By: Brooke Petry, Pennsylvania Field Organizer, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: July 8, 2025
About: Environmental Protection Agency Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0124-0001
To: Environmental Protection Agency
Thank you for the opportunity to testify. Again, my name is Brooke Petry, and I am a Pennsylvania Field Organizer for Moms Clean Air Force and I live with my family in Philadelphia. I am here today to strongly oppose EPA’s proposal to roll back the Carbon Rule.
Power plants are responsible for roughly a quarter of climate pollution in the US, and Pennsylvania is home to one of the dirtiest power sectors in the nation. Reducing pollution from fossil fuel power plants would benefit the health of people across the United States and work in support of this administration's goal to make America healthy.
We know that climate pollution is heating the planet and supercharging extreme weather, intensifying storms and fueling wildfires that burn wider and longer than ever. Pennsylvanians are already feeling the effects of the changing climate. In Philadelphia, this has been dangerously apparent, as in recent years our city has been choked with toxic smoke from Canadian wildfires, and experienced destructive flooding during Hurricane Ida that brought devastation to families and businesses.
We are also plagued each summer by the urban heat island effect, where dense concentrations of buildings and pavement absorb and retain heat—and amplify heat-related health impacts, like heat exhaustion. Global warming is making this far worse. This effect is especially pronounced in neighborhoods that have faced generational harms and disinvestment from racist policies like redlining and already endure disproportionate exposure to pollution. During warmer months, we see more frequent air quality warnings as heat mixes with pollutants to create ground level ozone—which is unsafe to breathe. Hotter temperatures make it harder for children to learn in schools. Parents in Philadelphia know that during the first and last weeks of school, when the weather is still unbearably hot, scores of district schools will face the decision to either dismiss early or close altogether due to dangerous heat.
Some populations are particularly vulnerable to the health impacts of air pollution and the climate crisis. As a person with asthma and as the parent of a child with asthma, my family experiences heightened impacts of air pollution on a daily basis, as do many of our neighbors and community members. Children, the elderly, people who are pregnant, and folks with asthma are on the front lines of this crisis. Low wealth communities are also facing disproportionate health impacts. The childhood asthma rate in Philadelphia is a staggering 21%. On extremely hot days and on days with poor air quality, people with asthma may have to weigh the very real danger of an asthma attack against the need to walk to the store for groceries or to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription. No one should have to choose between their health and their basic needs—especially when we have the tools to reduce the pollution that worsens these conditions.
EPA must not weaken climate pollution protections for power plants. We have a moral responsibility to act now to protect the well-being of our children and future generations. In your role(s) at EPA, you wield an outsized amount of power to shape what the world looks like for future generations. My future grandchildren- and yours- will have to live with the ripple effects of the decisions you make in this role. Please bear that in mind as you weigh each attempt to roll back critical pollution protections.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.