RECORD 3 MILLION COMMENTS IN SUPPORT OF EPA’S CARBON POLLUTION STANDARD DEMONSTRATES AMERICANS’ SUPPORT FOR CURBING CLIMATE CHANGE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 14, 2012

RECORD 3 MILLION COMMENTS IN SUPPORT OF EPA’S CARBON POLLUTION STANDARD DEMONSTRATES AMERICANS’ SUPPORT FOR CURBING CLIMATE CHANGE

WASHINGTON, DC -- August 14, 2012: Today, a broad coalition of groups supporting clean air announced the collection of 3 million public comments in support of national standards to limit dangerous industrial carbon pollution from new power plants. Adding that this unprecedented tally reflects the strong desire of Americans for national leadership to address climate change and its impact on public health, the groups issued the following statement:

“Three million public comments in favor of cleaning up dangerous carbon pollution is a remarkable and record-setting show of support for protecting our health from rising temperatures. This outpouring of support from across the nation is a wakeup call for policy makers to heed the public’s desire to curb air pollution and climate change.

"We applaud the EPA for taking action against dangerous industrial carbon pollution which poses a wide range of health threats to our families, our communities as well as to wildlife and our outdoor heritage because of the impacts of climate change. This summer’s devastating extreme weather events and deadly record-setting heat waves preview just how damaging and costly rising temperatures will be.

The polluters continue to block any attempt to address climate change and reduce industrial carbon pollution in order to protect their profits at the expense of public health. They may not be ready to clean up, but the American public is. When it comes to addressing climate change and its impact on our health, the American public is clamoring for leadership, now.”

Doctors, scientists and other experts agree that carbon pollution threatens our health by fueling climate change.  Climate change increases the formation of lung damaging and asthma-attack inducing smog, which is particularly dangerous for kids and seniors. Climate change also fuels more frequent and more deadly heat waves, droughts, crop damage, floods, infectious diseases and other extreme weather events like those we’re seeing across the country this year.

The following groups, which signed the statement and helped collect the record 3 million comments urging the EPA to curb industrial carbon pollution, include:

American Sustainable Business Council

Care2

Center for American Progress Action Fund

Clean Water Action

Climate Reality Project

Earthjustice

Energy Action Coalition

Environment America

Environmental Action

Environmental Defense Fund

Greenpeace

Healthcare Without Harm Interfaith Power & Light League of Conservation Voters

League of Women Voters of the U.S.

MomsRising

NAACP

National Audubon Society

National Hispanic Medical Association

National Wildlife Federation

Natural Resources Defense Council

Physicians for Social Responsibility

Presente

Sierra Club

Union of Concerned Scientists

US Climate Action Network

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