By Rev. Mitchell Hescox, Evangelical Environmental Network - Action

The guest essay first appeared in the York Daily Record on October 13, 2023--

Last week, over 51,000 evangelical Christians urged Governor Shapiro to support Pennsylvania reaffirming its commitment to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) in comments delivered to the Governor by EEN Action.

These comments are in addition to the more than 30,000 comments from individual pro-life Christians collected by EEN supporting former Governor Wolf’s RGGI rulemaking in 2021. 

Our collected comments come on the heels of Governor’s Shapiro’s RGGI working group recent memorandum that states, “Reducing greenhouse emissions is both necessary and inevitable and a cap and invest carbon regulation for the power sector that generates revenue to support the Commonwealth’s energy transition would be the optimal approach…”

RGGI is a system that does just that, and these new comments clearly demonstrate how support for RGGI has only grown in the past two years with evangelicals. And they aren’t alone.

According to 2020 polling, 72% of all Pennsylvanians supporting RGGI, particularly because RGGI will benefit their commonwealth by creating thousands of family-sustaining jobs and ensuring a safe and healthy future for generations to come.

With this support, Governor Shapiro should vigorously defend RGGI as it moves through the courts and work to quickly implement RGGI to rebuild Pennsylvania energy heritage and rekindle family sustaining jobs following the anticipated positive court decisions.

To lend veracity to my conclusions, a few months ago, I traveled back to my hometown, the small Pennsylvania village of Blandburg in Cambria County.

My purpose was simple: to tell the real story of how former coal towns, and now the “fracking towns” (places where Hydraulic Fracturing is used to extract methane, i.e., natural gas), of Pennsylvania are being left behind.

As illustrated by my own hometown, the truth is that while fossil fuels have provided great benefits for Pennsylvanians, it has also come with a tremendous cost.

I wanted share the reality of my life growing up in the 1960’s and 70’s, what remains of hometown today, the burdens the folks there continue to bear, and how fees from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) can help rebuild coal towns, fracked towns, and even the many mill towns that once made the Pennsylvania economy the envy of men and women seeking family sustaining jobs.

To bring the story to life, we brought along a film crew and on a stormy and fittingly gray day in early May, we met at the small Methodist Church where I preached my first sermon in the 4th grade.

We then traveled out to Jackson Ridge, a strip mine, just now being reclaimed after more than half a century, that was my Dad’s favorite hunting spot. 

As we walked upon the scarred landscape, it was easy to witness the physical destruction upon God’s creation seeing the barren soil and a forest destroyed by acid mine drainage.

What’s may not be immediately obvious to the naked eye is the deep burden on our children’s health from the decades of mercury, soot, acid rain, and carbon pollution that remain the real legacy of fossil fuels upon Pennsylvanians.

After the film crew departed, I continued my walk down memory lane by visiting Prospect Hill Cemetery just a few miles away in Glasgow. 

My first stop was my parents’ grave, having died four years ago just four months apart. 

It was easy to remember the stories of Dad working eight hours each night in a small family-owned coal mine before attending high school. 

Just a few feet away were my grandfathers’ final resting spots and memories of them coming home from their shift covered in black dust and watching their breathing struggles as black lung disease exacerbated their final days.

Through the health struggles, the destroyed earth, and economic hardships that have left my hometown a shadow of it once was, my Dad and Grandfathers carried a sense of pride for being coal miners. 

They heated homes, kept the lights on and fueled the engines of industry. Their pride influenced me as I spent my first working years in the energy industry.

But as I watched so much of Pennsylvania crumble and learned of the threats to our kids’ health, I decided there must be a better way. 

So, following my Risen Lord’s calling, I have worked for the past 15 years to defend our children’s health, build family sustaining jobs for all, and assist in rekindling hope and vitality to so many Pennsylvania communities.

Due to previously mentioned court cases, Pennsylvania towns like Blandburg have already missed out on over $1.5 billion in RGGI income.

That’s $1.5 billion dollars that could have started building a clean energy future that doesn’t threaten our children’s health, provides great paying jobs, and keeps benefiting Pennsylvanians first and not just corporate interests. 

Recently, the gas industry began pushing an industry-generated report claiming huge increases in Pennsylvania Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but did that money stay in Pennsylvania or support high paying jobs for Pennsylvania?

No.

The respected Ohio Valley Institute published reports clearly showing the Pennsylvania counties with the largest fracking sites are no better off than other counties and that the best paying fracking pay goes to temporary workers from other states -- not Pennsylvanians.

 Just another story of Pennsylvanians stuck with the burdens without the benefits.

Governor Shapiro let’s make RGGI a reality that finally holds the fossil fuel industry accountable to clean-up the messes they made for over a century, that defends our children’s lives and health, and provides the funds to jump start a new clean energy economy that benefits Pennsylvanians first and restores hope to communities like my hometown.

The Rev. Mitchell Hescox is President of EEN Action, Inc. and leaves in New Freedom, York County.

Related Articles:

-- EEN Action - Evangelical Environmental Network Will Deliver Over 51,000 Signatures To Gov. Shapiro In Support Of Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative  [PaEN]

-- Re-Imagining A Christian Response To Changing Climate - Comments By Dr. Julia O’Brien, Lancaster Theological Seminary  [PaEN]

-- PA Interfaith Power & Light, Jewish Earth Alliance Host Oct. 18 Webinar On Democracy, Voting & Climate Solutions  [PaEN]

-- PA Interfaith Power & Light Religion & Environment Webinar Series: Nov. 1 - A Jewish Approach To Activism & Accompaniment Thru The Climate Crisis  [PaEN]

[Posted: October 16, 2023]

10/23/2023