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July 31, 2014 

Pittsburgh, PA 

Dear President Obama and EPA, 

In the Clean Power Plan, your proposal will reduce C02 emissions on a national 

basis (rolled up estimates of the impact of state standards) 26% below 2005 by 

2020 and 30% by 2030. You have set modest and achievable targets which are 

not nearly enough according to the new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on 

Climate Change (IPCC). 

The IPCC concludes that global emissions have risen to unprecedented levels 

despite a growing number of policies to reduce climate change. Emissions grew 

more quickly between 2000 and 2010 than in each of the three previous 

decades. Anthropogenic GHG emissions grew at an average annual rate of 2.2% 

over 2000-2010, compared with a growth rate of 1.3% per year over the period of 

1970-2000. C02 emissions from fossil fuels and industrial processes contributed 

65% of global GHG emissions in 2010. 

" Climate policies in line with the two degrees Celsius goal need to aim for 

substantial emission reductions," said Ottmar Edenhofer, a Co-Chair of Working 

Group 111. "There is a clear message from science: To avoid dangerous 

interference with the climate system, we need to move away from business as 

usual." 

Scenarios developed by the IPCC suggest that to have a likely chance of limiting 

the increase in global mean temperature to 2 degrees Celsius, means lowering 

global GHG emissions by 40 to 70% compared with 2010 by mid Century and to 

near -zero by the end of this century. Considering the growing GHG emission 

trends documented in the report, one can have doubts if these targets are 

realistic. However, daunting this may seem, we really do not have a choice. The 

EPA and President Obama have to muster the political will to hold carbon 

emitters feet to the fire- Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Conoco Philips, and Peabody 

Energy. Stop trying to "fool Mother Nature." Earrings on a pig are just that. 

We ask that you: 

1) Phase out dirty coal fired power plants- any further use of coal, no matter how 

efficient, will continue to emit significant carbom. 

2) Reject the reliance on frack gas- scientists have found extensive leakage of methane 

from our entire gas infrastructure, (from the frack wells to the pipes entering homes). 

Methane from the Oil and Gas Industry represents a growing proportion of total green 

house gases (GHG). In the US their emissions expanded from 10% of total GHGs in 

2009 to 37% today. Frack Gas moves us in the v.Tong direction. Fracking causes air 

pollution and water contamination. (i.e. counties surrounding Pittsburgh). Fracking and 

its associated waste disposal can and do cause earthquakes. 

3) Remove nuclear subsidies from the carbon rules- Nuclear energy is not a clean or 

renewable energy. We oppose indefinite ratepayer subsidies to support aging, dangerous, 
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expensive nuclear power plants. We can not afford to prop up 6% of the nuclear plants 

while at the same time investing heavily in renewable energy, capacity and energy 

efficiency. The storage of nuclear wastes is an ongoing expense. The nuclear industry 

has been massively subsidized by tax dollars since its inception, it is time to cut the cord, 

let the markets decide. 

In particular we oppose: 

-- supporting the building of new nuclear reactors- costing billions of dollars and taking 

years to bring online. 

-the claims that nuclear power is reliable - ignoring shut downs due to warm water 

temperatures, flooding, and extreme weather events, all of which will worsen as the 

climate warms. 

-the claims that nuclear power is renewable- fossil fuels are used for uranium mining, 

milling, processing. Huge amounts of energy/water will be needed to isolate nuclear 

waste for hundreds of thousands of years. Water is needed for human and agricultural 

use, and will be in shorter supply in the drought conditions created by climate change. 

4) Prioritize and accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and energy 

efficiency- please revise your Plan to include real incentives to switch to renewable s. 

Specifically we ask that you move away from recommending cap and trade programs that 

are often a vehicle for polluters to avoid cutting their emissions, and which have failed in 

the markets in the EU. Instead assist the states in the deployment of a carbon tax, 

(probably best as a regional carbon tax or fee), with rebates back to the consumer to help 

defray the costs of the rapid transition to renewable energy. A carbon tax is one of the 

most effective market mechanisms to drive the deployment of new renewable energy. 

such as Wind and Solar. 

