Environmentalists sing 'climate carols' to support Obama's carbon plan

• Katie Colaneri
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  Katie Colaneri is a reporter for StateImpact Pennsylvania and WHYY in Philadelphia covering energy and the environment. Before joining StateImpact, Katie worked as an investigative and enterprise reporter at WBGO in Newark, New Jersey. She covered some of New Jersey's biggest stories including the devastation and aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, as well as the day-to-day triumphs and struggles to revitalize state's largest city. A native of New Jersey with roots in South Central Pennsylvania, Katie holds a bachelor's degree from Wellesley College.

“You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I’m telling you why.  Climate Change is coming to town.”
Today is the last day to comment on the Obama administration’s proposal to cut greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. Given the season, members of the Clean Air Council, PennFuture, Physicians for Social Responsibility and other groups are shelving the usual sober arguments and singing their support of the controversial plan.

Russell Zerbo helped write several of the  “climate carols” activists will sing outside the Philadelphia offices of U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and the federal Environmental Protection Agency on Monday afternoon. Zerbo hopes the new verses will stick in people’s minds as much as the originals.
“When you’re talking about climate change, you’re really talking about preserving a familiar winter, and I think a lot of people can relate,” he said.
Under the EPA’s proposal, Pennsylvania would be required to cut its carbon emissions by more than 30 percent over the next 15 years.
But not all Pennsylvanians favor the plan, seeing it as a major threat to the state’s coal industry. For them, their climate carol may sound more like the Elvis hit “Blue Christmas.”
Here’s a video of members of the Clean Air Council singing “Climate Change is Coming to Town:”

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