Written comments submitted by Richard McCorkle, Dover, Delaware ( rickmacsp5@iuno.com )

I'd like to thank EPA for this opportunity to provide comments on the proposed Clean Power Plan. While I'm concerned that the plan will result in only a 30% reduction of carbon pollution below 2005 levels, and states have until 2030 to fully implement the plan, I support the Clean Power Plan, which will not only save billions of dollars, but will also save lives . I'm originally from eastern Pennsylvania, but I've lived in Delaware for the past 23 years where smog levels are known to be unhealthy. According to the American Lung Association, asthma sickens about 20,000 children and 70,000 adults in Delaware each year. Temperature increases in the summer are expected to increase the likelihood of drought, and Delaware faces higher risks of water shortages by mid-century as a result of climate change. While living in Delaware, I've noticed the weather has become more and more erratic with each passing year. We've been experiencing more temperature swings and more extreme rainfall events which cause widespread flooding. A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, and when it rains, it increasingly seems to come in deluges. Delaware has been declared a disaster area 4 times since 2000, due to severe storms and massive flooding — including a July 2006 storm that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages. In 2011, Delaware experienced record-breaking heat in 1 county, and record-breaking rainfall in 2 counties. In 2013, Delaware's statewide precipitation for June averaged nearly 11 inches, 7 inches above the 1981-2010 mean of about 4 inches. This represented a new statewide record for the month of June. In addition, Wilmington set a new June precipitation record of 13.7 inches. On Sunday July 28 th , 2013, more than 7 inches of rain fell during a 4-hour period at Philadelphia International Airport. A new daily record for the city was set, with the rainfall total for that day exceeding 8 inches. The following day, a Monday, all American Airlines morning flights, over 530 of them, were canceled or delayed due to the storm's impacts. I wonder what the costs associated with all of those canceled flights were? Many cars were submerged as roads turned into rivers, as well. Just 1 day into August, Philadelphia set a new summer rainfall record, with the seasonal total already 245% of the climatological average for the entire 3 summer months. You may argue about whether a particular weather event is caused by climate change, but there is no disputing the fact that a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture. This is simple physics, and this s why we can expect more of these devastating precipitation events. The 500-year floods are becoming the 100-year floods, and the 100-year floods are becoming the 10-year floods. A couple of years ago, I visited places affected by Hurricane Irene, which were already unusually wet when the storm hit — contributing to unprecedented flooding in parts of Vermont and eastern New York. I saw first-hand, washed-out bridges and roads, and collapsed river banks where houses were lifted off their foundations and swept down-river. Good friends of mine in Vermont saw the road in front of their house washed away, and had to rescue a man from a van that was stranded in rising flood waters.Looking at temperature extremes, during the summer of 2013, night-time temperatures in Philadelphia

did not drop below 70 degrees for over 30 days — the longest string of days at or above 70 degrees since record-keeping began in 1872. During that same period, New York City had three consecutive nights where the temperature did not drop below 80 degrees. Here in Washington, D.C., the temperature failed to drop below 80 degrees for five straight nights — also a new record.

Then, on December 21 5t , 2013, a Saturday, NYC, Philadelphia and Atlantic City experienced a heat wave... in December. Central Park hit a record-setting 65 degrees. Philadelphia and Atlantic City reached 67 degrees, new records for both cities. In Wilmington, Delaware, the temperature rose to 68 degrees, breaking the previous record. Newark, NJ also broke its previous high temperature record. The next day, December 22" d

, it got even hotter, with temperatures rising above 70 degrees in NYC. The most unusual aspect of that December heat wave was the amount by which records were broken — by 10 degrees in some areas along the East Coast. A Senior Meteorologist was quoted as saying that, on a global basis, weather appears to be getting more chaotic, and could be preparing to kick into a new state. Just one week ago, a CBS News headline read: "World Breaks Global Heat Record — Again." According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, June's average global temperature was 1.3 degrees higher than the 20 th century average, and the world's oceans were the hottest EVER recorded, regardless of the month. And while this temperature increase may not seem like much, consider that a 2013 study revealed that, during the past 100 years, the temperature rose at a rate that was 50 times faster than the rate of any other temperature change since the last ice age which ended 11,300 years ago (Marcott et al. 2013). The likelihood of achieving the goal of not exceeding a 2-degree Celsius temperature increase is remote at this point. As we continue to fail to act, scientists are now predicting that the global average temperature will increase by at least 4 degrees Celsius and possibly as much as 6 degrees, due to our inaction. To date, our GHG emissions have fueled a global average temperature increase of about 1 degree Celsius. Try to imagine the climate chaos to come as we continue to burn fossil fuels and add enough greenhouse gases to the atmosphere to raise the temperature by 4 to 6 degrees. Living in the coastal state of Delaware, I'm very concerned about the future of my state, much of which will be inundated by sea level rise. Coastal towns and low-lying farmland will be lost, and ports will be wiped out. What will the economic costs of these impacts be? I'm sure many folks in this room enjoy beach vacations. Chances are those beaches that you enjoy visiting will be gone by the end of this century, if not sooner. In natural situations ; beaches and dunes migrate inland with rising sea level. But most of the beaches we enjoy are backed by urban development. Unless society is willing to abandon these developed areas and retreat inland, we will be left with sea walls instead of beaches and dunes. Following the devastation along the New Jersey coast caused by Hurricane Sandy, some coastal communities are already building sea walls where they didn't previously exist, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they are eliminating the opportunity for the beaches and dunes to migrate inland. Those who are opposed to this plan will try to make arguments on economic grounds. But what about the costs to society of more and worse floods and associated property and infrastructure damages,



