U.S. EPA Hearing in Chicago - August 2010
U.S. EPA held a public hearing on new national power plant emissions rules in Chicago on August 19, 2010. Representatives and supporters from Respiratory Health Association and other environmental health organizations testified in support of this regulation. On July 6, 2011, the EPA issued a final rule that requires coal-fueled power plants to cut fog- and soot-forming power plant emissions by 54 to 73 percent by 2014. The Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (formerly called the Clean Air Transport Rule) will save 13,000 to 36,000 lives each year nationwide when fully implemented.
Weeks Ringle, who has asthma and is a longtime supporter of Respiratory Health Association, testified at the hearing in support of the new legislation. Below is her testimony.
Testimony for the Clean Air Transport Rule – Weeks Ringle
August 19, 2010
My name is Weeks Ringle. I am 48 years old. I am a mom and wife, a designer and writer, and a business owner. I am also a lifelong asthmatic. All my life I have wanted to speak to some of the people who decide how clean our air will be and to ask, or more truthfully to beg, for the cleanest air possible. So I am truly grateful to have this chance to speak with you.
In front of me are the medications and equipment that I need to be able to breathe. In addition, earlier today I also received at my doctor’s office the three immunizations I get each week as part of my asthma care. I spend hundreds of dollars each month on medications, doctor visits and immunizations.
When I am healthy, I can, with these medications, workout for an hour each day to keep my body as strong as possible. On a good day I am able to ride 100 miles on my bike. On a bad day, I have difficulty getting enough breath to finish a sentence. Sometimes the medications just stop working or I develop infections. In the past year I have had six respiratory infections, each lasting from 10 days to three weeks. Last year I was hospitalized and confined to bed for three consecutive months and had to ask our publisher to delay our book release because I couldn’t breathe enough to work. Were it not for my heroic husband who does both his job and mine when I am ill, I would have to apply for disability because no employer would tolerate that kind of absenteeism.
Asthma dominates my life and although I work hard to be a compliant patient and take excellent care of myself, much of my effort to keep my asthma in control is undermined by poor air quality.
I thank you for the measures you are considering and ask that you continue to push for the cleanest air possible. I am certain that some will tell you that it is too costly to adapt to clean air measures. I am also certain that none of those people has ever struggled to breathe as much as I have. I ask you to think of breathing clean air as a human right. Part of being a great country is having clean air.
Thank you for your attention.
More information
Click here to view a U.S. EPA PowerPoint presentation on the rule.
Click here to view a U.S. EPA Fact Sheet on the rule.
Click here to view Respiratory Health Association's press release.
For more information, contact Julie O'Brien:
Email Julie
(312) 628-0251
