Wolf, T dem GOV

=swing state? frack bigclimatehawk 1019 on rggi<div>----</div><div><div>=</div><div>g alert 12 22</div><div><a href="https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2022/12/06/the_false_assumptions_behind_climate_regulations_in_pennsylvania_868702.html">https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2022/12/06/the_false_assumptions_behind_climate_regulations_in_pennsylvania_868702.html</a></div><div>
</div><div><div class="article-title-wrapper" style="float: left; width: 550.287px;"><div class="article-title" style="padding: 0px 137.562px 0px 0px;"><h1 style="line-height: 1em; margin: 0px;">the False Assumptions Behind Climate Regulations in Pennsylvania</h1></div></div><div class="article-social" style="float: left; width: 97.1px; text-align: right;"><div class="socialBar" data-print="1" data-style="short" data-dialog="share" style="border-bottom: 0px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top: medium none; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 15px 0px 0px; width: 145px; display: inline-block;"><div class="left toolset has-tools" style="display: inline; float: left; width: auto;"><a class="icon tweet_icon" style="background-image: url("/asset/img/social-icons-with-gettr.png"); background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: scroll; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; float: left; height: 30px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; width: 31px;" /><a class="icon fb_icon" style="background-image: url("/asset/img/social-icons-with-gettr.png"); background-position: -37px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: scroll; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; float: left; height: 30px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; width: 31px;" /><a class="icon jqDrawer more_icon" style="background-image: url("/asset/img/social-icons-with-gettr.png"); background-position: -75px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: scroll; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; float: left; height: 30px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; width: 31px;" /></div></div><div class="socialBar-top-counts" style="float: left; width: 325px; margin-left: -200px; font-weight: bold; padding-top: 5px;"><div class="socialBar-shares" style="display: inline-block; height: inherit; vertical-align: middle;"></div></div></div><div class="article-auth " style="margin-top: 20px;"><div class="auth-byline" style="display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; float: left;">By <a href="https://www.realclearenergy.org/authors/kevin_mooney/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Kevin Mooney</a>
December 06, 2022</div></div><div class="clear" style="width: 647.4px; height: 2px; margin: 5px 0px; display: inline-block;"></div><div class="article-body-wrapper"><div class="clear" style="width: 647.4px; height: 2px; margin: 5px 0px; display: inline-block;"></div><div class="article-body-text" id="article_content" style="clear: both; line-height: 1.9em; padding: 0px 5px 10px 0px; margin-top: -30px;">While they were in the majority, Pennsylvania House Republicans spent their political capital to advance American energy independence, free speech rights, and scientific integrity.Unlike too many their counterparts in Washington D.C., they were not cowed by hostile press coverage or well-funded pressure groups that have a stake in undermining sound science. Most recently, for instance, the <a href="https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/CteeInfo/Index.cfm?Code=8&CteeBody=H&SessYear=2021" style="text-decoration-line: none;">House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee</a> held a <a href="https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/CMS/ArchiveDetails.cfm?SessYear=2021&MeetingId=2510&Code=8&Chamber=H" style="text-decoration-line: none;">hearing</a> this fall exploring the benefits of fossil fuels and pitfalls of “emergency declarations” advanced in the name of climate change.Since Gov. Tom Wolf, the state’s outgoing Democratic governor, first <a href="https://www.governor.pa.gov/newsroom/governor-wolf-takes-executive-action-to-combat-climate-change-carbon-emissions/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">announced</a> back in October 2019 that he was taking executive action to combat climate change, Republican leaders have held a series of hearings calling attention to scientific data that debunks climate alarmism. They have also worked in partnership with Pennsylvania Democrats representing the energy sector to prevent Wolf from circumventing the state legislature along the way toward imposing carbon taxes.In April, the Pennsylvania Senate fell just <a href="https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/RC/Public/rc_view_action2.cfm?sess_yr=2021&sess_ind=0&rc_body=S&rc_nbr=465" style="text-decoration-line: none;">one vote</a> shy of the requisite two-thirds majority needed to override Wolf’s veto of a <a href="https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/bills/RenderMisc-Documents.cfm?name=SU0001&MiscYr=2021" style="text-decoration-line: none;">concurrent resolution</a> from the full General Assembly that would prevent the commonwealth from joining the multi-state climate change compact. Three Senate Democrats joined with Republicans in the override attempt. At issue, is the <a href="https://www.rggi.org/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative</a>, commonly known as RGGI, a <a href="https://www.epa.gov/emissions-trading-resources/what-emissions-trading" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“cap and trade”</a> regulatory scheme operating under the guise of climate change that is designed to curtail carbon dioxide emissions throughout the 11 participating New England and Mid-Atlantic states.  