# 2,droughts, more extreme wildfires out west, crop losses, and increased allergens? Weather- and climaterelated disasters have caused $2.4 trillion in economic losses and nearly 2 million deaths globally since 1971 according to a new report. In my opinion, anyone opposing these rules on economic grounds doesn't have a leg to stand on. The unsubsidized costs of solar and wind power have continued to decline, and these renewable energy sources lack most of the externalities of traditional energy sources. These externalities — air pollution, health impacts, etc., are mostly ignored by economists. Ignored to a large extent by much of society is the simple approach of energy conservation. If you've ever had a window seat on a night-time flight, I'm sure you've seen the incredible number of lights below you as you pass over urban areas. How many of us have had to put on a sweater during the summer while at the office or attending a meeting or conference? Why not just turn the thermostat up a few degrees during the summer, and turn it down a few degrees during the winter? Some of us do this, but society as a whole does not do nearly enough to conserve energy. I can only assume that those who are opposed to these rules do not have children or grandchildren, because why would any decent person choose inaction over their children's futures. And that is what is truly at stake. As things stand right now, we are way too slow taking action to transition away from 

### GHG-emitting energy sources. It is not an exaggeration to say that human-caused climate change is the greatest crisis human beings have ever faced. This plan is a step in the right direction, but much more needs to be done, and fast. Future generations will judge us based on the actions we take or choose not to take. We have already wasted too much time debating this issue. There is no more time to waste. 

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## , The following paragraphs eliminated from oral comments in order to avoid overly technical testimony and stay within time limits: Atmospheric CO2 was approximately 275 ppm before the industrial revolution and did not exceed 300 ppm for the past 650,000 years (Foster and Rohling 2013). It's now reached 400 ppm. Based on the concentration of atmospheric CO2 as of 2011, the authors estimated that future sea level is committed to rise at least 9 meters (30 feet) above present-day once the land-based ice sheets have fully responded to the warming and the Earth system once again reaches equilibrium (68% confidence) (Foster and Rohling 2013). The recently-released National Climate Assessment states, with high confidence, that global mean sea level will rise no more than 2 meters by the year 2100. Based on my reading of much of the most recent peer-reviewed literature on the subject, this is a gross underestimate which fails to take into account accelerating rates of land-based ice sheet disintegration. Peer-reviewed models which DO take into account accelerating melt rates of land-based ice project a rise of at least 5 meters by the end of this century (e.g., Hansen and Sato 2012).



# _3References:

Foster, G.L., and E.J. Rohling. 2013. Relationship between sea level and climate forcing by CO2 on geological timescales. PNAS 2013; published ahead of print January 3, 2013, doi:10.1073/pnas.1216073110. Hansen, J.E., and M. Sato. 2012. Paleoclimate Implications for Human-Made Climate Change,.ln A. 

### Berger et al. (eds), Climate Change. DOI 10.1007/978-3-7091-0973-1_2, Springer-Verlag Wien. http://www.lung.org/finding-cures/our-research/trend-reports/estimated-prevalence.pdf http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/amazing-weather-stats-on-the-s/15600436 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/21/new-york-city-temperature-record n 4487182.htmlhttp://www.nydailynews.com/new-Vork/weather/warm-weather-breaks-records-new-york-article1.1555637 http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2014/07/22/cbs-news-reports-world-breaks-global-heat-record-again/ http://climate.udel.edu/news/record-rainfall-and-warm-temperatures-across-delaware-lune-2013 http://capitalclimate.blogspot.com/2013/08/super-summer-soaker-phloods.html http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Heavy-Rain-Causes-Flooding-Road-Closures-- 217313101.html http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/historical-rain-floods-the-phi/15878114 http://www.nrdc.org/health/climate/de.asp#airpollutionhttp://www.weather.com/news/science/environment/weather-disasters-have-cost-worid-24-trillion20140717 Marcott, S.A., J.D. Shakun, P.U. Clark, and A.C. Mix. 2013. A Reconstruction of Regional and Global Temperature for the Past 11,300 Years. Science, Vol. 339, no. 6124, pp. 1198-1201.



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