FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 18th, 2019
Contact:Cara Cook
Climate Change Program Coordinator, ANHE
585.469.2383
cara@envirn.org
Nurses Oppose the Trump Administration’s Harmful Power Plant Rule
Washington, D.C. (June 18th, 2019)— Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Administrator Wheeler announced the Trump Administration’s finalization of the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule. The ACE rule would replace the 2015 Clean Power Plan and significantly weaken regulations on carbon emissions from power plants that contribute to degradation of air quality and worsened climate change. In response to this announcement the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments’ Executive Director, Katie Huffling, MS, RN, CNM issued the following statement:
“To protect the health of our communities and the public, the United States must take immediate action to significantly reduce carbon emissions that contribute to worsening climate change. Climate change is creating serious health threats across the country, with Americans already experiencing health consequences from more intense wildfires and extreme weather events, worsening air quality, and increased risk of vector-borne diseases, such as Zika and Lyme disease.
“Power plants in the United States emit over a third of the nation’s carbon emissions, yet the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule significantly weakens standards set forth in the Clean Power Plan. The Clean Power Plan set strong standards to limit carbon emissions from power plants and encouraged innovation and investment in clean energy technologies. In comparison, the ACE rule would require polluters to take minimal action steps to reduce carbon pollution, which could potentially increase other harmful emissions and be worse than taking no action at all.
“The finalized rule announced today would recklessly place the health and safety of our communities – especially communities living near polluting power plants that experience the burden of health impacts – at risk. The Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments strongly opposes the ACE rule as it is inadequate in protecting the health of the public against the dangers of climate change.”
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The Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments is the only national nursing organization focused solely on the intersection of health and the environment. The mission of the Alliance is to promote healthy people and healthy environments by educating and leading the nursing profession, advancing research, incorporating evidence-based practice, and influencing policy.
