EPA climate plan: About time

by Randy Scholfield

Many anglers and sportsmen have seen firsthand the ravages of climate change: Extreme drought. Raging wildfires. Warmer water temperatures. Stressed fish. Closed rivers.

This is a serious threat to the sport and fisheries we love. We don’t need more talk as usual. We need action. The EPA’s Clean Power Plan, announced by President Obama Monday, is the kind of bold step that anglers and sportsmen have been waiting for.

Trout Unlimited has identified climate change as one of the greatest threats to trout and salmon fisheries in coming decades. We’re leading the fight with cutting-edge scientific research and on-the-ground projects that foster healthier habitat and more “resilience” in watersheds and fisheries. (See, for instance, this recent TU science team research paper about the effectiveness of restoration projects in climate change adaptation.)

But TU also is pushing for larger policy changes that address the causes of climate change. The EPA’s Clean Power Plan is a strong step forward. Under the plan, states must develop plans to meet a 32 percent reduction in power plant carbon emissions by 2030.

As TU said in a statement today, the Clean Power Plan will give trout and salmon a fighting chance. TU noted that “avoiding the severe harmful effects that climate change will have on coldwater fisheries and their watersheds requires both a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from existing energy production as well as a fundamental shift in energy sources from fossil fuels to low-carbon technologies and conservation. Accordingly, TU supports policies and comprehensive systems mechanisms that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and hasten the shift to low-carbon energy sources and conservation.”

This goal is doable. Colorado, for instance, is one of several states showing leadership in reducing its reliance on coal and shifting more to alternative energy. In 2010, the state passed a law requiring utilities to move toward less air-polluting sources of energy. The state’s largest utility, Xcel Energy, is on track to meet a 28 percent reduction in carbon emissions, achieved by a shift to renewables and natural gas.

We’ve done it before on a national level. Under the Clean Air Act, the nation witnessed dramatic success in curbing sulfur emissions and reducing the threat of acid rain, which posed a deadly threat to our fisheries and waterways. The Clean Power Plan, based on Clean Air Act authority, holds similar promise to end business as usual on a dangerous source of pollution.

It’s about time.

Randy Scholfield is TU’s communications director for the Southwest region.