### TennesseeInterfaith Power & 

### Light A Spiritual Responseto Climate Change

www.tennipl.org tennesseeipl@gmaiLcom

PO 5ox 12') Milligan College, TN ')7662

RE: Docket ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0602 I am Dan Joranko, president oftheTennessee Interfaith Power and Light, a statewide networkoffaith groups that spiritually responds to the moral challenges ofclimate change. Iteach atVanderbilt Divinity School and have preached on numerous occasions at United Methodist churches. We as a nation now understand that our burning massive amount of fossil fuel has caused climate change. Oil and coal have fueled industrial growth and our current standard of living. We are a generation causing carbon pollution, but it is our children and their children who will sufferthe burdens ofthe increasing weather extremes of unabated climate change: increased hunger, homelessness, a decline in public health, and the changing ofthe natural world that will no longersupporttheir well-being as it has ours. Through our inaction, we are imposingthe costs ofour behavior on our children and upon the mostvulnerable. Climate change is fundamentally a moral issue. The core moral 7/27/1410:32 AMprinciple embodied within the climate change challenge is thatwe should not harm othersfor our own perceived self-benefit. Our national moral response to climate change turns on our willingness to act on climate change even ifwe must risk certain perceived benefitsfrom carbon pollution. While many would agree that our children should not bearthe burden ofour private gain, as a nation we still have yetto determine what it is worth to us to avoid future generations sufferingfrom the consequences ofour behavior. Religious traditions represented in Tennessee Interfaith Power and Light teach that we have special responsibilities to be stewards of Creation and protectthe sanctity ofthe natural world. These traditions can call on us to make sacrifices tofulfill our moral duties. The small but real chance exists that unabated pollution carbon pollution will cause an utter climate catastrophe that risks ecological collapse and untold human suffering. We believe we must avoid a climate catastrophe that might put at risk ourvery survival. The time to think about the future of humanity is upon us. We as a society must acknowledgethe moral issues associated with climate change and the need for difficult and perhaps uncomfortable decisions. We must reduce carbon pollution to safe levels. We can worktogetherto redeem ourselves for the sake ofour children. Through our actions offulfilling our moral responsibilities, we can avoid putting our children in harms' way. Our children and their children will look back on us with gratitudefor what we did to abate our carbon pollution. We can uphold the sanctity ofthe natural world through learning how to live within it harmoniously. By keeping in mind those livingtoday and in thefuture, the mostvulnerable here within our community andthose around the globe, we can participate in the collective moral response to the climate challenge. Adopting national limits on carbon pollution ofthe EPA Clean Power plan is a critical first step in abating our carbon pollution. Tennessee Interfaith Power and Light agrees with the EPA thatthe plan will lead to climate and health benefits outweighingwhat we as a nation risk in perceived benefits. Our own generation can benefitfrom being on a healthier and more stable footing. We as a nation already know howto reduce our carbon pollution, methodsthe EPA has already presented the states as optionsto use within theirState Implementation Plans. Tennessee Interfaith Power and Light upholdsthe vision ofour generation acceptingthe moral responsibilities ofour actions and determiningto do the right thing, somethingthat we already know in our heartsto be true. Thank you forthis opportunityto speak.

Dan Joranko, President Tennessee Interfaith Power and Light