By: Emily Pickett, Public Engagement Coordinator, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: August 21, 2025
About: Environmental Protection Agency Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0194
To: Environmental Protection Agency
My name is Emily Pickett, and I’m a consultant for Moms Clean Air Force. I live in Tampa, Florida. I strongly oppose EPA’s proposal to rescind the Endangerment Finding and Clean Cars and Clean Trucks Standards. The Endangerment Finding is foundational to EPA’s ability to protect us from the emissions that cause global warming—and the health of our families, communities, and future generations is what’s at stake.
As a lifelong Floridian, I can speak confidently from my lived experiences that we are witnessing the effects of global warming through the increased intensity of hurricanes making landfall in our state. Last year alone, my community was impacted by back-to-back hurricanes: Helene in September followed by Milton in October. Helene brought catastrophic storm surge to our coastlines, with thousands of people losing everything to flood waters.
Two weeks later, Milton–the most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded over the Gulf of Mexico, brought the highest winds I’ve ever experienced. Climate change is also making our oceans much warmer—which supercharges hurricanes. We boarded our home for the first time ever in preparation for the extreme wind. The morning after the storm, I was shocked to see the number of trees downed and how high the water had risen in the streets from the sheer amount of rainfall alone.
In total, 76 people in Florida lost their lives as a result of these two storms.
I witnessed firsthand the worst flooding, wind, and rain events in my life in a matter of a 2-week span. The science does back up my experience that storms are, in fact, worsening.
Scientists from the World Weather Attribution center hypothesized that “without climate change Milton would have made landfall as a category 2 instead of a Category 3 storm.” There is overwhelming scientific consensus that greenhouse gases – including those emitted by tailpipes, which account for the largest portion (28%) of total U.S. climate pollution in 2022 – are driving global warming and threatening human health. This evidence has only grown stronger since the Endangerment Finding was first issued in 2009.
Rescinding the Endangerment Finding and climate pollution limits on tailpipes would threaten EPA’s ability to protect us from the emissions that cause global warming—and the wide range of health and environmental impacts that come with it like ever-intensifying hurricanes. Attacking the legal basis for keeping communities healthy and safe makes no sense, which is why I strongly oppose EPA's proposal to rescind the Endangerment Finding and our Clean Cars and Clean Trucks protections. Thank you.