Climate change and Colorado – stakes are high, solutions are at hand

(Washington, D.C. – July 29, 2014) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) experts joined hundreds of other Americans today to testify in three cities – including Denver — in favor of an historic new plan to fight climate change and protect public health.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is holding the public hearings about its Clean Power Plan, which will put the first-ever national limits on the amount of climate pollution that can be emitted by power plants. Hearings began today in Atlanta and Washington, D.C. as well as Denver.

EDF’s Graham McCahan testified about climate risks at the Denver hearing, and said the stakes are high in Colorado.

“The shift to cleaner and safer energy provides public health and other benefits for our communities and families: helping to lift the brown cloud along the Front Range, cutting through the summer smog, and protecting the grand vistas of Colorado’s crown jewel — Rocky Mountain National Park,” McCahan testified. “Fortunately, the solutions we need to achieve significant reductions of carbon pollution from the power sector are at hand. Colorado has a long history of bi-partisan solutions that have provided a strong foundation for meeting EPA’s proposed standards.”

You can read McCahan’s entire testimony here.

The Denver, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. hearing will continue for a second day tomorrow. EPA will also hold public hearings in Pittsburgh later this week.