## Jeff Yin, Ph.D.: Testimony on the EPA Clean Power Plan Denver, Colorado, July 30, 2014, 5:55 p.m.

I would like to thank the EPA for this opportunity to speak about the proposed Clean Power Plan. My name is Jeff Yin. I have a Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences, and I did climate research for 12 years. Even though we had already learned enough to know that humans are causing climate change, I started to see that science alone was not enough. I began to explore what actually moves us to take real action against carbon pollution. So, now, I am no longer a climate scientist. Today, I am here to share why I am moved to support the EPA's proposed Clean Power Plan, because I can see how climate change is already hurting people in my native state of Hawai'i. I was born and raised in Honolulu, and I grew up going to the beach. I love the beauty of the colors of the ocean water and the relaxing sound of breaking waves, as well as the memories of fun days at the beach when I was a kid. There is a song, "White Sandy Beach of Hawai'i", sung by the late Bruddah Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, that has the power to transport me back to that beautiful, relaxing place. Of course, there is also a powerful, dangerous side to the ocean. When I was kid, the older, wiser folks would always remind us: "Never turn your back on the ocean." There could be powerful currents, and large, unexpected waves, that could easily sweep you away if you were not paying attention. As we shall see, even the land, solid as it may seem, can be worn down by the relentless power of the ocean. Knowing that power, my biggest fear about climate change is rising sea level. According to the 2014 National Climate Assessment, sea level has already risen by 8 inches since 1900. But what does this really mean, for real people? First, let's take a walk down the famous Waikiki Beach. Much of Waikiki Beach is a thin strip of sand between the ocean on one side, and hotels on the other side. So, what happens when you raise sea level, even by as little as 1 foot? According to Dolan Eversole, a Hawai'i coastal hazards expert, we should expect that 1 foot of sea level rise will cause the shoreline to move inland by 100 feet. So, the ocean moves inland, the hotels can't go anywhere, and you get what you see in Waikiki now: There are places where there is no beach left. There is just the hotel, a cement walkway on top of the seawall that is protecting the hotel, and the ocean below. No white sandy beach of Hawai'i. According to the 2014 National Climate Assessment, the loss of Waikiki Beach could lead to an annual loss of $2 billion in visitor expenditures. For many of my friends, who work in the hotels, in the restaurants, and for the airlines in Hawai'i, this would be catastrophic. If a hotel goes out of business, hardworking people who I care about lose their jobs, and struggle to feed their families. But it's not just hotels that are threatened by sea level rise. People's homes are already being damaged as well. Just this past Christmas, near Sunset Beach on O'ahu's North Shore, a few days of big wavescaused a fast-moving collapse of the shore that damaged at least 5 homes. One homeowner was forced

to cut away rooms just to save the rest of their house. When people's homes are threatened by rising sea levels, what choices do you have? According to Chip Fletcher, a University of Hawai'i coastal geologist, you can build a seawall to buy time to save the houses, but that may destroy the beaches nearby. Or, you can save the beaches by not building a seawall, which condemns people's homes to destruction. If we do nothing to slow down climate change, we have to make more and more of these excruciatingly painful decisions. Of course, when many of these homes and hotels were built, we did not know that there would someday be sea level rise that would force us to make these painful choices. Likewise, when we started burning coal to make electricity, we did not know that it would cause sea levels to rise. But, now, we do know. That is why I am here today to support the EPA's Clean Power Plan. That is why I support strong rules to limit carbon emissions from power plants. And, that is why I appreciate all of the important actions that you are taking at the EPA to slow down the painful effects of climate change. Thank you.