To Administrator Lisa Jackson, United States Environmental Protection Agency: 

From Janet Smith, 555 Chippewa Trail, Carol Stream, IL 60188-1589 

Thank you, Ms. Jackson for this opportunity to speak. 

My name is Janet Smith. I am the volunteer Sierra Club leader of the Cool City Coalition 

in Carol Stream, Illinois, where we are working on "local solutions to global warming, 

one city at a time". Since 2009 our coalition has been working together with our village 

government, park district, public library, schools, businesses and residents to reduce the 

carbon footprint of our community. It is important that everyone do all that we know 

how to do to protect our planet, and above all, to stabilize the changing climate. We 

know trom such reputable scientists such as James Hansen that the climate disruption is 

already being felt in the increasing severity and frequency of the storms, which even 

Carol Stream has been sutJering The amount of C02 in the atmosphere and oceans has 

increased trom around 280 ppm in the late 1800's to around 392 ppm, and the oceans are 

becoming so much more acidic trom the increased of C02 that has been absorbed into 

the sea water so as to threaten sea corals and shell bearing sea life. 

This March when we had 8 days in a row above 80 degrees people were enjoying 

themselves, but to me it had an eerie feeling. We broke over 4000 temperature records 

across the United States. Civilization depends on a stabilized climate. Even some of our 

highest military leaders have named the changing climate as a national security threat. 

Crops have failed from the extreme and long droughts in Texas. The USDA climate 

zones have been revised northward. Strange that USDA can't say this is climate change, 

because before they can say that it is really climate change, it must go on for a long time 

- perhaps 50 years. 

We can't wait for another 50 years to be sure that the climate is changing, because the 

changes are rolling on faster and taster as evidenced in the melting of the artie ice and the 

glaciers that provide the water supply tor major rivers. 

The work we have been attempting to do in our local Cool Cities across the nation is 

important, but it is not enough. We need a national effort acknowledgement that the 

climate is changing un-naturally, from increasing human- caused carbon dioxide 

pollution and other heat trapping emissions as well, in our atmosphere and seas. It is 

imperative now to work together at every level to solve global warming one city at a time 

and one nation at a time I We must be leaders, not followers in this effort. 

Please Ms. Jackson, I urge you and the USEPA to regulate carbon dioxide emissions 

from all new fossil fuel-fed power plants. There are over 40 people that I've spoken 

with, face to tace within only the past five days who couldn't come themselves, but have 

sent these postcards with me to present to you. They support the Environmental 

Protection Agency and its proposed New Source Performance Standards. There would 

be many more if l had more time to do this, but significantly some of the first to sign 

were my mayor Frank Saverino Sr, and 5 of the 6 trustees of the Carol Stream Village 

Board. Thank you Ms. Jackson for what you are trying to do, and here is our 

wholehearted support. (Present the postcards.)