RGGI Public Comment Coalition Letter
We, the undersigned individuals and organizations, are submitting our public comment in support of Pennsylvania’s establishing a carbon dioxide budget trading program and joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), one of the nation’s most successful state-level programs for fighting climate change.
To the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board:
We, the undersigned individuals and organizations, are submitting our public comment in support of Pennsylvania’s establishing a carbon dioxide budget trading program and joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), one of the nation’s most successful state-level programs for fighting climate change.
With each day that passes, climate change becomes a more urgent threat to our Commonwealth. Local impacts of the climate crisis in Pennsylvania include heat waves, worsening air quality that harms public health, more insect-borne diseases, more intense storms and flash flooding, and agricultural losses.
As the fourth largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the nation, Pennsylvania has a responsibility to
reduce our emissions, and joining RGGI will put us on the right path. Over the past twelve years, this
bipartisan program has had remarkable success for the participating Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states.
Since 2008:
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CO2 emissions in from RGGI states have fallen by 47%, outpacing the rest of the country by 90%;
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Reductions in other air pollutants, including SO2 and NOx, that can lead to premature deaths, heart attacks, and respiratory illnesses have resulted in an additional $5.7 billion in health and productivity benefits;
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Electricity prices in RGGI states have fallen by 5.7%, while prices have increased in the
rest of the country by 8.6%;
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The combined economies of the RGGI states have grown by 47%, during the first ten years of the program, outpacing growth in the rest of the country by 31%.
If Pennsylvania joins the program, it could reduce its carbon emissions by 188 million tons over its first decade in the program — that’s equivalent to taking 35 million cars off the road. Moreover, joining RGGI will not only cut carbon pollution, but also reduce nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide pollution, yielding significant health benefits for Pennsylvanians. DEP projects that by joining RGGI, Pennsylvania will avoid hundreds of premature deaths and 30,000 hospital visits for respiratory illness such as asthma by 2030.
Critically, participation in RGGI will enable Pennsylvania to create jobs while reducing our greenhouse gases. DEP estimates that Pennsylvania would see a net increase of over 27,000 jobs by participating in the program.
To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we must act now to transition away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy. RGGI is one of the best tools we have to do so and would create a solid foundation for other important policy steps, like expanding goals for renewable energy. For the sake of our climate, our environment, and our health, we urge Pennsylvania’s leaders to join RGGI without delay.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Elected Officials
Erika Strassburger, Council Member, Pittsburgh City Council
Claudette Williams, Borough Council President, Mount Pocono Borough
Matt Shorraw, Mayor, City of Monessen
Joel Hicks, Councilor, Borough of Carlisle
Mary Carol Kennedy, East Pittsburgh Borough Council President, East Pittsburgh Borough
David Heayn-Menendez, Councilmember, Lewisburg Borough
Ron Strouse, Mayor, Doylestown Borough
Tom Kosmala, Council and Board member, Bradfordwoods Council and Authority member Northland Public Library
Richard Mease, Vice President, Selinsgrove Borough Council
Robert Donchez, Mayor, City of Bethlehem
John Holahan, Township Supervisor, Mount Pocono Borough
David Rinaldi, Councilman, Clarks Green
Marita Garrett, Mayor, Wilkinsburg
Jonathan Jaso, Member of Council, Sharpsburg Borough
Bethany Hallam, Allegheny County Councilperson, At-Large, Allegheny County
Anita Prizio, County Council Member, Allegheny County Council District 3, Allegheny County
Michael Boyd, Commissioner, Wilkins Township
Nickole Nesby, Mayor, City of Duquesne
Dick Poot, Borough Council Member, Coopersburg City
Ce-Ce Gerlach, Council Person, Allentown City
Mark Fallon, Munhall Councilperson, Munhall
Mark Barbee, Mayor, Bridgeport Borough
Kara Roggenkamp, Member of Council, Ben Avon Borough
Joanne Tosti-Vasey, President of Council, Bellefonte Borough
Jesse Barlow, President, Borough Council, Borough of State College
Sean Shultz, Deputy Mayor, Carlisle Borough
Sean Crampsie, Carlisle Borough Councilman, Carlisle Borough Council
Jim Lee, Township Commissioner, Springfield Township
Karen Beck Pooley, Director, Bethlehem Area School District Board
Jeff Stuby, Carlisle Borough Councilor, Carlisle Borough
Kathleen Schaaf, City Councilperson, Erie City
Jeffrey Cruciani, Councilman, Blakely Borough
