By: Chelsea Lyons, North Carolina State Coordinator, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: May 2, 2023
About: Environmental Protection Agency Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2022-0985
To: Environmental Protection Agency
Thank you for the opportunity to testify. My name is Chelsea Lyons, and I am the North Carolina field organizer for Moms Clean Air Force. On behalf of Moms Clean Air Force, I am testifying in support of the proposed standards and call on EPA to finalize the strongest possible clean truck standards by the end of 2023. Transportation is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. I am concerned about the increase in GHG’s because they result in extreme weather events and serious health effects.
As a mom of a 16-month-old boy, I am scared to see the impact climate change has on my son and any future children my husband and I may have. With the increase of climate anxiety, heat strokes, heart attacks, premature death, and adverse birth outcomes I am scared to think of what the future will be like. Will we be fighting the same fight we are now? Or will we finally have a clean future? Climate change has affected my everyday life. In fact, it affects all of us every single day.
Tailpipe pollution is a great example of that. My son on numerous accounts has experienced coughing attacks when we are walking outside after a large vehicle passes by. With his developing lungs, he should not be exposed to this type of pollution on a daily basis. Unfortunately, there is little for me that I can do as a mom, due to the amount of polluted trucks on the road. This creates fear and climate anxiety for my family. It is time for change.
The vehicles covered by this rule will be on the road for decades to come. A strong rule will help address climate pollution from heavy-duty vehicles, and it will also help speed up our transition to zero-emissions vehicles, reducing other health-harming forms of tailpipe pollution that affect the health of children like my own. Parents in North Carolina want to see a rapid transition to zero-emissions vehicles, and Moms Clean Air Force is calling on EPA to finalize the strongest possible clean trucks standards consistent with the Advanced Clean Trucks rules this year.
Thank you.