Op-Eds and Letters

Opinion: The movement to renewable energy is irreversible

By Dick Jones If you took all the coal miners in the United States and sat them in Beaver Stadium the place would be under half full. There were about 53,000 people working in the coal business in the U.S. in August 2019. That includes not just miners but office workers, maintenance and other coal support personnel, according to a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. By contrast, there were 242,300 Americans working in solar energy alone in 2018, says the Solar… Read More »Opinion: The movement to renewable energy is irreversible

Letter: Carbon fee would be starting point against climate change

By Edward Cullen The financial community is taking climate change more seriously than ever. Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock, the largest financial asset management firm in the world, recently wrote to the companies in BlackRock’s portfolio. He told them that BlackRock now considers climate change to be a defining factor for companies’ long-term prospects. Read more at Centre Daily Times.

Op-Ed: Recall pragmatism of the New Deal

BY MARK E. NEELY, JR. The “Green New Deal” was introduced in Congress as House Resolution 109 (Feb. 7, 2019), and already enough time has elapsed for the writing, printing, publication and distribution of whole books referencing the subject — for example, Naomi Klein’s “On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal.” That is a sign of the rapid and enthusiastic embrace of the idea by many Americans, but what exactly is or was the original New Deal? I have observed what I… Read More »Op-Ed: Recall pragmatism of the New Deal

Letter: Expert opinions matter

Letter to the Editor by Dan Alters Two of our children live many miles from where they were raised in northcentral Pennsylvania, relocating when they found work they enjoyed or a person they wanted to share their life. Like many of their generation, they may well move again. It seems this is what humans have done for millennia — moving to make some sort of improvement to their life. Unfortunately, many people worldwide have been on the move a lot lately due to war, poverty,… Read More »Letter: Expert opinions matter

Letter: Bill would help decrease greenhouse gas emissions

Letter to the editor by Ed Cullen A recent CDT opinion piece reported that over a dozen major oil, manufacturing and energy companies have promised to lobby Congress for a carbon tax on fossil fuels. An important component of their position is that federal legislation would be preferable to a patchwork of local laws that would make compliance more difficult and expensive. Researchers from Columbia University and the Rhodium Group recently published a study of the economic and climate effects of the Energy Innovation and… Read More »Letter: Bill would help decrease greenhouse gas emissions

Letter: Listen to the experts on climate change

By Dan Alters I get frustrated by some people’s response to the scientific fact that the world’s climate has been altered by the burning of fossil fuels. Our climate is reacting to greenhouse gas emissions in some horrifying ways, but our Congress does not accept what the vast majority of climatologists have been saying for years — that the earth is warming up and that humans are the cause. Many believe the climate crisis is a political issue. Some citizens vehemently deny that climate change… Read More »Letter: Listen to the experts on climate change

Op-Ed: Many businesses now clamoring for a fee on carbon

By Dick Jones “Years from now, we’ll look back on May 2019 as a breakthrough moment, when business engagement in climate policy gathered strength and became an unstoppable movement.” So said Victoria Mills, managing director of the Environmental Defense Fund, in an article she wrote for Greenbiz. What happened in May was that many companies publicly committed to the stance that Citizens’ Climate Lobby has championed since its founding 12 years ago: a price on carbon. And they promised to lobby Congress for it. Who… Read More »Op-Ed: Many businesses now clamoring for a fee on carbon

Opinion: Bipartisan hope emerging on climate change

By MARK REYNOLDS and DIANE MILLS As impeachment proceedings ratchet up the partisan tension in Washington, there’s still hope that progress can be made on pressing problems of the day. It appears Republicans and Democrats are coming together on one issue that once seemed intractable: Climate change. In the Senate, Republican Mike Braun of Indiana is teaming with Maryland Democrat Chris Coons to form a bipartisan climate solutions group. The Senate group complements the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus in the House established in 2016. It… Read More »Opinion: Bipartisan hope emerging on climate change

Op-Ed: Solar Energy, Carbon Fee and Nuclear Energy Are Topics for Climate Discussions

by Sylvia Neely and Dick Jones** Recently about 50 people, including local municipal and county officials, toured the solar installation at the University Area Joint Authority which provides wastewater treatment for five municipalities. Cory Miller, UAJA’s executive director, described steps that UAJA is taking to save energy, steps that are expected to create at least $7 million in savings over 30 years. The first phase of this project, consisting of 7,600 solar panels in a field in College Township as well as a 1.5 megawatt… Read More »Op-Ed: Solar Energy, Carbon Fee and Nuclear Energy Are Topics for Climate Discussions

Who is my neighbor when it comes to climate change?

by Dick Jones Jesus knew how to tell a story. He understood that none of the people listening to his parable—least of all the lawyer who asked, “Who is my neighbor?”—would have considered a Samaritan fit for that description. That was the whole point. He was showing his audience how to think outside the box. So who is my neighbor when it comes to climate change? To answer that question, I invite you to arrive at an understanding of neighborhood that goes beyond our street address, our… Read More »Who is my neighbor when it comes to climate change?