Letter to the editor: Leaders must embrace green future
On June 28, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm visited the Pittsburgh area to meet regional leaders to discuss Southwestern Pennsylvania’s clean energy future (“Officials say Western Pa. can lead way in clean energy industry,” June 28, TribLIVE).
To the disappointment of many of us who believe in true clean energy solutions to Pennsylvania’s increasing energy costs at home and at the pump, Granholm and other leaders have taken a “both sides” approach of calling for renewable, green energy while also touting the need to make sure fossil-fuel jobs do not “stay low.”
The reality is, fossil-fuel jobs are dwindling. Embracing carbon capture and storage, which is needed to make blue hydrogen feasible, will only temporarily extend the life of the fossil-fuel industry while our climate is further polluted and the health of our neighbors in the region continues to worsen. It is clear that embracing renewable energy leads to not only cleaner air and water, but also higher paying wages for green energy workers and greater job security as the sector only grows with time.
It’s time our leaders take a stand and propel Western Pennsylvania to the top of the new global green energy economy.
John Ukenye
Downtown
The writer is a policy analyst for PennFuture.
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