Letters: Momentum building for carbon fee; Why are ‘tough’ candidates afraid?

Momentum building for carbon fee

I congratulate State College Borough Council for unanimously endorsing a resolution on March 7 calling on the U.S. Congress to pass the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act.

This Act would put a slowly rising fee on carbon pollution to be paid by the coal, oil, and gas companies. It would cut emissions of carbon by 40 to 50 percent by 2030 and protect American households with a carbon cashback dividend — funded by the carbon fee — every month. It would jump-start job creation in the transition to a greener economy.

Patton and Ferguson townships have adopted similar resolutions. So has the undergraduate student government at Penn State. In Pennsylvania, the cities of Allentown, Bethlehem, Bloomsburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and York also have taken this step.

More than 3,500 economists, including 28 Nobel laureates and four former chairs of the Federal Reserve Board support the concept of carbon fee and dividend as a highly effective tool in reducing carbon pollution.

I sense that momentum is building in the movement to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. The disastrous war in Europe, which could only happen because the nation that started it runs nearly its whole economy on oil and gas exports, has snapped the issue into focus for many.

A world dependent on fossil fuels is increasingly unstable both in climatological and geopolitical terms. Kudos to State College Borough, Patton Township, Ferguson Township and Penn State’s undergraduate student government for recognizing that.

Why are ‘tough’ candidates afraid?

Four Republicans, Barletta, Corman, McSwain and White, who are candidates for Governor in Pennsylvania have agreed to have a debate. However, they have conditions for the format.

The debate moderators must meet certain conditions. The moderators must be Republicans and be from Pennsylvania. They must have never spoken negatively about any of the candidates (based on the quality of these candidates such moderators may be hard to find) or worked for an organization that has maligned one of the four candidates.

These are the same individuals who run campaign ads bragging about how tough they are or are going to be. Corman says he has almost single handily stopped Wolf’s left wing agenda, McSwain is going to jail all the criminals (does this include Mastriano who took part in the January 6 insurrection?), White is going to remove Critical Race Theory from all the schools even though it does not exist in our public schools and Barletta is going to solve all our immigration issues.

These “tough” candidates are afraid they might be asked a tough question rather than the softballs they want. Too bad Tucker Carlson does not live in Pennsylvania. He would fit the bill perfectly since he has never asked a Republican a tough question.

These are some of the people who want to lead our commonwealth. It strikes me they would be perfect individuals to carry out Trump’s lies rather than what is best for the people of Pennsylvania.

Protect wetland from Rutter’s

Rutter’s Company plans to build an 18-pump truck stop in Huntingdon adjacent to and uphill from Old Crow Wetland. Their proposed 24-hour store catering to large trucks would require the construction of a new traffic light and exit lane on Route 22. This unnecessary gas station would not benefit Huntingdon and would harm the wetland. Runoff, spilled fuel and chemicals, as well as litter and excess light and noise, would all devastate the delicate wetland ecosystem. So many plants and animals depend on that place, and so many people love to visit it. More species of birds visit there than Canoe Creek State Park because it’s an island of good habitat in a built-up area. It is one of the best birding spots in central Pennsylvania. We humans have destroyed more than half of the original wetlands in the United States; let’s not add Old Crow to the list.

Rutter’s is a private company that can build their truck stop elsewhere. They can demonstrate responsibility to the natural environment and responsiveness to our community’s wishes simply by choosing another location for their project.

If you want to protect Old Crow wetland, write to the Huntingdon County Conservation District at manager@huntingdonconservation.org. If you use Facebook, join the Coalition to Save Old Crow Wetland Facebook group. We have enough gas stations but will never have enough wetlands.