Government regulators in the RGGI states require electric power plants with a capacity of at least 25 megawatts to purchase carbon allowances at quarterly auctions whenever utilities surpass the greenhouse gas initiative’s <a href="https://www.rggi.org/program-overview-and-design/elements" style="text-decoration-line: none;">predetermined cap</a> on Co2 emissions. Speculators have latitude to resell allowances at higher prices. The auction process, which has been in motion since 2009, is where carbon taxes enter the equation. State Rep. Jim Struzzi, a Republican in Indiana County, explains why.“RGGI is a tax,” Struzzi said in an interview. “It taxes the carbon dioxide emissions that come from plants anytime they are generating electricity and so basically it punishes these companies for being successful by creating the electricity we need for reliable energy in those cold winter months and hot summer months. If these companies are going to stay in business someone is going to have to pay these costs; and it’s going to be the factories, it’s going to be the consumers, and it’s going to affect everyone.”Struzzi is the lead sponsor of <a href="https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2021&sInd=0&body=H&type=B&bn=0637" style="text-decoration-line: none;">legislation</a> that would prohibit the governor from joining RGGI and imposing carbon taxes without legislative approval. Wolf <a href="https://www.governor.pa.gov/newsroom/gov-wolf-vetoes-bill-that-ignores-dangers-of-climate-change/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">vetoed</a> an <a href="https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20210&cosponId=33517" style="text-decoration-line: none;">earlier version</a> of the bill, which seven of his own Democrats co-sponsored on the House side. Wolf is not exactly an outlier among climate change activists in government who are actively working to circumvent the democratic process.In his <a href="https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/TR/Transcripts/2022_0123_0003_TSTMNY.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none;">testimony</a> before the Pennsylvania House, Marc Morano, the editor and publisher of the <a href="https://www.climatedepot.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Climate Depot</a> website, told lawmakers that he sees a certain parallel between climate change initiatives the COVID-19 lockdowns at all levels of government impacting businesses and schools across the country.“The Biden administration believes that when democracy fails to achieve its climate goals, it's time to bypass democracy and Congress and follow the COVID model. Climate activists have lusted after the COVID lockdowns as the model for climate lockdowns,” Morano said. “The plan is to declare a 'climate emergency,' toss out elected representatives and follow China's one-party rule model by implementing energy restrictions through the bureaucracy. They don't need no stinkin' democracy. Throughout history, emergency declarations have been used and abused to crush freedom. For those who loved how unelected officials ruled our lives under COVID lockdowns, prepare for the attempts to make climate and energy lockdowns permanent.”During the same hearing, Kevin Dayaratna, a statistician and data scientist with The Heritage Foundation, <a href="https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/TR/Transcripts/2022_0123_0004_TSTMNY.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none;">presented testimony</a> focusing attention on the “Social Cost of Carbon,” or SCC, which federal regulators define as “economic damages per metric ton of carbon dioxide emissions.” The Biden administration is using the SCC in various climate models to determine the long-term impact of CO2, Dayaratna said. However, these models are based on assumptions that may not square with reality, the Heritage analyst warned. These assumptions tend, for example, to overlook the environmental benefits of Co2 emissions such as the “greening of the planet” that occurred between 1982 and 2009, Dayaratna said. At the same time, the models omit the deleterious effect of regulations that restrict Co2 emissions, he observed. Dayaratna cited figures from the Heritage Foundation that point to a severe economic fallout to U.S. that could result from rejoining the U.N.’s Paris Climate Agreement. By 2040, the U.S. could experience an average employment shortfall of more than 1.2 million lost jobs, loss of income of more than $87,000 for a family of four, and up to a 30% increase in household electricity expenditure, with an aggregate $7 trillion loss in GDP, Dayaratna said.In Pennsylvania, the state-level outlook is every bit as bleak. The Commonwealth Foundation, a free-market group based in Harrisburg, has just published an <a href="https://www.commonwealthfoundation.org/2022/11/30/pennsylvania-electric-bill-carbon-tax/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">analysis</a>  that finds RGGI’s “carbon tax regime” could lead to a 114% hike in electricity bills. Although Wolf had Pennsylvania <a href="https://www.media.pa.gov/pages/DEP_details.aspx?newsid=1594" style="text-decoration-line: none;">join RGGI</a> this year, the state has not participated in the most recent auctions since Wolf’s executive actions are the subject of legal challenges. <a href="https://secureservercdn.net/166.62.108.173/o91.197.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Memorandum-Opinion-Filed-3-copy.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Industry and labor groups</a> have filed suit challenging the governor’s ability to act unilaterally on climate change policy as have <a href="https://secureservercdn.net/166.62.108.173/o91.197.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Injunction-Opinion-A8866129-copy.