Erica McCabe, Council Person, Stroudsburg Boro
Ronald Filippelli, Mayor, Borough of State College
Betsy Larsen, Councilperson, Swarthmore Borough Council
David Banks, City Councilman, City of Williamsport
Michael Brody, Borough councilman, Lewisburg Borough
Corey O’Connor, Councilman, Pittsburgh City Council
Olivia Bennett, County Councilor District 13, Allegheny County
Tarah Probst, Mayor, Stroudsburg, PA
Jim Evanisko, Councilmember, Stroudsburg
james huber, Council person, Bloomsburg
Robert Pasquantonio, Councilmember, Brentwood Borough Council
Bobby Wilson, City Councilman, City of Pittsburgh
Brittany Reno, Council President, Sharpsburg Borough
Karen Pastor, CouncilWoman, Sharpsburg Borough
Kevin Madden, County Councilmember, Delaware County (PA)
Benjamin Hover, Council President, Lansdowne Borough Council
Theresa Lafer, Council Member, Borough of State College
Michael Prendergast, Councilman, Bellefonte Borough Council
Deborah Cleeton, Elected Official, Bellefonte Borough
Debra Sulai, Lewisburg Borough Council President and Ward 3 Representative, Lewisburg Borough Council
Mark Squilla, Philadelphia City Councilmember, First District, Philadelphia
David O’Connell, City Councilperson, City of Easton, PA
Dan Williams, PA State Representative – 74th HD, PA House of Representatives
Kendra Brooks, City Councilmember At-Large, Philadelphia
Monica Taylor, County Councilwoman, Delaware County
Greg Vitali, State Representative, Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Bridget Malloy Kosierowski, State Representative, 114th Legislative House District- Lackawanna County
Academics
Patricia McKellop, High School Biology and Ecology Teacher, Titusville School District
Darlene Clark, Assistant Teaching Professor, Penn State
Shawn Davis, Assistant Professor, Slippery Rock University
Richard Niesenbaum, Professor & Director of Sustainability Studies, Muhlenberg College
Amy Faivre, Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Cedar Crest College
Sara Grossman, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, Bryn Mawr College
C. Drew Brown, Environmental Engineer, Philadelphia Water Department
Gregory Milinovich, Senior Pastor, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church & Wesley Foundation
Ana Hoffman, Air Program Engagement, CREATE Lab
Josef Werne, Professor and Chair, University of Pittsburgh
Michelle Briggs, Associate Professor of Biology, Lycoming College
Arthur Purcaro, Assistant Vice President for Mission and Ministry, Villanova University
Mark Sentesy, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Penn State
Kira Lawrence, Professor and Chair Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, Lafayette College
Derek Straub, Associate Professor, Susquehanna University
Richard Moodey, Assistant Professor, Gannon University
Robert Dostal, Professor, Philosophy Department, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr College
Scott Van Bramer, Professor of Chemistry, Widener
Neil Leary, Director, Center for Sustainability Education, Dickinson College
Margee Ensign, President, Dickinson College
Albert Presto, Associate Research Professor, Carnegie Mellon University
Mohsin Hashim, Professor of Political Science, Muhlenberg College
Benjamin Felzer, Associate Professor, Lehigh University
Jenna Ulrich, PSU BRS Club Secretary, BioRenewable Systems
Brian Fife, Professor of Political Science and Chair, Lehigh University
Paul Sylvester, Assistant Professor, West Chester University
Erik Lindquist, Chair, Department of Biological Sciences, Messiah University
Nikhil Anand, Associate Professor, University of Pennsylvania
Robert Giegengack, Prof. Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania
Beatrice Dias, Co-Director of Outreach, Carnegie Mellon University
Lauren Ristvet, Associate Professor, University of Pennsylvania
Brian Gregory, Associate Professor and Graduate Chair of Biology, University of Pennsylvania
M. Fevzi Daldal, Professor, University of Pennsylvania
Karen Pooley, Director of Environmental Policy Design program, Lehigh University
Anne Norton, Professor, university of pennsylvania
Hans Pfister, Professor of Physics, Dickinson College
Michael Weisberg, Professor, University of Pennsylvania
David Bowne, Associate Professor of Biology, Elizabethtown
Jennifer Pfluger, Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, Swarthmore College
Karl Kleiner, Associate Professor of Biology, York College of Pennsylvania
Kenneth Kodama, professor, Lehigh University
Daniel Wodak, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and of Law, UPenn
Peter Jansson, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering, Bucknell
Resa Jones, Chair and Associate Professor, College of Public Health, Temple University
Dominique Ruggieri, Core Teaching Faculty, Master of Public Health Program, Penn Medicine
Dr. Dilip Ramchandani, MD,
Kelly Kuhns, Professor and Chair, Millersville
Michael Shepard, Professor, Town of Bloomsburg
Jeff Brunskill, Associate Professor, Bloomsburg University
Cathy Chamblee, Music Department Tutor, UPenn
John Hranitz, Biologist, Professor, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania
John Christman, Professor of Philosophy, Political Science and Women’s Studies, Penn State U.
