By: Trisha Dello Iacono, National Field & Legislative Manager, Moms Clean Air Force
Date: June 17, 2021
About: Environmental Protection Agency Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0295
To: Environmental Protection Agency
Good afternoon. My name is Trisha Dello Iacono, and I live in Mullica Hill, New Jersey, a small suburb just outside Philadelphia. Thank you for this opportunity to offer my comments in a format that is safe and accessible to so many.
I am the National Field and Legislative Manager for Moms Clean Air Force, an organization made up of parents fighting to protect our children’s health from the pollution that is fueling climate change and harming our children. I am here today on behalf of our more than 1 million parents from across the country to urge you to cut oil and gas methane pollution 65% by 2025 (from 2012 levels) to protect children’s health and their future.
I am also here today as a mom to four young children and two stepkids, one of whom suffers from severe asthma and allergies. Methane, the main ingredient in natural gas, is a powerful greenhouse gas pollutant that is fueling the climate crisis. Air pollution created by oil and gas operations contributes to ozone smog that can damage lungs and trigger asthma attacks. Children bear the greatest burden from air pollution because their lungs are still developing and they spend a good portion of their time playing outdoors. My stepson, an avid athlete and junior in high school, is the one suffering when heat waves and high ozone days in the Northeast trigger his asthma attacks. Over 26 million people in the US—including more than 6 million children—suffer from asthma.
At a time when our country is battling a public health crisis that is especially lethal for those with respiratory trouble, it is vital that we are protecting public health and keeping everyone's air clean and safe to breathe. Cutting methane pollution from the oil and gas industry is essential to this effort.
No mother should have to worry if the air their child is breathing is safe for them to play outside.
Methane pollution from the oil and gas industry is fueling the climate crisis and endangering the health and safety of communities across the country. Strong federal safeguards that reduce dangerous methane pollution from the oil and gas industry are essential for protecting the health of our children. Air pollution from the oil and gas industry also adds to the burden of existing pollution problems in underserved, low-income communities.
Without swift federal action, methane pollution from the oil and gas industry will continue to skyrocket.
Cutting methane pollution will put us on a path to mitigate the worst harms of climate change, especially in environmental justice communities.
A 65% reduction in methane pollution from new and existing oil and gas operations is an achievable target. Once again, I support cutting oil and gas methane pollution 65% by 2025 (from 2012 levels) to protect children’s health and their future. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.