Timely hearing next week on climate change

Next week, the Pennsylvania House Democratic Policy Committee will hold a timely hearing on, "What should Pennsylvania be doing to address climate change?" The hearing will be held on Monday, December 16, at 10 a.m. in 418 Main Capitol.

Rep. Greg Vitali, D-Delaware, the minority chair of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, is organizing the hearing.

The committee will hear from a panel including:

• Richard Alley, Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences at Penn State University
• Tom Peterson, president and CEO of the Center for Climate Strategies
• Janet Milkman, executive director of the Delaware Valley Green Building Council
• Christina Simeone, director of the PennFuture Energy Center
• Rick Price, executive director of Western Pennsylvania Clean Cities
• Erik Johanson, manager of strategic business planning for SEPTA

The hearing is timely for a number of reasons beyond the sheer urgency of the climate change problem. First, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is well behind in producing public reports on the state's climate efforts and climate impacts on Pennsylvania as required by the 2008 Pennsylvania Climate Change Act. 

And last week, during his Senate confirmation hearing, DEP Secretary Christopher Abruzzo created a ruckus when he claimed that he had not read any scientific studies indicating adverse impacts of climate change on humans, plants or animals.

For more on Abruzzo's statement, please read PennFuture president Cindy Dunn's open letter to Abruzzo in another Session Daze blog post.

Ask your state representative to sponsor HR 500 on the Loyalsock

Please ask your state representative to co-sponsor House Resolution 500 that urges Governor Corbett and Acting Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Secretary Ellen Ferretti to do everything in their power to prevent natural gas drilling operations in an extraordinary part of the Loyalsock State Forest in Lycoming County known as the Clarence Moore lands.

Representative Greg Vitali, D-Delaware, Democratic Chair of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, plans to introduce HR 500 in the very near future. The resolution currently has 45 co-sponsors.

The Clarence Moore lands of the Loyalsock State Forest consist of 25,621 acres in northeastern Lycoming County. These lands hold a wealth of natural and recreational resources including the acclaimed 27-mile Old Loggers Path hiking trail; most of the watershed of Rock Run, an Exceptional Value stream often referred to as the most beautiful stream in Pennsylvania; the Devils Elbow Natural Area; large tracts of intact forest; plant and animal species of special concern; and a National Audubon Society-designated Important Bird Area.

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation proposes significant industrialization of the Clarence Moore lands for natural gas development. This proposed development includes at least 26 well pads, three compressor stations, impoundments, and miles of pipeline swaths and roads that will destroy, degrade and fragment these extraordinary public lands and natural resources of the Commonwealth.

An unusual land deed gives Governor Corbett and the DCNR extraordinary powers to protect these lands from natural gas development. A 1983 Commonwealth Court decision, backed up by a decision of the Pennsylvania Board of Claims, gives the administration the clear legal authority to deny surface access to Anadarko to over 75 percent of the Clarence Moore lands. The Department of Environmental Protection could restrict surface access to much of the remaining acreage based on the likely impacts to water and other resources under the powers provided by Act 13.

To search for your state representative by address, county or municipality, please visit the General Assembly's web site.

You're Invited: I Will #ActOnClimate Philadelphia Rally

On Friday, August 16, join local and national leaders to answer President Obama's call to act on climate change. Last year was the hottest on record — the worst drought in generations covered more than half the country; record wildfires swept across western states; and Super Storm Sandy devastated communities in the east. The costs of inaction on climate change are increasing. That's why we need as many people as possible to stand with the president to protect our air, our environment, and our future.

When: Friday, August 16, 2013 at 11 a.m.
Where: The People's Plaza, Independence Mall, 5th and Market Streets, Philadelphia

Confirmed speakers:

• Kenyatta Johnson, Philadelphia City Councilman 
• State Rep. Greg Vitali
• State Rep. Jordan Harris
• Katherine Gajewski, City of Philadelphia's Director of Sustainability 
• John Johnson, President, Transport Workers Union Local #234   
• Ryan Boyer, Business Manager, Laborers' District Council Philadelphia 

You don't wanna miss it!
If you think you can attend, you can RSVP to Andrew Sharp.