## Comments in support of the proposed Standard s of Performance for Greenhou se Gas Emissions for New Stationary Sources Docket ID No
. EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0660 M ay 24 ,2 012 W as hin g to n, D .C. 

### S ubmitted b y the Center for the C e lebration of C r e ation 8 81 2 Germ an to wn Ave nu e

Ph i la d e lphi a, P A 1 9 11 8 My n a m e i s J oy B ergey, a nd I s p ea k in my ro l e as Exec uti ve Director o f t h e Ce n te r fo r th e Ce le brati o n o f C rea ti o n . Th e Ce n te r is a n inte r- re li g io u s prog ram af fili a ted w it h t he C he s tnut Hill U nited C hurch in Phil ade lphia , P a. Th e Ce nte r w o rk s with co n g rega ti o n s a nd indi v idu a ls to address p ro bl e m s of en v i ro nme nta l inju s ti ce. Th e Ce nte r fo r th e Ce l e bra ti o n of C rea ti o n a ppl a ud s Pres id e nt O b a m a a nd Sec reta ry J ac k so n fo r pro p osi n g thi s s tro n g n ew rul e. We urge th a t it be i mp l e m e nted q u ick ly a n d n o t w ea ke n e d in a n y w ay. Ev er y m a j o r fa ith tra diti o n ca ll s o n its fo ll o w e r s t o protect th ose a t th e m a rg in s of soc ie ty wh o ca nn o t d e fe nd th e m se lv es: th e yo un g, t h e o ld , th e s i c k , th e p oo r. A nd it i s e x ac tl y th ese p e r so n s wh o w ill b e hurt firs t a nd wo r s t by c lim a te cha n ge , t he cl i mate c h ange ca u se d b y indu s t r ial ca rb o n p o lluti o n . T h e m a j o r fa ith tr ad it io n s a l so ca ll o n u s to pro tec t , eve n ce leb ra te t he nat ur a l wo rl d t h a t God h as give n u s. God's love i s in f inite; th e ea rth 's n a tura l reso urces a re n o t. The ways th at we generate o ur powe r in thi s c o untry a re ca u s in g damage to Go d 's worl d th at may ta ke d ecad es o r ce nturi es to hea l , threa te nin g to de priv e o ur c hildre n a n d th e ir c hild re n of safe a nd h ea lth y co mmuniti es in wh ic h to li ve a nd g ro w. Pe nn sy lv a ni a i s th e third w o rs t s ta t e in te rm s of g l o ba l w a rmin g po lluti o n , w i t h o ur 1 2 m i lli o n reside n ts c reatin g one pe rcen t o f th e wo rld 's h eat
- t rapp i ng e mi ss io n s . Ou r s tate c re ates mo re g l o b a l w a rmin g p o lluti o n th a n 10 3 co un t ri es co mbin e d
. W i t h a lo n g hi s t o ry of b urnin g foss il fu e l s to ge n era te o u r powe r , Pe nn sy l va ni a a lready has a bund a nt sca r s o n o ur la nd scape- pil es o f coa l w as te, mil es u po n mil es o f d ead wate rw ays , a nd di rty a ir. O ur un acce ptab l e ai r qu al it y i s large ly a res ul t of power p la n t po lluti o n. T he Clea n A ir tas k Fo rce fo und th at m o r e th a n I ,300 P e nn sy lv a n ia n s di e d p re mature l y in 20 1 0 b eca u se o f thi s po lluti o n . A lm os t 2 ,300 P e nn sy l van ia n s h a d heart

Testi mo ny prese nte d by j oy Bergey, joybergey@gmai l.com, 215-836-5978 Page 1attacks brought on by this pollution
. Thi s s tate that I love so much offers its peopl e the second worst mortality ri s k in the country attributable to power plant pollution
. And of course, a ll this indu s trial carbon pollution i s damagin g our earth, h eating the air, the land, the water , and destabilizing the climate. Our children deserve clean air so they can play outside without risking asthma attacks. Our elders de se rve clean air so th ey can live o ut their years in good h ea lth
. Our s nowshoe hare s in Pennsylvania , also part of God ' s creation, de serve a sec ure future. The National Wildlife Federation calls the snowshoe hares th e " polar bears of Pennsylvania ," with their already-declining numbers s ignalin g the arrival of climate change. Penn sy lvania ' s be loved forests are threatened by global warming, as warmer winte r s fail to kill off pe s t s pe c ies , and changing precipitation patterns s tre ss trees , a nd wildfl o wer s, and the birds and other wildlife that depend on them
. At one time , we s imply didn't under s tand the long

- t erm consequences of our actions , as we burned foss il fuels with abandon. We couldn't have been faulted in the 1960s or 197 0 s for building countless coal plant s that belched enormous quantitie s of indu strial carbon pollution. But n ow we know bett e r. We know thi s p o llution i s leading to global warming, and we under s tand ju s t how deva stat ing that may b e in the decades ahead. Morality compels u s , therefore , to require a change moving fo rward. Thi s i s why the faith community cares deepl y about thi s country's energy policie s, s u c h as the rule we're considering today
. The Center for the Celebration of C reation , on whose behalf I spea k tod ay, i s a n interfait h organization. I am of th e Christian faith, and I ' ll quote St. P au l , who tel l s us repe ate dly in the New Te sta ment that all thing s, all people belong to God: Our little babies in their mama s' arms belong to God, our s now s ho e hare s belon g to God , those chronically disabled elders with re s piratory di sease due to air p o llution belong to God, o ur brook trout , threatened by Penn sy lvania 's warming water s, belong to God. Thi s rule on which we comment today mov es u s to be tter protect the sacre d and irrepl aceab le g ift of Creation, which comes from a nd belongs to God. We ne ed this rule. Amen.

Testimony presented by joy B e rgey, joybergey@gmail.com, 215-836-5978 Page?-