Isabella Levy

isabella_levy(7

a.brown.edu July 30, 2014

Comment to US Environmental Protection Agency on Proposed Carbon Pollution Standards for Existing Power Plants
Docket ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0602

Good afternoon. My name is Isabella Levy. I am a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a rising junior at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

I am here today to thank the EPA for its landmark proposal to set limits on carbon pollution from existing power plants. This is a much-needed step toward addressing ctimate change and a landmark opportunity for the United States to honor its heritage as a leader in tackling the most difficult environmental challenges in innovative, effective ways.

However, I am worried. The Clean Power Plan shows tremendous promise as a flexible and state-oriented means of reducing carbon, but in its current state, it's not enough. We should be striving to make our goals as strong as possible, and to meet them as quickly as possible. That means aiming for a 35 or 40°lo carbon reduction below 2005 levels, and achieving that by2020.

Over the course of today and yesterday, you have heard from moms, kids, and young adults talking about the impacts of climate change on the future, and the world that future generations will know. I echo all of these sentiments because theyre true: if we don't act quickly or effectively enough today to curb climate pollution, in my lifetime I will see the catastrophic impacts of unchecked climate disruption.

Today, though, I would like to talk instead about my beloved hometown of Philadelphia, and my adopted state of Rhode Island, both of which are already feeling the sometimes-deadly impacts of climate disruption.

In Philadelphia, climate disruption is felt most significantly in our ever-longer and more frequent heat waves, and contributes to the region's poor air quality. In the summer of 2012, at least nine Philadelphians died of heat-related causes; five of those deaths occurred during a single 12-day stretch that tied for the fourth-longest heat wave the city has ever seen. Philadelphia is also listed by the EPA as a nonattainment area for ground-level ozone, or smog, which is formed when pollutants like nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide are exposed to heat and sunlight, and is a known cause of the asthma thataffects 10.5% of the citys children according to the American Lung Association's 2014

"State of the Air" report, not to mention as many as 27.5% of Philadelphia children in low-income communities according to the Merck Childhood Asthma Network. As heat waves become longer, hotter, and more frequent, we can expect to see more smog and
more asthma.

In Rhode Island, the effects of climate disruption are more immediatelytangible. The state was spared the worst impacts of Superstorm Sandy, but was still immobilized as storm surge buffeted coastal communities and left nearly a quarter of households across the state without power. The Ocean State is also uniquely vulnerable to the effects of sea level rise. As Senator Sheldon Whitehouse often notes, the sea level recorded at the Newport Tide Gauge has risen since 1930 by nearly 10 inches. This rise has accelerated the pace of erosion along the state's 400 miles of coastline, which threatens to displace homes, businesses, and beaches, and increases the risk of serious damage with every storm.

I am grateful that both the city Philadelphia and the state of Rhode Island recognize the toll that climate change is taking on their citizens, economies, and environments, and that both have taken action to minimize their contribution to climate change. As part of its Greenworks Sustainability Plan, Philadelphia has made major investments in energy efficiencyfor municipal buildings, and has helped to retrofit nearly 12,000 homes since 2009, saving $155,148 per year in energy costs. The city has also created a number of zoning policies and financing pathways that make small-scale solar energy generation easy and affordable, and is on track to be powered by 20% renewable energy in the next few years. Rhode Island has worked to increase energy efFciency as a member of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), and through innovative distributive generation legislation that allows renewable energy projects to sell power back to National Grid. This program has made it possible for independent businesses and homeowners to move forward with large- and small-scale generation of renewable energy.

I hope that as EPA works to finalize the content of the Clean Power Plan, it looks to communities like the ones I call my own, both to understand the urgent need for strong and just carbon regulations and to gain inspiration. This is a great opportunity for the EPA to help our country lead the fight against climate change, and to do it without dirty energy like natural gas and nuclear. By following the lead of cities and states across the country, and turning to energy efFciency and clean, renewable energy, the Clean Power Plan will create jobs, spur innovation, empower communities, and get us back on track as an
envi ronmental leader.

Thank you.