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none;">state senators</a> who have raised questions about the separation of powers. As a solution, the Commonwealth Foundation has proposed passing a <a href="https://www.commonwealthfoundation.org/2022/11/30/pennsylvania-electric-bill-carbon-tax/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">constitutional amendment</a> to allow the General Assembly “to disapprove regulations as a check on an agency’s power to restrict energy development in the state.”Josh Shapiro, the incoming Democratic governor, <a href="https://www.indianagazette.com/local_news/shapiro-tours-downtown-indiana/article_36a17284-6c05-5661-804b-f26eea5f8b79.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">expressed misgivings</a> about Wolf’s approach toward RGGI while on the campaign trail. Since being elected, he hasn’t made any firm commitments about the state’s future participation. A constitutional amendment offers him a way out.With his party poised to take a <a href="https://www.penncapital-star.com/campaigns-elections/with-no-majority-in-the-pa-house-democrats-and-republicans-are-fighting-over-who-calls-the-shots/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">slim majority</a> in the House next year, Shapiro will still need to contend with labor constituents and House Democrats residing in energy producing regions who are opposed to RGGI. Meanwhile, the scientific and economic rationale for the climate change initiative continues to unravel. Gregory Wrightstone, a geologist, and executive director of the Co2 Coalition, has repeatedly informed Pennsylvania House members that Co2 is a <a href="https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/TR/Transcripts/2019_0135T.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none;">“miracle molecule”</a> that greatly benefits humanity and deserves greater appreciation.“Critics of fossil fuels routinely exaggerate, and sometimes outright fabricate, their negative effects while ignoring altogether their enormous benefits,” Wrightstone said during his <a href="https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/TR/Transcripts/2022_0123_0001_TSTMNY.pdf" style="text-decoration-line: none;">latest testimony</a> before the Pennsylvania House.“Coal and oil fueled the Industrial Revolution, which gave us unprecedented prosperity and health. Together with natural gas, they promise to raise billions of people in developing countries from poverty and deprivation. Modern economies cannot long survive without fossil fuels. In short, we love CO2 and so should you.”In a victory for free speech, climate skeptics have found expression before the Pennsylvania legislature like they have in few other public venues. In a potential victory for American energy, these same skeptics have also exposed the faulty assumptions underpinning costly regulations while also calling attention to unconstitutional executive actions.Kevin Mooney is an investigative reporter with both the Commonwealth Foundation and the Heritage Foundation. </div></div></div><div></div></div><div><div>=</div><div>an 1120 win-loss 33-3? </div><div><h1 class="widgetheadline h1" style="margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; font-family: Helvetica; color: rgb(31, 31, 31); cursor: pointer; overflow-wrap: break-word; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">p<a class="widgetheadline-text custom-post-headline" href="https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/pennsylvania-election-2649052505/" aria-label="Pennsylvania judge halts further certification of election results — Gov. Wolf vows to appeal" data-type="text" style="color: rgb(11, 13, 101); text-decoration-line: none; opacity: 1; transition: color 0.25s ease 0s, background 0.25s ease 0s, opacity 0.25s ease 0s; font-family: " open="Open" sans="Sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" word-break="word-break" break-word="break-word" outline="outline" px="px" overflow-wrap="overflow-wrap" font-size="font-size" line-height="line-height">ennsylvania judge halts further certification of election results — Gov. Wolf vows to appeal</a></h1></div><div>=</div></div><div>=
<p class="date" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase;">RWW NOVEMBER 10, 2020 <font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); outline-offset: 0.11111em; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 0px; padding: 15px;"><a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/notorious-voter-suppressor-kenneth-blackwell-denounces-pennsylvania-governor-and-his-legion-of-darkness/" title="Notorious Vote-Suppressor Kenneth Blackwell Denounces Pennsylvania Governor and His ‘Legion of Darkness’" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); outline-offset: 0.11111em; text-decoration-line: none; outline: 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.1; margin-top: 0px; padding: 15px;">Notorious Vote-Suppressor Kenneth Blackwell Denounces Pennsylvania Governor and His ‘Legion of Darkness’</a>Right-wing activist Ken Blackwell, a former Ohio Secretary of State criticized for voter suppression practices and an adviser to the Trump-Pence campaign, pulled out all the rhetorical stops in <a href="https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/11/governor_wolf_and_his_legion_of_darkness_must_be_stopped_in_pennsylvania.html#.X6kviNj4LL8.gmail" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">an attack on Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf</a> published by the American Thinker Monday under the headline, “Governor Wolf and his legion of darkness must be stopped in Pennsylvania.”