Letters: Let Clean Power Plan pave the way in Pa.
ISSUE | CLIMATE CHANGE Let Clean Power Plan pave the way in Pa. As the nation's third-largest emitter of carbon pollution, Pennsylvania contributes heavily to climate change. Last year was the hottest year on record by a wide margin, and this year looks likely to surpass it. August was the hottest month on record. This is the bad news.
ISSUE | CLIMATE CHANGE
Let Clean Power Plan pave the way in Pa.
As the nation's third-largest emitter of carbon pollution, Pennsylvania contributes heavily to climate change. Last year was the hottest year on record by a wide margin, and this year looks likely to surpass it. August was the hottest month on record. This is the bad news.
The good news is that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan puts Pennsylvania in the driver's seat to slash our carbon pollution by 32 percent by 2030 to mitigate the worst consequences of climate change. Pennsylvania can stake its energy future and choose between clean-energy sources or the continued burning of fossil fuels.
We have the opportunity to dramatically reduce climate pollution while creating jobs in clean energy and saving money for consumers.
By following Act 129 - our current law - Pennsylvania saves enough electricity to power 800,000 homes and reduces annual global warming by more than six million tons. For every $1 invested in clean energy, $1.62 is returned.
Gov. Wolf is committed to reducing carbon emissions and addressing climate change. The fossil-fuel industry, however, is pushing to continue focusing on such energy sources as fracked gas and coal.
We must focus on renewables and energy efficiency to avoid the worst impacts of climate change and repower our economy with clean energy.
|Matthew Zipin, Philadelphia, mattzipin@gmail.com