This show will air at noon on Friday November 15, 2019 (and again on Saturday at 8:30am) on PhillyCAM’s radio station WPPM 106.5 LP FM in Philadelphia. Hear the audio anytime. The script is below.
Hello
Hello and welcome to Philly Talks Climate — where we talk about the climate crisis, how it affects Philadelphia, and how we solve this for our region. I’m Meenal Raval, and I’ll be your host.
Last week
Last week’s episode explained RGGI, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative; that our state of Pennsylvania should join other Northeast states to reduce emissions from our coal oil and gas power plants; and that taming our power plants with RGGI plus an increased renewable energy portfolio go better together.
News You Can Use
This week’s episode was inspired by a brief video produced by a friend of a friend of mine. It’s called — Pennsylvania — A Fractured State. Hear it now.
Watching the video reminded me what’s being done in rural and western PA — far from our eyes, but very much in our own state. The symptoms of fracking began with farm animals dying, undrinkable water, and now — outbreaks of never heard before cancers.
Meanwhile, thanks to this cheap fracked gas, there are more and more gas power plants being developed in our state, guaranteed to run (and require further extraction) for at least another 20 years. Politicians talk of a “severance tax” and a way to “restore pennsylvania”, but as you just heard, fracking is actually ravaging our state, leaving behind dead and / or sickened people, animals and rivers.
Remember, scientists and our young people tell us we must stop using fossil fuels within the next 10 years.
Engage
So what we do do? How do we engage on this? All across Pennsylvania — environmentalists, farmers, residents, physicians — are calling for a ban on fracking in our state. To engage, please share this video or radio episode with your state legislator.
Let’s — all together now — ask them to ban fracking now. It’s something we’ve asked our Governor since his first inauguration.
Not sure who’s your legislator? You can look up on the Engage page at Philly Talks Climate.
Connect
To connect with others concerned about fracking, we’d like to tell you of an event that Physicians for Social Responsibility has planned for next Monday, November 18th. Dubbed the PA Health Check-Up, it’s a morning of speed learning where you’ll learn more about the health impacts of unconventional gas drilling, also known as fracking.
The event is in Harrisburg, and will be followed by an afternoon of educational visits with legislators. Light breakfast and lunch will be served.
If you can’t travel to Harrisburg, please register to participate remotely.
Details for each of these can be found on the Connect page of Philly Talks Climate.
Quote
This week’s quote was found in a newsletter by the American Solar Energy Society.
The only way forward, if we are going to improve the quality of the environment, is to get everybody involved. — Richard Rogers
Music
The closing song is Activist, lyrics here.
Philly Talks Climate 
1 Comment