From the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN):
On Monday, June 2nd, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to release long-awaited rules to cut carbon emissions from our nation’s existing fossil fuel-fired power plants.
We know that Virginia’s big polluters, especially the coal industry and their political allies, will go all-out to attack these rules, showing once again that they care more about protecting their profits than protecting the air our kids breathe and the climate we all share. We need your help now to ensure Virginia’s top leaders — Governor Terry McAuliffe and Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner — stand up to these attacks and speak out in support of strong carbon regulations. This is a climate solution the commonwealth urgently needs!
While Governor McAuliffe and Sen. Kaine have made recent statements about the need to address climate change, we need them and Sen. Warner to be strong voices of support for cutting carbon from Virginia’s energy supply.
Dirty power plants are the largest source of climate change pollution in the U.S. Not only is this pollution fueling more extreme and costly weather events — like the habitual flooding in Hampton Roads and the intense storms knocking down power across the commonwealth — but it’s harming our health. Carbon pollution is leading to more smog, which triggers more asthma and respiratory diseases in places like Richmond — which is, once again, at the top of the list of America’s “asthma capitals.”
As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned in April, we must aggressively curb emissions within the next 15 years to have a chance at achieving climate stability. The EPA’s carbon rules should be a major step in the right direction — especially in Virginia — if our leaders side with the public, not polluters, and come out quickly to embrace and implement them.
The stakes could not be any higher. These rules will test our resolve and the nation’s commitment to solving the climate crisis. Virginia, as a coal-producing state located near the nation’s capital, will be looked to as a model of compliance. Our leaders need to stand strong, push back against the big coal lobby, and fight for climate change solutions.
Please sign the petition to Virginia’s leaders and let your voice be heard.
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