<div class="mce-content-body" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="layout-constrain--narrow" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 47.2222em; padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 1em; line-height: 1.5;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">Here’s how Blackwell’s diatribe began:<blockquote style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; hyphens: none; background: rgb(239, 243, 243); padding: 1.5em; margin: 0px 0.75em 2em;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5;">What is happening in Pennsylvania is a dark moment for America. Under the leadership of Governor Wolf and his liberal regime, the Pennsylvania elections system has been completely compromised. It has become clear the leadership in this state is anti-democratic, does not value our Constitution, and is engaged in an outright attack on the legal votes that have been cast by the good, hardworking people of the Commonwealth.</blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">In reality, there is no evidence to support Blackwell’<span style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">s<span style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">—<span style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">or the Trump campaign’s<span style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">—<span style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">charges of massive voter fraud in Pennsylvania. Republican Sen. Pat Toomey<span style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"> of Pennsylvania<span style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"> told the TODAY show last  Friday that it was “hard to watch” President Donald Trump’s <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2020-11-05/ap-fact-check-trump-fabricates-election-corruption" data-auth="NotApplicable" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">lie-filled remarks</a> last Thursday, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/getting-insane-republicans-push-back-against-trump-s-false-election-n1246700" data-auth="NotApplicable" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">saying</a><span style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">,<span style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"> “The president’s charges of large-scale fraud—there’s no evidence here.” Trump has publicly charged that Republican poll watchers were prevented from observing counting in Pennsylvania, but Republican lawyers <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/06/politics/trump-and-gop-lawsuits-to-challenge-election-flail-in-court/index.html" data-auth="NotApplicable" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">admitted </a>in federal court that charge was not true.  <p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">On Monday, the Trump campaign <a href="https://lancasteronline.com/news/politics/trump-campaign-sues-to-block-pennsylvania-election-result/article_1ec95746-10df-5578-918b-9d14c3de652d.html" data-auth="NotApplicable" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">sued</a> to stop the certification of the election results in Pennsylvania; the Associated Press <a href="https://lancasteronline.com/news/politics/trump-campaign-sues-to-block-pennsylvania-election-result/article_1ec95746-10df-5578-918b-9d14c3de652d.html" data-auth="NotApplicable" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">noted</a>, “The 85-page lawsuit itself contained no evidence of voter fraud, other than a smattering of allegations.” <p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">“Pennsylvania is going to fight every single attempt to disenfranchise voters,” Wolf’s office said Monday. “We will protect this election and the democratic process. Pennsylvania will count every vote, and we will protect the count of every vote.”<span style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"> <p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">But Blackwell, a <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/religious-right-activist-ken-blackwell-leading-domestic-policy-for-trumps-transition-team/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">member of Trump’s 2016 transition team</a> and a senior fellow at the Family Research Council, claimed that Pennsylvania Democrats desired to “conduct this election in the dark,” citing a Bible verse that says “people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”<p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">“It could not be clearer that the Democrat-run Pennsylvania executive government only wants votes counted that support their agenda and their candidates,” Blackwell charged. He alleged, without substantiation, that the Wolf administration intends “to slant the vote for their candidates” in what he called “the most egregious abuse of power I have ever witnessed in my decades of working on elections.”<p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">Blackwell cited his own experience as Ohio’s top election official to lend credibility to his claims that “actions taken this cycle by the Pennsylvania executive government are abnormal, unethical, and downright corrupt.”<p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">“Thankfully, President Trump and Republicans across America are fighting back, and will not allow this election to be stolen by the partisan hacks who have shown themselves to be enemies of a free and fair election process,” Blackwell wrote. “The people of Pennsylvania deserve to have every legal vote counted. In my days as Secretary of State in Ohio, this would never have been a question.”<p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">But advocates for ballot access would hardly describe Blackwell’s tenure as Ohio’s Secretary of State as characterizing a nonpartisan approach to fairness. <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/analysis/Ken_Blackwell.