Lara Levison Testimony on the proposed Clean Power Plan Docket ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0602 July 29, 2014
Thank you for this opportunityto testify. First let me say that Iam testifying as a private citizen, 

### noton behalfofmy employer, the US Climate Action Network, although I included my employer in my registration information.
Thank you to EPA and the Administration for moving forward with standards to reduce carbon pollution from power plants. This is not an easy step, but it's an important and necessary one. Thanks to the Clean AirAct, EPA's implementation ofthe Act, and strong public support, there are limits on mercury, arsenic, lead, soot, and other dangerous pollutants from power plants, but notyet on carbon pollution. We urgently need limits on carbon pollution, too, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slow down climate change.
When Ifirst heard aboutthe greenhouse effect and global warming, Ididn'tthink Iwould see the effects ofglobal warming in my lifetime. Nowthe effects ofglobal warming are all around us, and the need to take action is extremely urgent ifwe are to protect humanity and the planet from severe consequences.
I have afew reflections from my personal experience. A couple winters ago, my boyfriend and I vacationed in Key West, Florida, for afew days. Mostofthe buildings in Key West are about three feet above sea level, and a sea level rise between 3 and 7 inches is projected for South Florida by 2020, with up to 2 feet projected by 2060. We enjoyed the visit to Key West, but Icouldn't help feeling that Iwas visiting the mythical city ofAtlantis before it sank underthe waves. Ifa hurricane were to hit Key West at high tide on afull moon, itwould be devastated even now.
Atthe other end of Route 1, in the state of Mainewhere some ofmy relatives live, snowywinters are turning into icy winters, which are much more dangerous and damaging. And in the summer, there are clearly more really hot days than when Ivisited as a kid, and ticks carrying Lyme disease are making their way north into areas that didn't have ticks before. Here where I live in the District ofColumbia, hot, smoggy summer days are becoming morefrequent, despite the good weatherwe are having this July.
This morning, Iate breakfast with my four-year-old goddaughter, Johanna, who is visiting me for afew days, and Iwondered what her future will be like as climate change transforms human society and the planet. Johanna is in her "princess" phase, and she came to breakfastwearing hertiara, so she has quite a rosy view ofher own future right now.
Ifear for mygoddaughter and her contemporaries. Yet the solutions, both technological and social, are at hand. To quote aTV show of my youth, and really date myself, 

### "We have the technolo[Jy." Whatwe need to do is overcome the political and institutional barriers to energy efficiency, renewable energy, and distributed energy based in our communities, and the technologies will continue developing.
A good example is the tremendous growth of renewable energy in the state of Iowa. In the 1990s, I worked for an organization called the Union ofConcerned Scientists, which issued astudy called "Powering the Midwest" and launched a public education program called "Renewables Are Ready." Iowa already had a renewable electricity requirement in law, thanks to afar-sighted state legislator, Dave Osterberg, who pushed itthrough in 1983.
1Twelve years later, in 1995, the electric utilities serving Iowa were under pressure to comply with the 

### law, so theywentto the legislature to getthe law repealed. Myorganizationjoined with renewable energy supporters in Iowa to block repeal ofthat law. Now Iowa is a leader nationwide and world-wide in wind energy. Renewable energy provided some 3000 to 4000 direct and indirectjobs in the state in 2013, and leaders across the political spectrum support renewable energy. Just as public support and public policy drove renewable energy development in Iowa, the Clean Power Plan can drive renewables and efficiency all around the country. Iapplaud EPAfor BSER building blocks 3 and 4 and encourage EPAto strengthen them. For renewable energy, block three, EPA's assessment of renewable energy potential can be significantly higher. Renewables are ready. The 29 states with Renewable Portfolio Standards have been achieving renewable targets that increase at 1to 1.5 percent ofstate retail electricity sales peryear. US wind power capacity has morethan tripled since 2007. US solar photovoltaics capacity has increased nearly ten-fold since 2009. We are on the verge ofasolar power revolution. The vehemence with which electric utilities and fossil fuel companies are fighting distributed solar power is an indicatorofthe potential it has to displace polluting, centralized power stations with distributed solar powerthat is clean, safe, reliable, and affordable. Electric utilitycompanies and fossil fuel interests are fighting clean energy because they wantto protect their profits. They give lip service to protectingjobs, butwe should all know by nowthat corporations protecttheir shareholders, nottheirworkers. Although EPA doesn't have the authorityto assist displaced workers, the Administration should use its authoritiesthrough all appropriate laws and agencies to do so. For BSER Block 4 on energy efficiency, EPA has rightly recognized that energy efficiency is the most costeffective resource to reduce emissions. This building block should also be strengthened. EPA setthe annual state efficiencytargets at 1.5 percent, but utility energy efficiency programs have been demonstrated to deliver over 2 percent in annual energy savings. Other opportunities for energy efficiency, includingtransmission and distribution system efficiency, should also be included. Sustainable energytechnologies can help transform oursocietyto a healthier and more equitable one by providing communityjobs, cleaning up the air, reducing energy

### costs, and turning overthe generation ofelectrical powertofamilies, churches, and schools. Iencourage EPA to examine this draft rule through an environmentaljustice lens, to ensure thatthis standard is designed to maximize its benefits for all Americans, includingfrontline communities located next to polluting power plants. Finally, in light ofthe global challenge ofclimate change, Iencourage EPA to increase the total emissions reductions underthe Clean Power Plan. The goal ofthe Clean Power Plan should be to reduce emissions by 30 to 45 percent below 2005 emissions bytheyear 2020. Myfour-year-old goddaughter and herfriends are counting on you. So is my 14-year-old niece, Antonia, though she would be deeply mortified ifshe knew I had mentioned her. Thank you for considering myviews.



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