Ted Toadvine, Director, Rock Ethics Institute, Penn State University
Maggie Douglas, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science, Dickinson College
Kelly Weikel, University Affairs Officer, Penn State Society of Women Engineers
Ward Allebach, Adjunct Professor, University of Pittsburgh, Environmental Studies Program
Holona Ochs, Associate professor, Lehigh University
John Stolz, Professor, Duquesne University
Businesses
Brian Taussig-Lux, President, www.untours.com
Ken Cala, Co-owner, The Local Vapor
Sari Steuber, Operations Coordinator, Transition Town Media
Miles Butler, Owner/Operator, Germantown Espresso Bar
Dara Bortman, Sr VP Marketing/Sales, Exact Solar
Jim Kurtz, President, RER Energy Group
Dennis Rowan, Managing partner, Rowan Energy Integration
David Hughes, President, Citizen Power, Inc.
Regina Marinelli, Owner/Manager, Agri-Dynamics Inc.
Jackson Kusiak, Solar Energy Consultant, Solar States
Scott Wolovich, Executive Director, New Sun Rising
Joyce Lee, President, IndigoJLD Green + Health
Kindra Mohr, Government Relations Manager, Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia
Loretta Ottinger, Project Developer, Suntuity
Ryan Vesely, President, Green Solar Systems LLC
Hugh Lofting, President, Hugh Lofting Timber Framing, Inc
Marc Mondor, Principal, evolve LLC
Becky Goodwin, Owner, Tula organic salon
Fred Kraybill, Manager, Thomas Blvd Group
William Engard, Sales, MVE Group
Andrew Porter, Solar Sales Manager, Envinity, Inc.
Samuel Park, CEO, Arsenal Solar
Andrea Wittchen, Owner/Principal, iSpring
Shannon Pendleton, Principal, Sanderson Architectural
Michael Dunlay, Operations Manager, Dancing Gnome Beer
Sky Fogal, CFO, Pocono Whitewater
Robert Pierson, Director/Owner, Farm to City LLC
Eric Peterson, Manager, Peterson’s Ski & Cycle, Inc.
Nathan Gross, Estimator / Project Manager / Treasurer, GC Electric Co., Inc.