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">Far from it</a>.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">“Blackwell showed no inclination for fair voting practices while he was Ohio Secretary of State, and there is no indication he has had a change of heart,” <a href="https://www.acluohio.org/archives/blog-posts/ken-blackwells-greatest-hits" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">noted</a> the Ohio ACLU’s Katrice Williams in 2017, when Blackwell was appointed to <a href="https://www.pfaw.org/report/trumps-election-integrity-commission-the-lies-and-the-cold-hard-facts/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">Trump’s farcical and short-lived “election integrity” commission</a>. The commission <a href="https://apnews.com/article/f5f6a73b2af546ee97816bb35e82c18d" data-auth="NotApplicable" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">folded</a> having “uncovered no evidence to support claims of widespread voter fraud,” the AP reported. At the time, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law <a href="https://twitter.com/LawyersComm/status/884877749151817728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E884877749151817728%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cleveland.com%2Fnation%2F2017%2F07%2Fohios_ken_blackwell_back_in_th.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">characterized</a> Blackwell as one of the “four horsemen of voter suppression” named to the “sham” commission.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">One of Blackwell’s most notorious moves was his instruction to elected officials not to accept voter registrations unless they were printed on very heavy paper. Williams <a href="https://www.acluohio.org/archives/blog-posts/ken-blackwells-greatest-hits" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">documented</a> other notable efforts at voter suppression during Blackwell’s tenure.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">Blackwell’s machinations were widely publicized at the time.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">“Every significant decision that Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell made regarding the 2004 presidential election benefited George W. Bush,” <a href="https://www.citybeat.com/home/article/13020121/ken-blackwells-disgraceful-election-machinations" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">wrote City Beat reporter Pete Shuler</a> after the 2004 elections. He noted that Blackwell was honorary co-chair of Bush’s 2004 Ohio campaign and served as an election expert spinning the Bush campaign’s line to the media during the ballot recounts in Florida that ensued after the 2000 campaign.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">Blackwell ran for governor in 2006 but was soundly <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Ohio_gubernatorial_election#:_{:text=In%20the%20end%2C%20the%20contest,was%20elected%20Governor%20of%20Ohio.}" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">defeated</a> by Democrat Ted Strickland. In 2011, when he was pondering a run for the U.S. Senate, Mother Jones <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/04/ken-blackwell-ohio-brown-senate/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">noted</a> that in 2004 Blackwell “was accused of throwing the presidential vote in that crucial swing state in favor of George W. Bush and overseeing ‘massive and unprecedented voter irregularities and anomalies’ that disenfranchised tens of thousands of voters.”<p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; line-height: 1.5;">The American Thinker, where Blackwell’s article was published this week, has been known to publish commentary from <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/the-five-most-racist-anti-semitic-claims-from-the-american-thinkers-puff-piece-on-white-nationalist-jared-taylor/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">white nationalists</a><div class="at-below-post addthis_tool" data-url="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/notorious-voter-suppressor-kenneth-blackwell-denounces-pennsylvania-governor-and-his-legion-of-darkness/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; line-height: 1.5;"><div class="layout-constrain--narrow" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; max-width: 47.2222em; padding-left: 1em; padding-right: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="tags" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; border-top: 5px solid rgb(239, 243, 243); margin-bottom: 2em; padding-top: 1em;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; font-weight: 700;">Tags: <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/people/ken-blackwell/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">Ken Blackwell</a> <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/topics/election-2020/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">Election 2020</a> <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/organizations/donald-j-trump-for-president/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">Donald J Trump for President</a> <a href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/organizations/family-research-council/" style="box-sizing: border-box; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: background-color, border-color, box-shadow, color, opacity, text-shadow, transform; transition-timing-function: linear; background-color: transparent; outline-offset: 0.111111em; text-decoration-line: none;">Family Research Council</a></div></div>=</div><div>=</div><div><h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.333; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">More States Join Northeast's Carbon Market</h3>With Congress dormant thus far on climate and the Obama administration's attempted executive action legacy unraveling, the most durable climate policies so far in the United States have been crafted by the states—especially when working together.The Northeast's carbon market, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), has <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/03102019/pennsylvania-rggi-coal-gas-power-plant-emissions-carbon-cap-trade-regulation" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">helped to cut emissions</a> from electricity generation in the nine states involved by 47 percent in the past decade. The revenue generated by the carbon market has also allowed the states to invest in energy efficiency and utility bill assistance for low-income families.[nice map]Building on the success of RGGI, a dozen northeastern states hope to finalize plans in early 2020 to launch a Transportation Climate Initiative, tackling their now-largest source of carbon emissions—cars and trucks.  RGGI is now set to expand, with New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy bringing the state back into the fold in 2020, reversing the 2011 decision by his Republican predecessor Chris Christie. Partisan division in Virginia's state capital stalled the plan by Gov. Ralph Northam to join RGGI in 2019, but after <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/06112019/2019-election-virginia-legislature-kentucky-knoxville-climate-change-clean-energy-democrats" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Democrats flipped the Legislature</a> in November, regional cap-and-trade is likely to extend its reach into the Old Dominion soon. The biggest development for RGGI is <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/03102019/pennsylvania-rggi-coal-gas-power-plant-emissions-carbon-cap-trade-regulation" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf beginning the process of joining</a>, since his state's electricity market is larger than most of the other northeastern states combined.Pollution allowances will be auctioned to fuel suppliers in the region, with a declining cap on the number of allowances each year and the proceeds invested in electric vehicle infrastructure, mass transit, and other improvements designed to curb carbon emissions. As with RGGI, three Republican governors are on board—Massachusetts' Charlie Baker, who is chairing TCI; Maryland's Larry Hogan and Vermont's Phil Scott."It's very bipartisan, and I think that it just shows you that rational behavior is still alive in dealing with the threat of climate change," said Vicki Arroyo, executive director of the Georgetown Climate Center at Georgetown Law School, which is providing research and other support for the TCI.Several of those states joined California and Oregon in December in committing to accelerate the shift to zero-emissions trucks and buses. California's Air Resources Board is <a href="https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/fact-sheets/advanced-clean-trucks-act-fact-sheet" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">considering  regulations</a> that would require an increasing percentage of heavy-duty truck sales to be zero-emissions.<h3 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Who's Missing?</h3>But can the United States fight climate change with only half the states engaged? America's Pledge stresses that, yes, it has the potential. The states, cities, businesses and other institutions in its coalition represent 68 percent of U.S. GDP, 68 percent of the population, and 51 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.But the most carbon-intensive economies in the U.S. are still not part of the fight.Sixty-five percent of the remaining U.S. coal power capacity, for example, is located in the 25 states that are not part of America's Pledge, led by Texas, Indiana and Kentucky. The America's Pledge analysis found that the U.S. could still make progress without the help of these states. It calculated that if just a handful of the states that have already shown some willingness to act adopted stronger policies, like those set by climate leaders like California, the U.S. could cut emissions up to 37 percent by 2030, even if the most carbon-intensive states and the federal government refuse to act. But that's not where the U.S. needs to be if it hopes to reach net zero emissions by mid-century, as the science says is necessary to stave off climate change's worst ravages."None of the states who are climate leaders would say that what they're doing is enough," said Arroyo. "But you've got to start to do what you can do, and prove the concept that you can do this without breaking the bank, and in fact you can do it while growing your economy, creating jobs and enhancing the quality of life."RMI's Frisch said the real lesson of the state and local climate effort so far in the United States is that it is essential, but not sufficient."The states are the reason for the progress that we've had so far," she said. "And their effort will still be fundamental going ahead. But we can't get where we need to be without the federal government, and the federal government can't do it without the states. We need to have both."</div><div></div><div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">=</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">120 bernie gaining ground in Iowa? corp press ignores? nader et al see corp dem bias to ctr?</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/bernie-sanders-fracking-ban-2644992555.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">https://www.ecowatch.com/bernie-sanders-fracking-ban-2644992555.html</a></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">
