By: Liz Hurtado, National Field Manager, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: June 13, 2023
About: Environmental Protection Agency Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2023-0072
To: Environmental Protection Agency
Good afternoon. My name is Liz Hurtado, and I am a national field manager for Moms Clean Air Force and its Latino engagement program, EcoMadres.
As much of the East Coast and Midwest were enveloped with wildfire smoke last week, millions faced a stark reminder that climate change isn’t some faraway, abstract concept. Climate change is here now, and this has been the reality for countless people around the country and around the world. We can’t further delay action to address the root cause of the problem—we must act today.
We are already seeing an increase in temperatures, extreme weather events, drought, flooding, and sea-level rise in areas across the United States, and these impacts are expected to get worse as carbon pollution in our atmosphere increases.
That’s why I am here today to call on EPA to finalize the strongest possible Carbon Rule for the health and safety of our communities.
Historical racism in the residential housing market, known as redlining, has had an enduring influence on where power plants are located today, causing communities of color and low-income communities to be more likely to bear the negative health impacts of power plant emissions. Disproportionate exposure to air pollution in these communities is linked to premature death, childhood asthma attacks, and a host of other chronic and debilitating health conditions. These are communities that are often already overburdened with cumulative impacts from other sources of industrial pollution.
We must address the root source of this human-caused climate pollution and hold power plants accountable. We must center the voices, experiences, and expertise of those most impacted and move toward a just and equitable clean energy future. Renewable and sustainable sources of energy, like wind and solar, must be accelerated. The massive deployment of unproven, untested, unregulated, and potentially dangerous industrial-scale technologies may harm the very communities we are trying to protect. Black, Brown, Indigenous, and low-income communities that have historically faced a disproportionate burden of environmental injustices and adverse health outcomes could be further impacted.
I am calling on EPA to strengthen community input and safeguards in the final version of this rule and to finalize these standards as quickly as possible to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and costly climate change and to protect the health of our communities. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.