Gary Bloss, Co-Owner, Josie Porter Farm
Community Organizations
Ian Kindle, Chair, Easton Environmental Advisory Council
Robin Schaufler, Member of the Environmental Advisory Committee, Swarthmore PA EAC
john marshall, secretary, Philadelphia Ethical Society
Gail Murray, Communications Director, Communities First Sewickley Valley
Ellen Stevenson, Founder, The Social Justice Group, MontCo / Philly, Indivisible
Anisa George, Guide, Wild Philadelphia
Nathan Schlingmann, Professional Counselor, Walk Your Path LLC
Christine Stenner, Secretary, Indivisible HOPE
Stanley Shapiro, Vice-Chair, Philadelphia Neighborhood Networks
Luz Laboy, NAC Coordinator, Hunting Park Neighborhood Advisory Committee
April Clisura, Co-Chair, Greenfield Neighbors for Clean Air (Pittsburgh, PA)
Celeste Hardester, President, Central Roxborough Civic Association
David Lutzker, President, Phoenixville Green Team
Garen Meguerian, Member, Way Forward
Patricia Tahan Association, President, Lower Moyamensing Civic Association
Walt Cressler, Chairperson, Borough of Media Environmental Advisory Council
Stephanie Ulmer, Chair, Edgewood Shade Tree Committee
Christine Russell, Organizing Group Leader, Citizens for Equality Action
Tracy Lira, Climate Action Group Leader, H-CAN
cathy snyder, Executive Director and Founder, Rolling Harvest Food Rescue
Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis, Executive Director, Women for a Healthy Environment
Howard Rieger, Convener, East End Neighbors Concerned About Pollution
Jonathan Meyers, Vice Chair, Phoenixville Area Clean Energy Alliance
Su Stout, Co-Chair, Progressive Montco
Zachary Davis, Upper Merion Environmental Advisory Council Chairperson, Upper Merion Environmental Advisory Council
Elizabeth Dale Harris, Member, Lansdowne Environmental Advisory Committee
Ron Celentano, President, PA Solar & Storage Industries Assoc. (PASSIA)
Heidi Secord, President, Pennsylvania Farmers Union
Environmental Organizations
Jim Vogt, President, AQuashicola/ Pohopoco Watershed Conservancy
Daniel Rossi-Keen, Executive Director, RiverWise
Stacy Carr-Poole, Executive Director, Bucks County Audubon Society
R John Dawes, Executive Director, Foundation for PA Watersheds
Divya Jain, Co-President, Penn State Eco Action Club
Louise Troutman, Executive Director, Pocono Heritage Land Trust
Ashley Funk, Incoming Executive Director, Mountain Watershed Association
Amy Tecosky-Feldman, Climate Activist, Citizens Climate Lobby – MontCoBucks Chapter, Climate Action Narbs (Narberth Ready for 100)
David Perkins, Member, CCL
Brook Lenker, Executive Director, FracTracker alliance
William Mettler, BucksMont Chapter Leader, Citizens Climate Lobby
Steven Hvozdovich, Pennsylvania Campaigns Director, Clean Water Action
Sandy Field, Chapter Chair, Climate Reality Project; Susquehanna Valley, PA
Terry Spahr, Executive Director, Earth Overshoot
Gillian Graber, Executive Director, Protect PT (Penn-Trafford)
Elizabeth Koniers Brown, Director, Delaware River Watershed Program, Audubon Mid-Atlantic
Kimberly Witt, Mid Atlantic Policy Manager, Appalachian Mountain Club
Matthew Mehalik, Executive Director, Breathe Project
Glenn Olcerst, Co-Founder & In -House Counsel, Rail Pollution Protection Pittsburgh
Thomas Schuster, Clean Energy Program Director, Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter
Nancy Chernett, Member, Delaware River Valley Pachamama Chapter
Bernard McGurl, Executive Director, Lackawanna River Conservation Association
Phoebe Reese, Co-Chair, Climate Reality: Pittsburgh & Southwestern PA
Vivian Stockman, executive director, OVEC-Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition
Leann Leiter, Pennsylvania & Ohio Field Advocate, Earthworks
Lise Baxter, Co-founder, Protect Our Water & Air
Jane Dugdale, Cofounder/corp group, Phoenixville Area Transition
Lucinda Rogers, president, Evergreen Conservancy
Kimberly Stever Nelson, Principal, Eastwick Solutions
Rachel Davis, Project Geologist, Environmental Resources Management
Amy Bruckner, Board Member, Guardians of the Brandywine
Nathaniel Smith, Secretary, Don’t Spray Me!