The good news is that renewable energy and energy efficiency investments create far 

more jobs per dollar spent than fossil fuels-- including natural gas. Specifically, cleanenergy investment generates more than 3 times the number of jobs as does spending the 

same amount of money in the fossil fuel sectors. And the clean energy sector is growing 

at a rate nearly double the growth rate of the overall economy. 

We agree with the goals of the "Solutions Project" which has outlined how each state 

could get to 100% renewable energy by 2050, with the right optimization of Wind, Solar, 

Hydro and other renewable energy, http://thesolutionsproject.org/. In Illinois their data 

reveals that not only would we benefit from the clean, green energy, but that 286,200 

long term renewable energy jobs would be created. We need those green jobs! Rewrite 

the Clean Power Plan. Take the warnings of the climate scientists seriously throwing off 

the politics of the carbon polluters. Develop a Plan that actually impacts climate change, 

thus helping to mitigate the serious danger that humanity is facing. 

Sincerely J. r,...., i-,11 · B..J.e~ 

Stephanie Bilenko -~"""""' ~"YI.Ut..-l 

627 Bamsdale 

LaGrange Park, IL 60526-5703 
• 

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DIRTY DOZE

Most people know that China and the United States ar

world's top two carbon-producing nations. But resea

Richard Heede oftheCiimateAccountabllltylnstitu

Colorado dug deeper and found that 90 compa

around the world have caused nearly two-th

of all global greenhouse gas emissions since 

beginning of the Industrial Age. {Half of th

emissions were produced in the last 25 years or so

are oil, gas, or coal producers, except for seven cement m

ufacturers. The list, reported in the journal Climatic Cha

can help activists hold individual carbon emitters' fee

the fire. There are thousands of oil, gas, and coal facil

in the world, Heede told the Guardian, "but the decis

makers-the CEOs, or the ministers of coal and oil-th

could all fit on a Greyhound bus or two." -Reed McMa

SOVhC~S' GREENHOUSE GAS FIGURES FROM 'TRACING ANTH~OPoGfNIC CARBON ()IOXIDF ANO METHANE 

~MI~SiO/oJS TO FOSSIL FUEl AND CEMENT PRODUCERS, 1854-2010," IN CLIMATIC CHANGE, JANUARY 2014. REVENUE FI

FO~ 2013 PEH FORTUNE GLOBAL SD<I, EXCEPT SAUDI AhAMCD (YA HOD I fiNANCE, 2ll12). NATIONAL IRANIA/oJ OIL (ANNUAL REPORT. 2012). AND COI\L INDII\ (BLOOMBERG BUSIH!SSWEEK} 

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Pennsylvania and Fracking I Earthjustice Page 1 of7 

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PENNSYLVANIA AND FRACKING 

Frack Target: Marcellus Shale 

Gas drilling in Pennsylvania has skyrocketed in recent years. And along with 

the gas rush have come disastrous industrial accidents and poisoned 

drinking water-earning the state a reputation in the region for gas 

development gone wrong. Communities fighting to keep their water and air 

clean and state forests intact have their work cut out for them: Governor 

Tom Corbett accepted nearly $1 million from oil and gas companies during 

his political campaigns and since assuming office in 2011, promptly began 

repaying his benefactors by cutting down on environmental enforcement 

and oversight of gas drilling activities . 

Unfracktured Communities- Fighting Fracking: When Pennsylvania Gov. 

Tom Corbett-the recipient of nearly $1 million in campaign contributions 

from the oil and gas industry-signed a pro-tracking, anti-community law 

known as Act 13 in 2012, communities fought back. 

A group of seven municipalities, Delaware Riverkeeper Network and several 

citizens sued to overturn a portion of the law that sought to strip 

communities of their right to use local zoning laws to limit oil and gas 

development and associated industry infrastructure. In a landmark 2013 

court victory, Pennsylvania's Supreme Court sided with the municipalities, 

handing the oil and gas industry a big defeat. 

Fraccidents: Below is a map of some of the high profile incidents 

("fraccidents") related to the country's gas drilling boom that have already 

occurred in and around Pennsylvania. Click on any fraccident to learn more . 

http:/ I earth justice. org/ features/ pennsy 1 vania -and-fracking 7/30/2014 
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