By: Almeta E. Cooper, Georgia Field Organizer, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: August 25, 2021
About: Environmental Protection Agency Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0208
To: Environmental Protection Agency
Good morning.
My name is Almeta Cooper, and I am the Georgia field coordinator for Moms Clean Air Force. We are 26,645 members strong in Georgia and about 1 million moms and dads nationally. We fight for recognition of the importance of equitable solutions in addressing air pollution and climate change.
I am speaking to you today from downtown Atlanta, where I have lived for seven years. Metro Atlanta is notoriously known for some of the worse traffic congestion in the nation. According to the US Bureau of Transportation, from the outer edges of Fulton County, commuters can average traveling as many as 80 miles each workday. Additionally, about 80% of Fulton County’s thousands of commuters travel by car daily. Many are single occupants driving their vehicles.
Driving is the most harmful mode of transportation to the health of communities and is directly connected to air quality. Therefore, it’s no surprise that Fulton County was again flagged with a failing grade by the American Lung Association in its 2021 State of the Air Report. So, you can easily understand why clean car standards are important to me. Cleaning up vehicle pollution is one of the most important actions we can take as citizens to improve air quality and to fight the adverse impact of climate change.
As a mom, an African American woman, and a member of my community, I care deeply about environmental justice, especially the connection between climate change and health equity for our nation’s most vulnerable populations. I encourage the EPA to frequently consult with frontline communities and environmental justice leaders to provide their input into decisions related to the design and implementation of EPA rules. As a Georgian, I am witnessing my own state government trying to suppress the voice and vote of many Georgians by imposing rules that will have disparate, adverse impact on communities of color.
There is a direct connection between climate change, clean air, and health. In the last month, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change reported out that climate change is “widespread, rapid, and intensifying,” painting a grim picture of our world’s future, unless swift and strong intervention is taken immediately to curb the pollution causing global climate change.
Protecting public health means keeping everyone's air clean and safe to breathe and cutting greenhouse gas pollution. Because climate change affects us all whether we live and work in suburban, rural, or urban areas—we must unite in identifying climate solutions.
In closing, on behalf of Georgia’s moms, dads, and children, we ask that: EPA finalize the strongest possible option to regulate how much and how quickly to limit climate pollution from cars and light trucks. Please reject any alternative that contains big loopholes for automakers and that may undermine otherwise strong pollution reduction targets by 2026.
Thank you again to the EPA and its staff for inviting public comment and permitting digital and remote testimony to allow for increased participation in these public hearings.