After failing to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act, the Trump administration now has its sights set on our Clean Power Plan. And for this one, they won’t have to go through Congress.
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has announced his intention to “withdraw the so-called Clean Power Plan” — and replace it with a far weaker standard.
The Clean Power Plan is one of the most powerful tools we have to curb carbon pollution from the power sector and move our country toward a clean energy economy. Weakening this plan would allow dirty, coal-burning, inefficient power plants continue to pollute our air and water longer. And it is the most vulnerable among us — children, the elderly, people with asthma — who will suffer the most.
When queried as to what a replacement plan might look like, Pruitt has suggested we “take a look at the Oklahoma plan,” which he wrote with industry in 2014. This Dirty Power Plan would keep antiquated and dangerous coal plants operating for years longer, expose millions of Americans to health-threatening pollutants and continue to heat up our climate.
Greenhouse gas emissions from power plants contribute to climate change and warmer air and water temperatures that cause extreme weather events like Hurricanes Irma, Harvey and Maria to be deadlier and more destructive. Repealing the Clean Power Plan is a double-whammy for our communities: it will result in increased rates of respiratory illness and premature death while worsening climate change. As people of faith and conscience, we must stand up, speak out, and demand that our air and water not be needlessly polluted for the profits of a few.
Congregations and faith communities are taking action to protect Creation in our own facilities, reducing emissions, saving energy and saving money. If we can do it, large corporations and power plants can do it too.
Click here to sign Interfaith Power & Light’s letter telling the Trump Administration not to repeal the Clean Power Plan.
A majority of Americans want their government to act on climate change. If we stand together and demand it, this “repeal and replace” attempt will meet the same fate as the one on health care. But we must act now — our children’s future depends on it.
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