I was born in Fairfax County, I went to college at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, and I now reside with my 10-month old child and husband in Falls Church, Virginia.  I love this state and I love the ED 11 is taking the necessary first steps in making sure my son will get to love every part of this state too.

I support the passing of ED11, or the VA Carbon Reduction Plan please take into consideration the following items:

1. ED11 will reduce carbon emissions by 30% and bring new jobs into the state
2. Regulations should include a starting cap between 30 and 32 tons of emissions by 2020 which I believe should be set closer to 30
3. The reduction cap should go beyond 2030
4. Another significant carbon polutter is biomass.  ED11 has a loophole which exempts this emissions.  This should be revised to ensure the emissions standards are reviewing all relevant carbon emissions.
5. As a resident of Norfolk VA for over 10 years I saw first hand the regular flooding already plagueing this beautiful and vital region of Virginia.  Cutting emissions will help protect these large areas of residential, commercial, and travel locales.
6. I strongly encourage ED11 ensure that poluttion benefits accrue to all communities and have a system implace to measure and make asjustments if this is found to be untrue.  This will benefit the many low-income and communities of color that have long taken the grunt of pollution.
7. Virginia’s Carbon Reduction Plan should not only focus on coal, but also address the issue of emissions from fracked gas. Methane leaks during the course getting the substance to the smokestack can actually create more significant greenhouse gas impacts than the carbon dioxide from burning coal. ED11 should be a first step towards limiting climate altering emissions from all fossil fuel burning power plants. Renewable energy sources like wind and solar are affordable and abundant.
8. By embracing clean energy Virginia can lead the way in clean energy jobs!