Good afternoon. My name is Tony Fuller and I'm a volunteer with the Chicago Group of the Sierra Club 

and chair the Group's Air & Energy committee. I've come today to support the EPA Carbon Rule. There 

are many scientific reason to support this rule but I am no scientist so I will focus on my personal 

reasons. I'm here because I believe in science and the science clearly states that carbon dioxide causes 

climate change. I also think that the science shows that climate change is here and that further 

disruption is coming if we do not start cutting our emissions soon. We must start taking action now or 

we will not only threaten our way of life, but the lives of future generations and existence of life on the 

planet. The carbon rule limits on new power plants is a first step towards taking responsibility for the 

carbon problem. We also need to take more steps toward regulating existing sources of carbon dioxide 

and other greenhouse gases. We also eventually need comprehensive legislation to address the climate 

problem. But in the absence of comprehensive legislation, this is a good first step. 

We have to take action now. About a year before Hurricane Katrina hit I watched a program on 

television that discussed what would happen if a large storm hit New Orleans. It showed a storm 

emergency preparedness drill that the government put together to address the consequences of the 

storm. At the end of the program, it was pointed out that while evacuation was the main means for 

addressing the threat what would happen to those who did not drive or access to transportation. There 

was no response. Sure enough not long after the real thing hit and those who were most severely hit 

were those who did not have the resources to leave. I have extended family that lives in Louisiana and 

we lost touch with many of them because they had to move and were focused on their own survival. 

Carbon emissions have the potential to not only cause more storms like Katrina but also global climate 

disruption. If we do not take action, future generations will ask, "Why didn't you do something?" "Why 

didn't you protect us from harm?" I sit here now and speak to you today because I don't want to be like 

those government officials who knew about an huge upcoming storm but they did not take steps to help 

everyone. Our planet in peril and we must protect the world for us and future generations. 

I am going to go out a step further and state that we must not only limit carbon emissions for our own 

benefit but for the benefit of all life on Earth. I strongly believe that all life on earth his precious. This 

planet is the home of amazing variety of diverse forms of life and ecosystems. The climate change 

induced by carbon dioxide threatens the climate that these living systems depend on. Not only will 

climate change threatens these systems it could cause mass extinctions to many forms of life by making 

their only habitat in hospitable. 

While global warming is a challenging problem, we do know its cause and we know how to address it by 

cutting emissions. We just need the will to take action. Today I'm asking you to take this action because 

it will not only protect us and our families but because we have a moral obligation to protect all life on 

earth. By taking action now, we will start down the path of a healthy clean energy future that we can be 

proud of for future generations will have fulfilled our duty to protect the Earth. 

Tony Fuller 

ftone13@gmail.com