Kevin Kuhn's testimony May 24, 2012 U.S. EPA office Chicago, IL 

Contact information: 

E-mail: kevinkuhn56@yahoo.com Street address: 11308 S. Forrestville Ave. Chicago, IL 60628 

Good afternoon! My name is Kevin Kuhn and I am truly grateful that I have an Environmental 

Protection Agency that is looking out for my health! Thank you for organizing this hearing today in 

Chicago! Thank you for the important work that you do! I am personally involved with environmental 

activist work in my neighborhood on the southside of Chicago, and I like to think of you, my EPA, as my 

role models, my heroes of hope! I am encouraged by your environmental activism. High fives to you! 

You are now making this historic step by creating the first ever limits on carbon pollution from 

new power plants. Wow! These welcome new standards will help us to make the transition to use 

more renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power. It is hopeful to drive thru rural Illinois 

and Indiana and see the tall, white windmills that are using renewable energy. It is hopeful to drive 

along 119'h street, in the West Pullman area, near my southside neighborhood, and see the largest solar 

farm in our country in use. These new EPA Carbon Pollution Standards will help clean up and modernize 

the way we power our country. This will spark more innovation in clean energy technologies that create 

good American jobs. I do not buy some polluters claims that our EPA safeguards hurt jobs. I do not trust 

polluters to police themselves. I count on my EPA to protect me from dangerous carbon pollution ... and 

the dangerous lies that some would like to spin about the safety of "clean coal." We are working on 

that goal. .. together ... today. This is very inspiring! 

For many years, I worked as a public health nurse for a local health department here in I Illinois. 

I worked with people who had immigrated from countries that do NOT have a strong public health 

system or an enlightened EPA like I do here with you. My clients had respiratory illnesses from serious 

air pollution in their native country or pulmonary tuberculosis from lack of an adequate public health 

system. We have this opportunity today to prevent human suffering here in our USA, with these new 

carbon standards. We must show the world that we are serious about cleaning up our own backyard. 

We must stop being a world leader in carbon pollution. Thank you for leading us out of this mess! 

I also worked for many years as a public school teacher. I taught Social Studies and climate 

change was discussed in my classroom. It can be difficult for young people to know what they can 

personally do about such a complicated problem. We must give them examples of what they can do. 

This is what we are doing here today. I acknowledge the young people that are speaking today. They see 

the strong connection between our US carbon pollution and global climate change. I also coached cross 

country and track for many years. I have seen some scary asthma attacks. Any person already suffering 

from asthma does not need the life-threatening air pollutants like dirty soot, toxic mercury, and the 

smog that comes carbon pollution, and in particular ... coal plants. 

And speaking of coal plants ... I am involved in my neighborhood in efforts to prevent a new coal 

gasification plant from moving in ... commonly known as Leucadia. My southside neighbors and I intend 
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to stop this Leucadia plan for more coal pollution in our own community. Now, I realize that these new 

EPA standards are intended for new power plants only. Leucadia is not a power plant. Leucadia would 

like to use coal to create synthetic natural gas. However, I am connecting the dots here. We need to 

move beyond coal in our country .. .in whatever way coal may be used. We must stop our use of this 

cheap form of fossil fuel. I am hopeful that these new EPA protections from carbon pollution will have a 

ripple effect on our country's use of coal in any form. I support you in setting the standard and moving 

us beyond our heavy dependence on coal. 

Today is a good example of working together with my EPA to move beyond our dependence on 

coal. .. and beyond just good intentions. Together we are taking action. Thank you for these new 

protections from carbon pollution. I support you. I am grateful for you!