On June 4, 2012, former Governor Ed Rendell published a letter to the editor in The Inquirer, entitled Embrace the Natural Gas Solution.
It’s now official that Democrats (the new Republicans?) will say anything to take credit for US energy independence, and former Governor Rendell is at the helm of the party. Mother Earth, meet the new face of the Enemy… and I lived in Philly when he was mayor, I used to like this guy! This charismatic fathead must not be allowed to tout natural gas as “clean” fuel without correction. We need to call Rendell out with an honest, Progressive voice. We need to remind him of the facts.
PennEnvironment is among the first to cry foul over Rendell’s erroneous editorial, urging people to express our outrage in our own letters to The Inquirer (200 words or less). Email it to inquirer.letters@phillynews.com.
True to form, Rendell also totally over-blows his role in regulating toxic frack wastewater in Pennsylvania. He may have proposed guidelines for disposal, but no one followed them. In fact, Cabot Oil & Gas disposed of 44,000 gallons, at least, of untreated frack wastewater in the aged Neshaminy Water Treatment Plant in Northeast Philadelphia in 2009-2010. We can thank democrats Ed Rendell and his DEP Secretary, John Hanger, for that salty surprise!
It’s true there is a War On Science, and the battle is raging in Pennsylvania. Yet, the gas lobby now ‘owns’ both sides of the aisle, so it’s no longer a Democrat vs. Republican issue. It’s become an Down vs. Up issue… Rural vs. Urban… Truth vs. Propaganda… Riverdale vs. AquaAmerica…
Big Gas vs. Genuinely Sustainable Energy.
Our former governor continues to promote shale gas, despite a rising fraccident rate, lapsing enforcement, a surfeit of toxic wastewater, and an expanding methane migration problem. Despite the success of his own renewable energy initiatives! These issues still exist, whether the media and media-savvy politicians want to overlook them or not.
Rendell, Corbett and Hanger… They bluster as if their very reputations were on the line. Oh, right, they are.
Speaking of The Myopic Media…
Apparently, the Gas Industry has now commandeered Public Television hosts in Pittsburgh, too. Managing Marcellus: A Journalist “Forum”, which recently aired on WQED, slaps a slick gloss over environmental impacts, such as air pollution, wastewater and methane migration, despite the best efforts of certain participants.
With bonehead comments from WQED host, Michael Bartley, and hard–hitting questions from co-host Tonya Caruso like, “Are we doing enough to utilize this windfall?” the panel is pretty painful to watch. Like when Bartley whines about the “contentiousness” of people who oppose shale gas. “Somebody hears one little thing, and they come after ya” and how, “Away from the active areas the contention is louder.” You’ll want to give both hosts a “b-word”-slapping, but there’s no Comments section here.
It left me wondering about the myopic coverage journalists who ignore the fact that today’s wellbore seals will deteriorate over time, in approximately 70-100 years, according to gas industry estimates. Why do journalists routinely ignore the fact that Pennsylvania is creating a far more serious watershed issue for future generations? Why do they ignore air pollution? Hello, we’re exchanging short-term gain for serious long-term pain. GE can’t possibly own all the media.
It’s almost an an hour long, yet terribly illuminating.
Tags: Ed Rendell, Michael Bartley, Neshaminy Frack Waste, WQED
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