By: Maria Finnegan, National Field Manager, 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 today. My name is Maria Finnegan, and I live in the small town of Dublin, New Hampshire. I’m a National Field Manager for Moms Clean Air Force, and most importantly, I’m the mother of a four-year-old boy who loves to spend his days exploring the great outdoors. I’m here today to urge you not to revoke carbon pollution standards for power plants. Doing so would seriously undermine the EPA’s ability, and responsibility, to protect us from climate change and the far-reaching health and environmental harms it causes. As a parent and a person who deeply values the well-being of my family and community, I ask you to think about your own loved ones as you weigh this profoundly consequential decision.
I grew up here in New Hampshire, with what many would call an “old-fashioned” childhood—running through the woods, playing outside in every season, immersed in nature. Even when I moved to a city for college, I knew I wanted to return home someday to raise my children in that same environment.
I finally moved back in 2018, but the homecoming was not what I expected. While the towns looked the same, the weather had changed dramatically. Our crisp September air and deep winter freezes had been replaced by December flooding, 60-degree days in February, and dangerous heat domes in the summer. It was unsettling and became downright frightening when I had my son in 2020. The climate crisis is no longer abstract. It’s here. And our children are inheriting it
The science is clear: greenhouse gas emissions are driving climate change and heating our planet. And fossil fuel power plants are among the largest contributors—accounting for roughly 25% of U.S. climate pollution, even with current regulations in place. Repealing these standards will only accelerate the damage.
And what kind of damage are we talking about? Beyond the immediate threats to public health—from tick-borne illnesses to extreme heat and flooding—climate change is already threatening our local economy, with the potential for devastating impacts as temperatures continue to warm.
You see, New Hampshire is what I like to call “an outdoor state.” We pride ourselves on our recreation opportunities and rely heavily on the associated tourism. In the summer and fall of 2023 alone, we welcomed over 8 million visitors who spent $4 billion in our state. In winter, while many states wind down, we gear up—attracting 3 million skiers who spent another $1 billion supporting local businesses.
But all that is in jeopardy. Climate change, driven by fossil fuel emissions, is putting our way of life at risk. According to EPA’s own data, annual precipitation in the Northeast has increased 10% since 1895, and extreme rain events have jumped by 70% since 1958. These trends will continue, bringing more flooding in the winter and spring, and hotter, drier summers.
Our winters are also warming faster than nearly every other state. Average temperatures have risen 4°F since 1900, and the winter season is shrinking, especially during the critical holiday stretch in December. This threatens not only our tourism industry, but also our cultural identity. After all, you can’t ski if there’s no snow, and you can’t make artificial snow if it’s too warm, and you can’t do either if it’s raining. You can’t hike if the trails and roads are washed out by floods, as we saw in the North Country the past two Junes. And last summer’s heat dome pushed temperatures into the high 90s and prompted a statewide warning to avoid outdoor exercise entirely. It’s hard to enjoy the outdoors when it’s too dangerous to be outside. Why come to New Hampshire if you can’t recreate outside?
And I have to mention, it’s not just our recreation economy that is at stake. These impacts are being felt in many different sectors. For example: our local farmers are being hit hard by these same weather extremes—facing both drought and flooding in the same year, damaging crops and livelihoods. Climate change is taking away jobs, and our access to nutritious, local food.
Rolling back carbon pollution standards for power plants will only make these impacts worse. It will harm our health, our economy, and our way of life. Strong carbon pollution standards for power plants are essential for protecting communities from the dangerous emissions that are driving climate change. Upholding these critical climate protections means cleaner air, healthier families, economic resilience, and a safer future for our children. Please do the right thing. Thank you.