By: Stephanie Reese, Director of Strategic Implementation and Justice, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: August 19, 2025
About: Environmental Protection Agency Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0194
To: Environmental Protection Agency
My name is Stephanie Reese, and I am the Director of Strategic Implementation and Justice at Moms Clean Air Force. As a mother of two young and very active boys, being outdoors is a large part of our everyday activities, but I know that being outdoors is becoming increasingly hazardous to my health and the health of my kids. This year for the first time ever, they did not participate in outdoor summer camps because of extreme heat—heat that is being supercharged by climate change.
A large part of me wishes that I was being overprotective or inflating the dangers that my children and other children are facing due to global warming. Unfortunately, climate change is a real threat—not only to our quality of life but also to our health and safety. This is why I am here today to strongly oppose efforts to undermine or revoke the Endangerment Finding and the tailpipe standards—which are foundational to the EPA’s ability to protect us from emissions that cause global warming and impact the health and safety of our children.
With more frequent and severe heat waves, hurricanes, floods, droughts, and wildfires, many communities are already experiencing the health consequences of climate change, communities of color are bearing the brunt of the burden. Children and young people are especially vulnerable, facing a range of health issues linked to these climate impacts. And higher temperatures make air pollution much more dangerous. Respiratory problems such as asthma, heat-related illnesses like heat exhaustion and heat stroke, and even negative birth outcomes from air pollution and climate stressors are becoming more common. The effects aren't just physical—mental health challenges like climate anxiety and the trauma of surviving extreme weather events, such as floods, storms, and wildfires, are also taking a toll on our youngest and most vulnerable.
If we allow the revocation of the Endangerment Finding, we are sending a dangerous message—that we are willing to sacrifice the safety of our children, our families, and our communities in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence that climate change is a threat to our health and well-being.
In my line of work, I’ve seen firsthand the power of policy to drive meaningful change. The Endangerment Finding has given the EPA the authority it needs to take action to reduce the harmful emissions that will make our planet uninhabitable. We have made progress, but there is still much more to do. And revoking the Endangerment Finding and the tailpipe standards would be a step backward.
We cannot afford to wait.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.