Letters to the editor
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Sustainable Pittsburgh applauds Gov. Tom Corbett and his Transportation Funding Advisory Commission for its practical recommendations to fund transportation. We share the sentiments captured in the July 26 P-G editorial, "Smoother Road: Corbett's Panel Has Good Fixes for Transportation."
Indeed, the economic stakes are very high for fixing the commonwealth's crumbling roads and bridges and to keep public transportation rolling. Transportation is the backbone of our economy. The advisory commission has provided a road map for increasing necessary funding.
Identifying an additional $2.7 billion is an imperative step in the right direction. Pennsylvania needs an estimated $3.5 billion a year to adequately fund its transportation needs, with 5,310 structurally deficient bridges, 8,000 miles of highway in poor condition and struggling public transit systems across the state.
We look forward to the governor's continued leadership in putting the package of reforms and agenda for funding transportation in motion.
COURT GOULD
Downtown
The writer is executive director of Sustainable Pittsburgh.
Protect our air
For those of us who have worked on Pittsburgh area air issues for decades, the reduction in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide expected to result from the Environmental Protection Agency's cross-state air pollution rule is wonderful news. The health of our families and the environment will benefit significantly.
But the rush to drill for Marcellus gas will impede this progress. All aspects of drilling can cause air pollution from chemicals, including benzene, toluene, diesel, hydrogen sulfide and other substances linked to harmful health effects.
A hospital system serving six heavily drilled counties in Texas found a childhood asthma rate of 25 percent, more than three times the state average. Recent news stories have raised concerns about the already high rate of asthma in school children in Pittsburgh and surrounding areas. Studies have also linked the chemicals emitted from drilling facilities to cancer, birth defects and neurological damage.
First Published August 1, 2011 12:00 am
