by Barb Jarmoska, RDA Board of Directors/Newsletter Editor

The midterm election is fast approaching, and this is the final RDA newsletter before we head to the polls on November 4th. In order to help our members understand the candidates' positions on the twin topics of unconventional gas drilling and climate change, we sent a request to each legislative candidate asking for his/her position on these paired topics. In some cases, we received no response. Other candidates deemed our request worthy of a personal reply, which we are happy to share with you here. In the cases of no response, we offer you information from the candidates' websites.(Note: RDA did not correct any typos or errors from candidate websites for publication here.)

RDA wishes to thank Mirabito, Everett, Hayes, Brion and Troiano for taking the time to provide us with a direct reply. No word limit was set. Links to the full text are provided for longer replies.

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One of the environmental challenges we face in the United States is that we comprise 3% of the world's population but we consume 25% of the world's energy. Conservation is the best and most efficient way to reduce energy usage. That method, however, is not sufficient to deal with the immediate demands for energy in our country. The result is that we use energy from all parts of the world, including places where the local population does not have the ability to protect the environment. 

So we are faced with several challenges. How do we produce enough energy for our country now without doing irreparable damage to our own environment and the environments of other people in the world? How do we reduce the use of oil-based materials while maintaining a long-term focus on sources of energy that cause less destruction to our environment?

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My views on global warming and natural gas development - OK - let's start with natural gas development. First, when one discusses or addresses natural gas development, I believe one has to separate the policy issue (is natural gas "good") from the practical issues of getting it out of the ground and to market.

From the outset, I've said, from the practical side of the discussion, that I believe that we can extract natural gas in Pennsylvania in an environmentally responsible manner. I've never said, and never will, that the development has no impacts - to reiterate - what I have said, and continue to say, is that it can be done responsibly.

The threat of climate change is real. We must put an end to partisan political bickering, pandering and posturing. People of good will need to stop looking at single issues as disconnected to the whole. Those who don't support environmental issues will suffer the same economic consequences as those who do. In the end, the tax payers foot the bill for environmental remediation, health care, and the need for educational and social services related to compromised health. These issues aren't Democrat or Republican issues, they're people issues. We are all connected. 

Climate change is connected to the other threats to our environment. In addition to methane emissions, which are 84 times worse than CO2 over the first 20 years, gas drilling must be viewed through the greater framework of greenhouse gas emissions from all sources.

Environmental toxins enter our bodies via multiple routes of exposure: air, water, food and soil. We are all at risk, particularly unborn and young children and the elderly.  Because of the depth of my understanding in this arena, I was invited to the White House in February, 2014. Along with other faith leaders, I was a guest of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. These invitations were not based on political or religious affiliation; we walked in without labels and came out without labels. Click here to read more from Kristen Hayes.

Tom Marino (R) - Incumbent - US House, 10th District

Back in Washington, Tom will vote for legislation that:

• Allows for the safe development of domestic energy resources like oil and natural gas.

• Encourages development of alternative and renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, nuclear, geothermal and improved hydroelectric facilities.

• Reduces the government's unnecessary regulation of domestic electric utilities which  leads to unnecessarily high costs for energy, low job growth in the manufacturing sector and a stagnant economy.

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Scott Brion (D) - Challenger - US House, 10th District

There has been much local debate about increased natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania. Today 10% of the natural gas used in the United States is produced in the congressional district that I seek to represent (PA-10.) After five years of Marcellus drilling, most of the people in this district support production of natural gas, but they are concerned about the local impacts of development to the environment, health and our communities. Common sense tells us that we must be vigilant and seek to better define and reduce those impacts.

Oil & gas companies have invested significant capital and deployed amazing technical capabilities to make our area of Pennsylvania the most important and productive gas production region in the world. At the same time we have seen that those companies are rational economic players with no real commitment to our communities beyond the fact that we hold the resource which they wish to exploit. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but we can not rely on industry to self-regulate. Our local, state, and federal governments must take responsibility to adequately protect the interests of our communities.