Victoria Laubach, Executive Director, Green Valleys Watershed Association
William Kern, Executive Director, Countryside Conservancy
Lisa Hallowell, Senior Attorney, Environmental Integrity Project
Craig Lukatch, President, Lacawac Sanctuary Foundation
Jose Duenas, School Program Manager, Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education
Pari Kasotia, Mid-Atlantic Director, Vote Solar
Andrea Wittchen, President, Lehigh Valley Sustainability Network
Matt MacConnell, Co-Chair/Conservation Chair, Lehigh Valley Sierra Club Group of the PA Chapter
Billy Hanafee, Founder, PHLASK Ecosystem
Leigh Altadonna, President, Wyncote Audubon Society
Bobby Hughes, Executive Director, Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (EPCAMR)
Diane Rosencrance, Executive Director, DelawareHighlands Conservancy
Jeffrey Marshall, President, Heritage Conservancy
Jakob Speksnijder, Board Member Plastic Free Please, West Chester Green Team
Douglas Mason, Chair, Sierra Club Moshannon Group
Katie Modic, Executive Director, Communitopia
Emily Collins, Executive Director and Managing Attorney, Fair Shake Legal Services
Alexa Plisiewicz, President, The Biological Sciences Society, Penn State
Pat Lupo, OSB, Co-Chair, PLEWA Pennsylvania Lake Erie Watershed Association
Jocolyn Bowser-Bostick, volunteer coordinator for Delco RF 100, Delaware County Ready For 100 campaign
Malinda Clatterbuck, secretary, Lancaster Against Pipelines
Peter Hughes, President, Valley Forge Trout Unlimited
Elizabeth Brown, Director, Delaware River Watershed Program, Audubon Pennsylvania
Madge Monser, Chair, Ambler Environmental Advisory Council
Peter Couchman, Executive Director, Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve
Anthony Hopkins, Hub Co-Coordinator, Sunrise Movement Philadelphia
Sidney Kahn, Board member, Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania (PSR PA)
Michael Pisano, Hub Coordinator, Sunrise Pittsburgh
Phyllis Blumberg, Founding Member, Climate Action Lower Merion
Ilana Zahavy, Founding Organizer of the Beth Am Israel JYCM chapter, Jewish Youth Climate Movement Chapter of Congregation Beth Am Israel, Penn Valley, PA
Aaron Appel, Partnerships Team Lead, Sunrise Movement Philadelphia Hub
Glenn Olcerst, Co- Founder Rail Pollution Protection Pittsburgh, Environmental & Community Organization
Christine Graziano, President, Plant Five for Life
karen grzywinski, President, Allegheny County Clean Air Now (ACCAN)
Joylette Portlock, Executive Director, Sustainable Pittsburgh
Faith Leaders & Organizations
Kipp Gilmore-Clough, Associate Pastor, Chestnut Hill United Church
Kenneth Feinour, Retired Lutheran Pastor, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Glenside, PA
Sandra Strauss, Director of Advocacy and Ecumenical Outreach, Pennsylvania Council of Churches
William Erat, Rev., Erat Enterprises
Troy Frank, Network Administrator, UUFCC Green Sanctuary Committee
Linda Noonan, Senior Pastor, Chestnut Hill United Church
Daniel Swartz, Executive Director, Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life
Zack Jackson, Pastor
Joy Bergey, Director, Environmental Justice Center of Chestnut Hill United Church
Michael DiMonte, Convener, St. Paul’s Working for Justice Ministry
David Heayn-Menendez, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Interfaith Power and Light
Courtenay Willcox, Moderator, BMPC Environmental Justice Committee
Jeremy Chen, Community member / Block Captain, One Hope Community Church
Sandra Strauss, Director of Advocacy and Ecumenical Outreach, Pennsylvania Council of Churches
Linda Sander, Co-Chair, Unitarian Congregation of West Chester Social Justice Committee
Douglas Hagler, Pastor, The First Presbyterian Church of Phoenixville
Russell Sullivan, Pastor, Pine Street Presbyterian
stephanie schmidt, prioress, Benedictine sisters of erie
Diane Bardol, Vice President and Social Justice Coordinator, Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart
Johannah Werbach, Co-Chair, Green Team of Beth Am Israel
Health Professionals
Dr. Felipe Gómez
Elicia Gonzales, Exec Dir, Women’s Medical Fund
Susanne Groenendaal, Clinical Social Worker,
Claudia Crane, RN
Walter Tsou, Exec Director, PSR Pennsylvania
Tammy Murphy, Medical Advocacy Director, Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania
Dr. Avinash Linganna, Cardiologist
Neal Hemmelstein, Psychologist, Child, Adult, & Family Psychological Center
Diane Krassenstein, Retired RN, BSN
Mary Beth Mannarino, Professor emerita; psychologist, Chatham University
Deborah Gentile, Medical Director, Community Partners in Asthma Care
Dr. Lana Fishkin, MD
Xue Ming, Professor Department of Neurology, Rutgers University
Jove Graham, Health Services Researcher, Geisinger
Elizabeth Lowenthal, pediatrician/epidemiologist, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Dr. Virginia Soules, M.D.
Lisa Cannon, Psychologist
Rick Heil, Licensed Psychologist
Katie Huffling, Executive Director, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments