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4
See
Cleaner Tomorrow
, continued on page 6
On August 3rd, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
finalized the Clean Power Plan, to reduce the pollution responsible
for climate change. For all its complexity, its goal is simple—power
plants should generate 32% less carbon pollution by the year 2030
than they do today. In 1962, President Kennedy challenged our
nation to go the moon by 1969. If America can get to the moon in
7 years, emitting one-third less air pollution in 15 years is surely
within our grasp.
From the overwhelming majority of scientists, to the U.S.
military, to coastal planners in Hampton Roads, to His Holiness Pope
Francis, the consensus is
clear—climate
change
is real, it is driven
primarily by the burning
of fossil fuels, and we
must do something about
it. For Virginia, climate
change is a today issue,
not a tomorrow issue.
Coastal
communities
see the impacts of sea
level rise and recurrent
flooding on their daily
lives—from impassable
roads in flooded areas,
to skyrocketing flood
insurance costs, to the
readiness of military
installations
during
extreme weather events.
It’s true that climate
change is not the only
cause of sea level rise
in Hampton Roads, and that no one is certain how high and how
soon the seas will rise. The Virginia Institute of Marine Science
(VIMS) projects anywhere from 1½ to 7 feet of sea level rise by
the year 2100. But if we act now on clean energy and infrastructure
resilience—and sea level rise is on the low end of that spectrum—
we’ll have cleaner air and tougher infrastructure, and our fossil
energy resources will still be there. If the reverse happens—we
don’t act now, and sea level rise is on the high end—our generation
will have much to answer for with our grandchildren.
Virginia’s state goal is on par with the national goal—a one-
third cut in power plant pollution by 2030. I’m confident we can
meet this goal because we already met it between 2005 and 2012
without a Clean Power Plan. The EPA also made several changes
to its draft proposal that I had suggested in a letter to the Agency
last year. These included making Virginia’s target slightly easier
than in the proposal, to reward states that reduced emissions before
federal law required them to, as well as a way to adjust the plan
if there are unforeseen impacts on grid reliability. As Governor of
Virginia, I signed into law
voluntary state targets of
15% renewable electricity
by 2025 and a 10%
improvement in energy
efficiency by 2022. If
the Commonwealth can
hit these targets while
maintaining
market
trends toward natural gas,
we can hit our goal.
It’s also true that the
pollution cuts in the Clean
Power Plan are small on a
global scale. Some have
cited this as a reason
not to bother addressing
climate change at all.
In my view, that’s like
saying I shouldn’t work
out if I can’t drop every
pound on Day 1. The
key is to move down the
carbon ladder one step at a time, to meet sensible, achievable goals
that build momentum and set the conditions for others to follow suit.
The country that innovates fastest—cheaper renewables, higher
efficiency, and yes, cleaner fossil fuels—will reap the economic
rewards.
I’ve never accepted the idea that we must choose between
growing the economy and protecting the environment. I’ve seen
Cleaner Tomorrow
Than Today
By Senator Tim Kaine
Senator Kaine and Pete DeBusk at the
LMU College of Veterinary Medicine
teaching center in Ewing,Va.
Senator Kaine with Dave Schulte and Karin Dridge of the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Water Resources Division.