California's environment director stands against challenge to Clean Power Plan

A message to citizens from Dan Jacobson, Environment California State Director regarding President Trump’s executive order to roll back environmental protection plan

The strongest action our country has ever taken to combat climate change is now in danger.
The president just released an executive order that takes aim at the Clean Power Plan, which set the first-ever limits on global warming pollution from power plants. If left unchecked, his order will leave Americans with dirtier air to breathe and a more rapidly changing climate.¹
But the president can’t undo our climate protections with the mere stroke of a pen.
We need to save the Clean Power Plan, and we need to start now. Donate today.
The president’s timing couldn’t be worse. 2016 recently surpassed 2015 as the hottest year ever recorded, while winter sea ice in the Arctic hit its lowest documented level ever just this month.²
America’s more than 500 coal-fired power plants are among our nation’s largest sources of global warming pollution.
The Clean Power Plan would slash that pollution by a full third by 2030. Along the way, the plan will also help reduce smog and soot pollution, resulting in fewer asthma attacks, fewer premature deaths, and a more stable and habitable climate.³
To solve the climate crisis, we must replace our oldest and dirtiest power plants with solar, wind and energy efficiency. That’s exactly what the Clean Power Plan will help accomplish.⁴
And it’s absolutely crucial to our ability to keep our commitment to the Paris climate agreements and the global effort to slow climate change.
We’re ready to defend the Clean Power Plan in the courts, at the EPA and in Congress. But we need your help and we need it now. Donate today.
The EPA and the Trump administration will have to go through a lengthy federal rulemaking process to rewrite the Clean Power Plan, and there will be plenty of opportunities to take decisive action. But we need to gear up now.
We’ve been here before. Environment California and our national network worked for years to educate the public, engage elected leaders, and, together with a diverse group of coalition partners, gather more than 8 million public comments in support of the Clean Power Plan.
With your support, I’m confident we can do it again.
Donate today.
Of course we’re still working to protect our public lands, save bees and other pollinators from extinction, and commit more communities, campuses and corporations to 100% renewable energy. But right now we need to do everything we can to defend America’s climate protections.
Thanks for everything you do.
Yours,
Dan Jacobson
Environment California State Director
¹ “Sheer Reckless Folly”, Environment America, March 28, 2017
² Arctic’s Winter Sea Ice Drops to Its Lowest Recorded Level, The New York Times, March 22, 2017
³ Fact Sheet: Overview of the Clean Power Plan, EPA.gov, accessed March 15, 2017
⁴ Ibid.