of life can stay up- that's what can give us hope, give us reason to believe we can face the 

unpleasant realities of climate change and succeed in preventing the serious threats. 

What I hope is that the EPA's plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions can help spark discussion 

among Americans about climate change, which has been on the backburner for many of us for too long -

and that those conversations lead to greater awareness and understanding, greater sense of urgency, 

and shared resolve to sustain our way of life for a long time to come. 

http:/!www.nytimes.com/2014/05/14/us/politics/climate-change-deemed-growing-security-threat-by-militaryresearchers.html? r=O 

2 http://www.cdc.goVtclimateandhealth/effects/default.htm 

3 http:/!www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/former-treasury-secretaries-financial-leaders-press-business-to-cutclimate-change-risks/2014/06/23/72c8827 4-fb15-11 e3-8176-f2c941 cf35f1_story.html 

4 http://whatweknow.aaas.org/get-the-facts/ 

5 http://www.gallup.com/poll/167972/steady-blame-humans-global-warming.aspx 

6 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-28339663 

7 http://sociology. uoregon.edu/faculty/norgaard/NorgaardWorldBank2009.pdf