The Honorable Barack H. Obama the White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500 April 7, 2015 Dear President Obama
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The Honorable Barack H. Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500 April 7, 2015 Dear President Obama, We, the undersigned professionals dedicated to safeguarding and improving public health, write to thank you for your leadership on climate change and for proposing the Clean Power Plan. We urge you to work with states to seize the potential for clean energy to meet and exceed the goals of the plan to ensure cleaner, healthier air today and the well-being of future generations. As doctors, nurses, medical researchers, and others employed in the health and public health fields, we understand the clear connection between preventing the worst impacts of climate change and human health. None of us want to leave the next generation with epidemic asthma and respiratory illnesses, more heat strokes, and expanded ranges of dangerous insect- and water-borne diseases. But that’s exactly what climate change is causing today, and it will only get worse unless we act now to drastically cut the pollution fueling the problem. The risks climate change poses to public health have been well-documented. Increased temperatures are spreading tropical diseases to new latitudes. Heat waves will likely cause more deaths across the world. Warmer temperatures and increased prevalence of drought threaten to reduce crop yields and lead to food insecurity and water shortages. And more extreme weather events, coupled with sea-level rise, will threaten low-lying cities globally. Detailing these impacts in 2009, The Lancet, one of the world’s most respected medical journals, labeled climate change “the biggest global health threat of the 21st Century.”i This isn’t the world we want for our children. That’s why we enthusiastically support your Clean Power Plan to limit carbon pollution from power plants, which account for nearly 40 percent of U.S. carbon pollution, more than any other single source. Moreover, action to limit carbon will also help reduce levels of health-threatening soot and smog, making our air healthier to breathe. Expanding renewable energy and investing in energy efficiency are the best ways to reduce the need for polluting energy sources and secure a safer future for our children. We call on you to encourage states to reach their carbon reduction goals through the healthiest approach available: clean, renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, along with energy efficiency. Because we must prioritize health, these clean renewable approaches should be selected over natural gas and nuclear power. Natural gas is not clean, from a public health or a climate perspective. Gas production and use, especially horizontal hydraulic fracturing, is associated with local and regional air pollutionii,, adverse birth outcomesiii, and contamination of drinking wateriv. It also contributes to climate change, and methane leaks could currently be large enough to eliminate any climate advantage over coalv. Nuclear power creates radioactive wastes whose dangers persist for thousands of years.vi In your historic speech from June 2013 announcing your Climate Action Plan, you said you wanted to be able to look your children and grandchildren in the eye and tell them you did everything you could to deal with the problem of climate change. We feel the same way. We are doing our part to safeguard the health of our communities. You can do the same by ensuring your Clean Power Plan not only limits carbon pollution, but also maximizes the benefits that clean, renewable energy sources have to offer. Thank you again for your leadership, Mr. President. Sincerely, Dr. John Graham Dr. Lawrence Holland Maureen Powers PhD PhD RN Tuscaloosa, Alabama Huntsville, Alabama Homer, Alaska Susan Williams Dr. Anna Binkiewicz Janet Chase MSN, RN MD RN Daphne, Alaska Tucson, Arizona Sedona, Arizona Dr. John Curtiss Belinda Davis Mark Dorsten MD RN Wilderness First Responder Tucson, Arizona Tucson, Arizona Prescott, Arizona Dr. Mary Ann Graffagnino Mary Gresham Dr. Schuyler Hilts COMDR (Ret) USNR MD RN MD Tucson, Arizona Tucson, Arizona Tucson, Arizona Pamela Jay Dr. Keith Kaback Dr. Charles Katzenberg Tucson, Arizona MD MD Tucson, Arizona Tucson, Arizona Carol Keck Magali Lachot Dr. Harry McDermott RN RN MD Tucson, Arizona Peoria, Arizona Tucson, Arizona Dr. Sharon McDonough-Means Grace Rich Dorothy Riley MD MA PhD Tucson, Arizona Tucson, Arizona Tucson, Arizona Dr. Eve Shapiro Velda Smith Karen Stoutmeyer MD NP Sun City West, Arizona Tucson, Arizona Sun Lakes, Arizona Teresa Wall Dr. Barbara Warren Ruth Wootten MPH MD MSW Mesa, Arizona Tucson, Arizona Tempe, Arizona Dr. Anne Yoshino Dr. Kaaren Zvonik Shawn Collins MD MD RN Tucson, Arizona Green