Let's make them glad to pay here, too
"…we gladly pay a severance tax in every state where we're active, except New York and Pennsylvania."
--Matthew Sheppard, spokesperson for Chesapeake Energy Corp., the largest holder of Marcellus Shale leases in Pennsylvania, quoted in Elmira Star-Gazette, March 26, 2009
Gas drilling severance tax protects taxpayers
A report issued this week by the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center makes a compelling and clearly documented case for a severance tax on natural gas to protect Pennsylvania's environment and economy as companies line up to exploit gas reserves in the Marcellus Shale formation. PennFuture supports Governor Rendell's proposal to enact a severance tax modeled on West Virginia's tax on natural gas. And, along with 87 percent of the voting public, we also support dedicating a portion of the revenue to projects that protect and improve the environment. Drilling tax revenues should also go to assist local governments address the damages from the drilling, and to fund projects on Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission and the Pennsylvania Game Commission land.
Some of the report's key points:
Chesapeake gladly bails outs, buys art, and boosts basketball for CEO
Wall Street is enraged over last year's compensation package for drilling giant Chesapeake Energy's CEO, Aubrey K. McClendon, who has apparently been down (relatively) on his luck. Even though Chesapeake's stock fell by 60 percent and profits dropped by 50 percent, McClendon enjoyed a five-fold pay hike to a total of $100 million. In addition, Chesapeake bought McClendon's personal art collection for $12.1 million and paid $4.6 million to sponsor the National Basketball Association's Oklahoma City Thunder team in which McClendon owns a 19 percent stake.
Use less energy, save $5 billion, create 27,000 jobs
A new reportfrom the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) finds that energy efficiency improvements can save Pennsylvania consumers $5 billion per year, and create 27,000 jobs by 2025. The report advocates specific energy saving policies that would meet by 2025 almost a quarter of our electricity needs and 15 percent of our natural gas needs. ACEEE also praised the Commonwealth for passing landmark energy savings and alternative energy legislation in 2008.
PennFuture asks Supreme Court to protect babies from toxic mercury
PennFuture, Pennsylvania Trout Unlimited and the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association have filed a friend of the court brief urging the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to reinstate the Pennsylvania mercury rule. The action is in support of the Department of Environmental Protection's appeal arguing that a lower court wrongly interpreted the Pennsylvania Air Pollution Control Act in reaching its decision to block implementation of the mercury rule.
Pittsburghers may bleed Black and Gold, but the sky shouldn't
For the second year in a row, the American Lung Association ranks the Pittsburgh metropolitan area worst in the nation for daily fine soot pollution. And nearly eleven million Pennsylvanians live in counties or metropolitan areas that receive failing grades in the organization's annual State of the Air report.
Help construct a solution
One of many ways to help reduce soot pollution in Pennsylvania is to require clean diesel technology to be used in all projects funded by the state. This week Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D) signed an executive order that includes a requirement to use ultra low sulfur diesel fuel and particulate emission controls on state-funded construction projects in areas with poor air.
Legislative round up
Many bills are moving or recently introduced in the General Assembly. Here are just a few we're working on:
Podcast of the Week: A Greenprint rather than a blueprint
Although it is home to miles of highways and development, Montgomery County may arguably be the greenest county in Pennsylvania. That's due to the vision of the citizens and elected officials who have put together a Greenprint – a vigorous project to reduce the county's contribution of heat trapping gases that cause global warming.
This podcast features Montgomery County resident and PennFuture staffer Joy Bergey, a member of the Advisory Committee on Climate Change, interviewing some of the key leaders of the Greenprint project. She talks to County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel, who discusses the many parts of the project, including successful outreach to the business community . She also talks to Steve Nelson, Director of Policy for the Montgomery County Planning Commission, who discusses how the County is working to operate all its properties and programs while causing as little pollution as possible. And she completes the picture by interviewing Caesar Gambone, co-engineer and plant supervisor for the County, who talks about his work on the frontlines in making direct reductions in energy use and pollution throughout the county.
You too can make a difference in cutting heat trapping gases. Join PennFuture's Cool Pennsylvania Campaign – and Pittsburghers can join The Black and Gold City Goes Green Campaign – to help make Pennsylvania even cooler!
Don't forget! You can have PennFuture podcasts download automatically to your desktop or iPod. Just download the free software iTunes and follow the directions to subscribe to PennFuture's podcasts.
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