Letters: Casino is no ‘award’ for Centre County; State College can be part of climate crisis solutions

Casino is no ‘award’ for Centre County

I saw a tweet that the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board “awarded” a category 4 casino to Centre County. This is not an award that Centre County wants regardless of what the PGCB says. There is a lot of opposition to this casino, not the lies that have been spread that it is strongly supported. I know no one who supports this. This town is no longer going to be considered a family and educational community but a gaming community with the crime and corruption to prove it.

State College can be part of climate crisis solutions

Inflation is among the cruelest of taxes. The least able to pay shoulder the same burden as those that are more able. Certainly, the price of most goods and services have spiked in the last two years for many reasons. Of late the Oil and Gas industry has ridden the backs of us all to rake in record profits. ExxonMobil on Tuesday reported a record-smashing annual profit of $55.7 billion for 2022. Days before, Chevron announced its biggest windfall ever. Meanwhile prices at the pump are down from their peak, but still too high. We need to do all we can to combat this price gouging. The use of fossil fuels also harms the environment and adds to the climate crisis. There are things we can do locally, in State College, to fight against this. By establishing infrastructure to enable a safer, more walkable and bikeable environment we can cut down on the need to consume these fuels. By addressing the need for more reasonably priced housing, we can also address the climate crisis by building more affordable and inclusive housing close to where people work and play. As State College considers changes in zoning the ability of people to afford where they live is a key component. We need to do much better than we have to make those affordable places available and make sure that is enshrined in any new zoning codes, it can only help people and lead to further positive development of the local economy.

Getting US on a secure path to energy security

Solving the energy crisis requires a course correction from Washington — and one that encourages domestic natural gas and oil development, energy security, economic growth and continued progress toward a lower-carbon future.

What doesn’t help is the finger-pointing at producers, unfounded accusations of price gouging and threats to impose new taxes, as well as the Biden administration’s efforts to greatly reduce leasing on federal lands and waters.

This approach hinders development and could undermine America’s enviable position as the number one producer of natural gas and oil in the world. U.S. energy leadership can mean abundant, reliable energy for consumers as well as reduced dependence on unstable foreign powers.

Putting the U.S. on a more secure path to energy security involves supporting policies that enable producers to make more U.S. energy, streamline permitting and review processes for infrastructure projects to move more energy and allow natural gas and oil companies to innovate and improve emissions reductions.

We need bipartisan policymaking that acknowledges our energy challenges, and the leading role natural gas and oil are projected to play for decades to come.