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Letters: February 3
Time to act on
clean power plan
Last week, courts denied a
request to stay the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan,
which sets the first ever federal limits on carbon pollution from power plants
and encourages the development of cleaner, safer sources of energy.
The stay request was simply an
attempt by polluters and their allies to block meaningful action on climate
change, and the court’s decision is a rejection of their arguments against the
Clean Power Plan. The EPA’s plan rests on solid legal ground and will protect
our health and our climate from dangerous carbon pollution.
For the Americans who are in the
hospital or home from school and work because of polluted air and the effects
of climate change, there is no excuse for attempts to delay this rule. Carbon
pollution fuels climate change, which triggers more asthma attacks and
respiratory disease, and worsens air quality.
According to the American Lung
Association, over 150,000 Philadelphians have asthma. Over 35,000 of
Philadelphians with asthma are children. We cannot allow polluters to continue
to delay progress, putting profit over public health.
The momentum is growing as more
and more people call for action on climate change and support policies like the
Clean Power Plan. The United States and nearly 200 nations reached a historic
global agreement to avoid dangerous climate change. Pope Francis joined the
chorus of those calling for meaningful climate action to protect the world’s
most vulnerable populations in his encyclical, Laudato Si : On Care for Our
Common Home.
The Global Catholic Climate
Movement, a world-wide group of Catholics responding to Pope Francis says,
“While discussions of climate change often involve debate about economic theory
and political platforms, and while it can involve issues of partisan politics
as well as “lobbying by special interest groups, our focus is on the moral and
spiritual issues involved.”
The Clean Power Plan is a moral
issue. Pennsylvanians too are calling for climate action – more than two thirds
of Americans support the Clean Power Plan, and want action on climate to be a
priority.
Pennsylvania’s elected officials
must be responsive to this call to act. We’re fortunate to have leaders like
Senator Casey who has pledged his support of the Clean Power Plan. For those
who have yet to stand up in support of this meaningful climate action, I urge
you to get on board, for the health and prosperity of our most vulnerable
citizens depends on it.
Sister Mary Elizabeth Clark
Director
SSJ Earth Center
Chestnut Hill