I am convinced we can do a better job in this regard, and my experience as an energy market analyst, land owner and advocate for landowners impacted by development uniquely qualify me to represent Pennsylvania's interest in Congress, so that we "get it right" at the federal level.

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Environmental sustainability and the threat of climate change is one of the biggest issues facing the country because it will become worse if nothing is done and harder to solve as time goes on. We need to move towards cleaner sources of energy and slow harmful emissions by eliminating fossil fuel subsidies and enacting a revenue-neutral carbon tax.

Within Pennsylvania, natural gas development has been a boon to local economies and can play a key role in our country developing energy independence, but it must be done in a safe and sustainable way. The federal government must focus on increasing transparency and oversight. For example, Congress should require the disclosure of all chemicals used before, during, and after the hydraulic fracturing process. I also support requiring the submission of a cement bond log, a record of data to test the quality of cement injected around a wellbore, to the Bureau of Land Management.

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Tom Corbett (R) - Incumbent - PA Governor 

Corbett on gas drilling, from his website:

Tom Corbett promised he was going to do everything he could to make Pennsylvania an energy supplier to America and the rest of the world -- and he's delivered. Not only is Pennsylvania a leading producer of coal, utilizing clean-coal technology, but Pennsylvania is now the second-largest natural gas producer in the entire country.

And the benefits to Pennsylvanians have been nothing short of remarkable. The Marcellus Shale natural gas industry now supports over 240,000 direct and indirect Pennsylvania jobs. And that number is expected to continue growing.

But the benefits for Pennsylvanians are much greater than just jobs. Tom Corbett has made sure this growing industry is held accountable for following strict environmental guidelines, as well as ensuring local communities share in the economic benefits.

So far, the Marcellus Shale natural gas industry has paid over $400 million to local communities for their critical local projects, and an additional $2.1 billion in state corporate taxes, helping ensure we can keep taxes low for hardworking Pennsylvania families. It's also resulted in lower energy bills for Pennsylvania families and seniors.

Tom Corbett is keeping his promise to establish Pennsylvania as a leading energy supplier to America and the rest of the world.

Wolf on climate change, from his website: 

Four years ago Tom Wolf called for a severance tax on natural gas extraction and responsible development, saying:

Experts estimate there might be as much as 50 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas beneath Pennsylvania's soil. That would make our commonwealth the Saudi Arabia of natural gas and, if managed correctly, transform our economy.

And just as Pennsylvania helped to fuel the industrial revolution with the first commercially developed oil wells in Titusville and the anthracite coal fields, we can once again have a bright economic future based on these abundant natural gas reserves. The negative environmental impact of the oil and coal booms, however, should serve as a warning of what can happen if our natural resources are not properly managed.

Unlike Governor Corbett, Tom Wolf will make sure state agencies tasked with environmental oversight are adequately funded, staffed, and supervised to prevent reckless drilling, and that irresponsible companies are held accountable.

Tom Wolf believes that we have an obligation to get this new energy era right. To do so, it will take a plan with these principles:

Enact a 5 percent severance tax to build for Pennsylvania's future. We should make sure that the citizens of the commonwealth share in a portion of the financial benefits of this geologic windfall. Texas, Wyoming, Louisiana, New Mexico, West Virginia and most other states in the country currently benefit as oil and gas companies and other corporate interests cash in on those states' environmental resources.

Make smart investments to fund Pennsylvania's priorities. Rather than just using natural gas funds to plug budget holes or fund the same old approaches to economic development, we should use these new resources to build a brighter future for Pennsylvania's with strategic investments in schools, roads, and renewable energy technology.

Ensure responsible drilling to protect Pennsylvania's environment. New drilling technologies and water recycling processes would allow us to exploit our natural gas resources without causing environmental degradation. Additionally, Tom Wolf will ensure the following steps are taken to protect our environment, to hold drilling companies responsible, and to create jobs for working, middle-class families:

If done right, continued development of natural gas is a bridge to a clean energy future and renewables and will allow Pennsylvania to have good-paying energy jobs; a safe and secure environment; and the ability to make critical investments in education, health care, and infrastructure through a severance tax on oil and natural gas extraction.

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