My Open Letter to the EPA

Photo from Thom Ayres' Stilled Life Series

Dear EPA Leadership:*

Your decision to begin to address our Climate Crisis today will be something you tell your grandchildren some day. Or not. It really is that black and white. A decision to regulate carbon gives a glimmer of hope that we will be able to survive Climate Change. Without it, our chances for survival as a species are diminished. We are at that crossroads and you, members of the US Environmental Protection Agency, may very well be deciding the fate of our species and many other life forms on this planet. 

Coming to realize just how dire this crisis is has been a very painful journey for me. I am a Climate Leader, a volunteer with the Climate Reality Project. The more I learn, the more I want to shake everyone I see and meet and tell them that this is the crisis of our lifetimes, not some future generation. It is happening NOW. To convince others to wake up, to act, to write their Congressman or Congresswoman and demand action be taken immediately is my goal for the rest of my life.    

At this point, it is very much like standing in a theater shouting FIRE but the audience remains transfixed by the images on the screen, not hearing our cries. Except with this fire, there are no exits. Either we extinguish the flames together or die a certain death together. 

What I hope you do is to first fine those corporations who are spewing carbon, the major cause of global warming, into our atmosphere. We will not be the first country to do so. In fact, there are nearly 40 countries before us who are already regulating carbon polluters to help curb Climate Change. Even China has a pilot carbon policy program in place that they will expand to the rest of the country by 2015. Even China understands what this crisis means.  

Secondly, my hope is that you and the Obama Administration will set up a task force to determine our way forward as curbing our carbon output is only the very first small step toward addressing this crisis. We need a task force comprised of: 

Climate Scientists who can tell us the best and worst case scenarios over the next year as well as 5, 10 and 15 years from now and how much carbon needs to be reduced.

Ecologists/Environmentalists who have had boots on the ground for the past 50 years, passionately telling us that this was coming, who have vital networks within our communities who will help us roll out the plan or plans determined to be best. 

Community Leaders who can tell us how to best organize these plans in their towns, cities and rural areas, what kind of practical application will best be applied to their home territories and others in their charge.

Policy makers who know the laws, who know what laws will affect this process and can suggest fair and just laws that need to be written to support this way forward. 

What this task force will determine are two vital points:

What sources of energy will be used going forward?

How will we capture the carbon existing in the atmosphere? 

BOTH tasks need to happen simultaneously if we are to survive this crisis. Choosing to only secure alternative energy sources will only lead to a longer lingering death for millions. We must also draw the carbon out of our atmosphere to avoid further degradation of our overall climate, water, and soil systems. There are carbon capturing resources that exist now and many are being developed and championed. These technologies exist and more will be invented as we focus on this crisis.

We are a creative, thoughtful species and we are approaching the 11^th hour to address this Crisis. Please lead the way.  

Thank you for the opportunity to speak out on this issue. 

Monica Jenkins, Climate Leader

*For the last couple weeks, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been hosting public listening sessions, inviting the public to suggest ways to address the carbon pollution pouring from our power plants into our atmosphere. This is my written statement response to that question and addressing the larger issue of Climate Change that I think they are stepping too gingerly around.