Deadline to sign: March 8th

Dear Administrator Regan,

As faith leaders from diverse religious and spiritual traditions, we speak with one voice on behalf of our neighbors, our communities, and our collective future. It is the moral responsibility of our nation, and our sacred task as people of faith, to protect our ecosystems, advance environmental justice and public health, and address the climate crisis. 

Our faith traditions compel us to care for our neighbors and prioritize the needs of those who are most vulnerable among us. For this reason, we call on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set the strongest science-based soot pollution standard possible. 

Soot pollution – also known as particulate matter, or PM 2.5 – disproportionately burdens the health and safety of communities of color and low-wealth communities due to legacies of environmental injustice and racist policies like redlining. It is a dangerous and deadly pollutant that is produced by power plants, tailpipes on cars and trucks, and other industrial sources. The EPA’s proposed soot standard is insufficient to protect our communities’ health and our environment. In its final standard, the EPA must set the strongest science-based soot pollution standards possible. By tightening this public health protection, EPA could save nearly 20,000 lives each year.

We have a responsibility as a nation to do all we can to ensure that all have clean and healthy air to breathe and that we leave a safe and thriving world for future generations.

As people of faith and conscience, our values call us to love our neighbors, pursue justice, and be good stewards of our Sacred Earth. The EPA has a moral opportunity right now to advance environmental justice, ensure that our neighbors have clean air to breathe, and protect those most vulnerable such as children, seniors, and people with chronic illnesses.

As faith leaders, we urge you to issue a final standard of 8 micrograms per cubic meter to reflect the majority findings of EPA’s science advisors to protect public health, advance environmental justice, and protect our Sacred Earth.

Sincerely,