The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently held 11 public listening sessions across the country to solicit input on standards for reducing carbon pollution from existing power plants.
The Clean Air Act gives both EPA and states a role in reducing air pollution from power plants. US power plants emit approximately 2.3 billion tons of heat-trapping carbon dioxide pollution each year, 40% of total carbon pollution emitted in the United States. This is the single largest source of climate pollution in the country and one of the largest in the world.
Earth Ministry/WAIPL members turned out to listening sessions in Seattle, Denver, Chicago, and Washington, DC, making the moral case for regulating carbon emissions directly tied to climate change. The feedback from these public listening sessions will play an important role in helping EPA develop common-sense guidelines supported by the majority of Americans.