Pittsburgh closes its mind
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With Pittsburgh City Council's passage of a ban on Marcellus Shale drilling within city limits, the legislative bodies of Pennsylvania's two largest cities have now gone on record with misinformed and emotional positions that hamper efforts to conduct a rational and informed dialogue about natural gas drilling across the commonwealth.
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh council members could learn from their elected peers serving in less-populated regions of the state who have taken the time to think about policies, needs and concerns regarding this industry.
Philadelphia's City Council -- debating in a building about 130 miles from the nearest drilling location -- passed a resolution Sept. 28 supporting a state House bill that would ban hydraulic fracturing for three years in Pennsylvania while a study is completed about environmental, social and economic issues associated with the 60-year-old practice.
Pittsburgh City Council members put their own spin on misinformed policymaking by outlawing Marcellus drilling altogether. Rather than taking a thoughtful approach to evaluating legitimate issues, they succumbed to alarmist voices, failing to recognize that repetition and escalation of rhetoric by anti-drilling proponents makes their claims neither true nor plausible.
The actions taken by the councils in both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are unfortunate, but they reflect the high emotions that have dominated the discussion in these two parts of the state.
There is no tolerance for professionals such as Christopher S. Crockett, director of planning and research at the Philadelphia Water Department, to opine, "We're not jumping out of our seats, pulling our hair out, about the Marcellus Shale. We want to take a constructive, scientific approach, not polarize people." This quote in the Philadelphia Inquirer was roundly criticized, despite Mr. Crockett's responsibility to ensure the delivery of safe, clean water to the city's 1.4 million people.
First Published November 22, 2010 12:00 am
