This weekend I was proud to rally in Anchorage, Alaska, with students, activists, community leaders, and public health advocates to call on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to pass strong standards in the Clean Power Plan. We held our rally in solidarity with the people of Fairbanks and surrounding rural areas, which despite their remote locations suffer from some of the nation’s worst air quality, according to the American Lung Association.
We're lucky here in Anchorage to have clean, healthy air that allows us to get out into the wild and enjoy everything Alaska has to offer. In fact, we followed our rally with a hike up Flattop Mountain. But in Fairbanks North Star Borough, coal-fired power plants have been able to dump unlimited carbon pollution into our air, increasing the risk of respiratory illnesses for seniors and kids (including my asthmatic niece). For these communities, a hike like the one we enjoyed this Sunday just isn't possible. So we hiked for clean air in solidarity because all Alaskans should breathe clean air and be able to enjoy the natural wonders of our state without inhaling harmful pollution.
If the EPA passes a strong Clean Power Plan, it will protect not only public health but our climate as well. Coal plants like the ones in Fairbanks are the nation's largest producers of carbon pollution, and the Clean Power Plan should set standards that will defend Alaska from climate disruption. Alaska is already feeling the effects of climate change at double the speed of other states in the U.S. Our glaciers are melting, our snow pack receding, our delicate ecosystems are under assault. Much of what makes Alaska such a unique place is endangered as our climate changes before our eyes. Alaska, more than any other state, has a huge stake in the outcome of the EPA's decision on the Clean Power Plan. And we'll keep the freedom to choose how our state meets the plan’s goals to create cleaner, healthier air for local communities.
That's why people from across the political spectrum came together this weekend on Flattop Mountain to demand leadership on public health and climate change from our federal representatives. Even from the farthest reaches of the U.S., voices are calling for clean air, clean energy and a stable climate. I am proud to be one of them.
-Kelsi Swenson is a volunteer with the Beyond Coal campaign and a resident of Anchorage, Alaska. That's her raising the "I Love Clean Air" sign at the top of Flattop Mountain.