Environmental Protection Agency Knows It’s Time To Take Action
by Sangeeta Haindl
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) public comment period on its proposed clean power plan ended last month with more than 1.6 million comments! It’s a complex story with more twists and turns than an American political TV drama, as it has touched a deep political nerve. In June, the EPA proposed a plan that would cut carbon pollution from power plants to protect public health that would help move America towards a cleaner, healthier environment, while also supplying the reliable and affordable power the country needs to create a strong economy and facilitate job growth. The proposed plan aims to cut carbon emissions from the power sector approximately 30 percent by 2030 and to also lay out state-specific goals for lower carbon emissions.
Controversially, in May, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a report stating that the EPA’s proposed plans would cost the country more than $50 billion a year between now and 2030. The EPA responded by calling the report “nothing more than irresponsible speculation based on guesses.” Climate change is the biggest challenge of our time globally, threatening us with growing risks of rising seas, soaring heat, raging storms, fires and withering drought. These threats are growing more urgent; the first ten months of 2014 have been the hottest, around the world, since record keeping began in 1880. There is an obligation to protect the future from the dangers of this manmade curse and this is what the EPA is doing with the support of President Obama. They are taking the bull by the horns in issuing the Clean Power Plan under the Clean Air Act.
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Sangeeta Haindl writes on social innovation, social enterprise, and social entrepreneurs. She is the owner of Serendipity PR, in London, U.K., where she works with high-profile brands and organizations in the public, non-profit, and corporate sectors, winning awards for her work from the communications industry. She describes herself as a Spiritual Entrepreneur, Conscious Explorer, and Futurist. She enjoys helping others, paying it forward, and being a mum.
