Stimulating turnaround in Ebensburg
WTAJ-TV reports on the good news Governor Rendell announced yesterday. Federal stimulus monies from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will save or create 386 jobs in the Pennsylvania wind industry. The grants will allow Gamesa to bring back 79 workers and add 50 new workers at its wind turbine manufacturing facility in Ebensburg, Cambria County. Other grants will create another 257 jobs for the installation of wind turbines at three wind farms.
More jobs to come, but only if we act fast. Otherwise, hello China?
Michael Northrop of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund discusses the possibility that China could overtake the U.S. in renewable energy soon in an op-ed in newspapers around the country this week. Northrop notes that multinational bank HSBC reports "that the clean energy market will be worth $2 trillion in 10 years--the biggest economic development opportunity ever quantified--and it's up for grabs."
Pennsylvania can do its share, and maintain national leadership in attracting clean energy jobs and investment, by passing the Clean Energy and Green Jobs Bills (HB 80 and SB 92). Urge your legislators to do the patriotic thing and pass the legislation.
Philadelphia City Paper drills deep into the fate of the forest
This week's must read is "Dill, Baby, Drill," the Philadelphia City Paper's investigation into state policies to increase the amount of Pennsylvania's State Forest system open to drillers, in order to plug holes in the state budget.
PennFuture urges Governor Rendell to do the right thing and honor the budget agreement reached with the Green Dogs and other legislators that takes off the table further drilling in the state forests this fiscal year and next.
An apology is in order
This week, PennFuture's President and CEO, Jan Jarrett, demanded a retraction and apology from the Commonwealth Foundation for its broadside attack on the integrity of Penn State University. The foundation has used stolen emails to further its ideology to refute climate change, targeting Penn State Professor Michael Mann and claiming his research is fraudulent. Then, when Penn State conducted a thorough investigation into the foundation's claims and cleared Dr. Mann (as had the Associated Press and the National Academy of Sciences ), the foundation claimed - with absolutely no evidence -- that the university's investigation was a whitewash.
Of course, just like the tobacco industry, the Commonwealth Foundation can ignore accepted science and attempt to advance its own opinion. What it is not entitled to do is smear a respected researcher with disproven charges of scientific misconduct or attack the integrity of Penn State.
When will Consol take dam responsibility?
A depleted lake, dying fish, and a key recreation area destroyed. That's what Greene County suffered through in 2005 when the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) was forced to drain the 62-acre Duke Lake in Ryerson Station State Park after severe cracks emerged in the dam creating the lake.
DCNR sued Consol Energy, Inc. in early 2008 for over $58 million in compensatory damages and unspecified punitive damages. The Commonwealth alleges that Consol lied about the risks of mining to the dam, and that its longwall mining operations in the immediate vicinity of the dam caused the failures in the dam.
More proof of Consol's involvement is in this week's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) investigation and report which proves that Consol's mining operation damaged the dam and is the only possible cause of the damage. But Joseph Cerenzia, Consol spokesperson, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "We still believe that the dam problem was not mining related,"
Food, glorious food…
Pennsylvania's organic agriculture operations sold $212.7 million of products in 2008 according to a statement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. The figures include $126.6 million in crop sales and $86.2 million in sales of livestock, poultry and their products. Over 61 percent of sales were local, within 100 miles of the farm.
You can see this glorious food on display at Pittsburgh's Annual Farm to Table Conference on March 26 and 27 at the great, green David L. Lawrence Convention Center. It includes food tastings, a farmers market, presentations, cooking demonstrations and exhibitors. Stop and visit us at PennFuture's exhibit - we'll be the ones smacking our lips.
Podcast of the Week: Does Snowpocalypse mean there's no global warming?
The ability of birds to fly doesn't mean gravity is a hoax, but there are some who think this month's SnOMG events disprove climate change. Our friends at the Allegheny Front have an excellent interview this week with climate scientist Dr. Amanda Staudt, discussing the new report by our other close friends at the National Wildlife Federation. Maybe Tom Friedman is right. Maybe we should all just call it global weirding.
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