Growing up in Yardley, surrounded by lush forests and thriving farmland, the issue of climate pollution seemed like a remote reality. It would have shocked me to discover that less than 20 minutes down the road exists Fairless Energy, a natural gas power plant known as one of Pennsylvania’s largest climate polluters. Coal and gas power plants like that one have contributed to making Pennsylvania the fourth largest greenhouse gas-emitting state in the country. With each passing year, the carbon emissions released from these power-generating facilities are warming our planet at a faster and faster rate.
Fortunately, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed new limits on carbon emissions from coal and gas power plants, requiring them to reduce or capture the majority of power plant-produced carbon. This would lower carbon pollution by up to 617 million metric tons, equivalent to the annual emissions of half of all US cars. However, this proposal does not cover many of the smaller power plants that contribute to climate change. I would therefore urge the EPA to extend their proposal to smaller power plants as we progress away from fossil fuels and toward a renewable energy future.
Alexandra Venth, Yardley
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