Action Alert: Climate changing emissions

Written on: March 23, 2015

The following is from our friends the Union of Concerned Scientists.  Given the seriousness of climate change, the action alert below is important. Strong environmental protection laws are critical, but equally critical is a swift movement toward greater use of renewable energy sources. Note at the bottom of this page there is a P. S. to join a webinar discussion on this subject. They are usually an hour long and quite interesting with no obligations attached. 

Right now, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing limits on global warming emissions from power plants, the largest source of these emissions in the United States. The EPA’s Clean Power Plan is our best opportunity to curb the growing consequences of climate change and accelerate the growth of clean energy—but it’s not strong enough.

The draft plan relies heavily on a switch from coal to natural gas and underestimates the power of renewable energy, such as wind and solar, to help cut power plant carbon emissions. Natural gas is still a fossil fuel and dramatically expanding its use poses risks to the climate and our economy. A smarter path forward is to take greater advantage of cost-effective renewable energy.

We can and must prioritize renewable energy over natural gas as we transition to low carbon electricity system.

New UCS analysis reveals that we can limit the dangers of an overreliance on natural gas by greatly expanding the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency in our power supply. A strengthened Clean Power Plan is a critical next step to putting us on this smarter path.

Urge the EPA to issue a final Clean Power Plan that encourages a shift to truly low-carbon resources, such as wind and solar, and avoids the risks of an over-reliance on natural gas.

 Sincerely,

Megan Rising
Energy Campaign Manager
Union of Concerned Scientists

P.S. Join us on Thursday, April 9, for a webinar discussion of the implications of our growing reliance on natural gas and what you can do about it. Register today.

This entry was posted in Blog and tagged: clean power, climate change, environmental protection, EPA, low carbon resources, natural gas, renewable energy, solar, Union of Concerned Scientists, wind