Valley, Arizona Little Rock, Arkansas Susan Gateley Bud Hyde Sister Doris Moore APRN, FNP-BC PhD DC Ozark, Arkansas Paron, Arkansas Little Rock, Arkansas Dr. George Patterson Dr. Irving Paul Ackerman Ellen Alkon DO MD MD Elkins, Arkansas Los Angeles, California Rolling Hills Estates, California Dr. Marsha Armstrong Peter Aronson Dr. Alicia Barela MD PA MD Los Gatos, California Eureka, California Los Gatos, California Dr. Kambria Beck Holder Dr. Bruce Bekkar Dr. Mark Bernstein MD MD MD Kenwood, California Del Mar, California San Francsico, California Nancy Blastos Judith Bliss Elizabeth Brawley RN MD ASID Redlands, California Berkeley, California Sausalito, California Dr. Alicia Bright Lorie Brillinger Claire Broome RN, CNS, EdD. FNP MD Belvedere, California Berkeley, California Berkeley, California Margaret Buckwalter Amy Buoncristiani Marina Capella RN MD MD San Francisco, California El Cerrito, California Carlsbad, California Philo Caps Dr. Donna Carr Carol Changus Dr MD JD Santa Cruz, California Encinitas, California San Diego, California Marcia Clark Dr. Nancy Cohen Kathy Dervin RN MD MPH Pinole, California Encinitas, California Berkeley, California Dr. Arthur D'Harlingue Dr. Jim Diamond Catherine Dominguez MD MD RN, MSN Oakland, California Berkeley, California San Diego, California Sarah Dopson Steve Eklund Michael Elkins RN MPH RN San Francisco, California Salinas, California Vista, California Dr. Barbara Erny Dr. Angelo Festa Margaret Fish MD MD PhD Emerald Hills, California San Francisco, California Boonville, California Ted Fishman Dr. Katherine Forrest Dr. Stephen Frantz PhD MD PhD San Jose, California Mountain View, California Woodland Hills, California Dr. Perrin French J Froiland Corinne Frugoni MD MS OTR/L MD Palo Alto, California San Francisco, California Arcata, California Gerardo Fuentes Ann Gerhardt Ayesha Gill PhD MD PhD Oakland, California Sacramento, California Oakland, California Dr. Mildred Gordon Dr. Robert Gould Thomas Gourley MD MD MD Oceanside, California San Francisco, California San Francisco, California Dr. Stephen Greenberg Margaret Grossman Joseph Haggerty MD MD MD Santa Monica, California Arcata, California Hillsborough, California Barbara Hardwick Dr. Trudy Hartman Valerie Herr RN MD PhD Redondo Beach, California Menlo Park, California Berkeley, California Michelle Holmes Dr. Gary Huffaker Harriet Ingram MD MD RN Brentood, California Riverside, California San Francisco, California Dr. Richard J Jackson Dr. Leslie Klein Pat Kunstenaar MD DO PhD Berkeley, California Los Angeles, California Woodacre, California Marjoriej Lambert Dr. Paula Leveck Yelena Libova DC PhD RN Mill Valley, California Stockton, California Berkeley, California Cathetine Loudis Eleanor Luce Dr. BC Macdonald RN MD Albion, California San Anselmo, California Oakland, California Gerald McKelvey Dr. Jeff Miller Dr. Lawrence Mintz Retired Nurse MD MD Manteca, California Santa Rosa, California San Francisco, California Hugh Moore Diana Morgan-Hickey Dr. Judith Murphy RN RN MD San Diego, California San Jose, California Portola Valley, California Gretchen Nelson Dr. Deana Raley Noble John Oda RN, FNP PhD, MPH, RN RN Clovis, California Encinitas, California San Francisco, California Dr. Sharon Paltin Jamie Pehling Jane Potter MD MD RN PNP Laytonville, California Pleasant Hill, California Pacifica, California Pam Ramirez Ravid Raphael Nora Roman RN DC RN Richmond, California Santa Barabara, California Santa Fe, California Dr. Robertt Rosenberg Dr. Richard & Carolyn Rosenstein Dr. Shelley Roth DDS MD MD Kentfield, California Los Angeles, California Fremont, California Dr. Linda Rudolph Dr. Rania Sabty-Daily Malaika Scott MD, M.P.H. PhD, MPH, REHS MD Berkeley, California Los Angeles, California berkeley, California Dr. Lisa Segnitz Chiyo Shidara Dr. Marguerite Shuster MD DDS PhD Santa Cruz, California Martinez, California Sierra Madre, California Benita Smith Dr. Mary Kelly Sutton Marilda Switlick LCSW MD RN Berkeley, California Fair Oaks, California Loomis, California Ria Tanz Kubota Elaine Taylor Dr. Tim Taylor El Sobrante, California RN PhD Glendale, California Los Angeles, California Dr. William Tellman Pela Tomasello Dr. Sharon Torrisi MD LAC DVM Meadow Vista, California Santa Cruz, California Hermosa Beach, California Dr. Royce Truex Dr. Frank Van Orden Mathias van Thiel MD MD PhD Greenbrae, California San Francisco, California Hayward, California Joe Volpe Mary Volpe Dr. Williiam Wallin Medical Researcher Medical Researcher M. D. Ventura, California Ventura, California Richmond, California Lucinda Wasson Anje' Waters Jean Wedekind RN, MS, Public Health Nurse Grass Valley, California LMT Bakersfield, California Santa Rosa, California Dr. Stephen Weitz Elizabeth Willis H. Leabah Winter PhD RN, BSN MPH Oakland, California Sebastopol, California Alameda, California Dr. Elizabeth Betsy Wobus Dan Woo Lara Wright