Contact Information: 

Rachel Goodermote, MSPH 

rgooderl @jhu.edu 

Comments Regarding the Environmental Protection Agency's Proposed Power 

Plan 

July 29th, 2014 

Good evening. My name is Rachel Goodermote, and I am here today to express my 

support for a strong EPA rule limiting carbon pollution from existing power plants 

both as a public health professional and personally. I received my Masters from 

Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, where I worked first 

hand on disaster response and other issues directly related to the effects of climate 

change on public health. Currently I work with Physicians for Social Responsibility 

on similar issues. 

Reducing the amount of carbon pollution emitted by existing power plants is not a 

zero-sum game. In fact, clean air and a healthy environment strengthens economic 

and community stability, improves property values and encourages new business 

ventures. Annually, coal-fired power plants cost the US anywhere from $120 to 

$523 billion dollars, and have been associated with tens of thousands of 

premature deaths, and hundreds of thousands of hospital visits, heart attacks 

and asthma attacks. Other pollutants released by these power plants, such as fine 

particulate air pollution, are also positively associated with both cardiovascular and 

lung cancer, in addition to other acute and chronic respiratory ailments. 

If not for our own public and economic health, it is extremely important for the 

United States to take a strong stance on carbon pollution as a roll-model for the 

global community. While working on disaster preparedness in Indonesia, I saw that 

many of the environmental engineers and policy makers look to the US - and 

specifically the US EPA - for guidance on best practices. During my work abroad 

several people asked me how the US is dealing with carbon pollution and the 

negative effects of climate change- especially following disasters such as Hurricane 

Sandy. Whether in New Jersey or West Java, it is difficult to explain to someone who 

has lost their home, that disasters such as the ones they experienced are likely to 

become more common with climate change, and the US has made no changes to it's 

policy regarding carbon pollution. As leaders in the global community, if we do not 

move forward with these changes, no one will - and no one will win. 

On a more personal note, I grew up in the mountains of Maine, Vermont and 

Colorado, and have a strong connection to the outdoor and winter sports 

communities, which have been hit hard by the effects of climate change. This may 
seem trivial, however snowsports (which include skiing, snowboarding and other 

winter activities) contribute an estimated $67 billion annually to the US economy, 

and support over 600,000 jobs and countless communities. 

In the last three decades the rate of winter warming has accelerated dramatically in 

the Northern US where communities have started to see the negative consequences 

of climate change first hand. When there is no snow recreation centers cannot hire 

and businesses close. Those who can move do. As shops and restaurants close and 

mountain conditions worsen, towns look less appealing to tourists. I have seen small 

towns from Maine to Colorado once filled with local pride, struggling to get by under 

uncertain conditions. I want to be clear that climate change is no longer a global 

issue in the eyes of these communities - it is a very real, local and serious 

issue. 

Finally, I want to emphasize that it is still possible to make improvements! Studies 

have shown that reduced particulate pollution -a co-pollutant with COz- is 

associated with reduced mortality risk. This means that not only do we have the 

potential to make improvements for the health of future generations, but also 

reducing carbon and fine particulate pollution can create a measurable impact 

for our communities today. 

By setting a national rule to reduce carbon pollution from established power plants 

by 30% by the year 2030 the proposed power plan developed by the EPA will act as 

a model for other nations to follow and will be one step closer to improving US 

public health, safety and future economic stability against the negative effects of air 

pollution and climate change. 

Thank you. 

2