</div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">While Sen. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/Bernie-Sanders" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); font-weight: bold; outline: none; line-height: 1.5;">Bernie Sanders</a> (I-Vt.) has been in Washington this week for the impeachment trial, he has put forth two bills to help the environment.On Tuesday, he pushed forward a bill to ban hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, as <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/480777-sanders-introduces-bill-to-ban-hydraulic-fracking" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); font-weight: bold; outline: none; line-height: 1.5;">The Hill reported</a>. The <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/3247/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22Sanders%22%5D%7D&r=1&s=2" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); font-weight: bold; outline: none; line-height: 1.5;">bill</a>, titled "A bill to ban the practice of hydraulic fracturing, and for other purposes," will go to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources for review.<div class="rebellt-item col1" data-basename="particle-5" data-href="https://www.ecowatch.com/bernie-sanders-fracking-ban-2644992555.html?rebelltitem=5#rebelltitem5" data-id="5" data-is-image="False" data-reload-ads="false" id="rebelltitem5">While the text of the bill is not yet available, Sen. Jeff Merkley from Oregon is a co-sponsor of the bill. On Thursday, Sanders <a href="https://twitter.com/SenSanders/status/1222960113910210561" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); font-weight: bold; outline: none; line-height: 1.5;">tweeted</a> that he also worked on the bill with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Darren Soto (D-Fla.), as <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/480777-sanders-introduces-bill-to-ban-hydraulic-fracking" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); font-weight: bold; outline: none; line-height: 1.5;">The Hill reported</a>."I don't mind if <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkRuffalo" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); font-weight: bold; outline: none; line-height: 1.5;">@MarkRuffalo</a> spoils his own movies. But please, don't ruin the surprise of our new legislation with Rep. <a href="https://twitter.com/AOC" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); font-weight: bold; outline: none; line-height: 1.5;">@AOC</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/SenJeffMerkley" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); font-weight: bold; outline: none; line-height: 1.5;">@SenJeffMerkley</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/RepDarrenSoto" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); font-weight: bold; outline: none; line-height: 1.5;">@RepDarrenSoto</a>. I don't want the dirty fracking industry CEOs to know what hit them," wrote Sanders in his <a href="https://twitter.com/SenSanders/status/1222960113910210561" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); font-weight: bold; outline: none; line-height: 1.5;">tweet</a>, which embedded a video of the actor and activist, Mark Ruffalo, touting a potential federal ban on fracking.</div></div><div style="">...<div class="rebellt-item col1" data-basename="particle-1" data-href="https://www.ecowatch.com/bernie-sanders-fracking-ban-2644992555.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1" data-id="1" data-is-image="False" data-reload-ads="false" id="rebelltitem1" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">he bill drew support from several environmental activist organizations.
"Senator Sanders' bill names the problem and provides the only solution," Natalie Mebane, Associate Director of Policy at <a href="http://link.cvip.io/f/a/lI7Ag8jf6aY5chtEI04rzg/AAJ4uAA_{/RgRgFVhxP0RPaHR0cHM6Ly9jcm0uMzUwLm9yZy9zaXRlcy9hbGwvbW9kdWxlcy9jaXZpY3JtL2V4dGVybi91cmwucGhwP3U9MTE4NTgmcWlkPTgxMjU0NlcDc3BjQgoAAPEkNF5Ln7SPUhRqb25AY29tbW9uZHJlYW1zLm9yZ1gEAAAAAw}" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); font-weight: bold; outline: none; line-height: 1.5;">350.org</a>, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/01/31/350-action-applauds-sanders-fracking-ban-bill?cd-origin=rss" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); font-weight: bold; outline: none; line-height: 1.5;">said in a statement</a><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/01/31/350-action-applauds-sanders-fracking-ban-bill?cd-origin=rss" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); font-weight: bold; outline: none; line-height: 1.5;">. "In order to avoid the worst of the climate crisis, we must rapidly transition off of fossil fuels, and end fracking and the dangerous pipelines that come with it."</a></div><div class="rebellt-item col1" data-basename="particle-2" data-href="https://www.ecowatch.com/bernie-sanders-fracking-ban-2644992555.html?rebelltitem=2#rebelltitem2" data-id="2" data-is-image="False" data-reload-ads="false" id="rebelltitem2">The ban on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fracking" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); font-weight: bold; outline: none; line-height: 1.5;">fracking</a> that Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren advocate has democrats concerned that such a policy could push Pennsylvania, a crucial swing state, to President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); font-weight: bold; outline: none; line-height: 1.5;">Donald Trump</a> in November."In Pennsylvania, you're talking hundreds of thousands of related jobs that would be — they would be unemployed overnight," said John Fetterman, Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor, to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/27/us/politics/pennsylvania-democrats-fracking.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); font-weight: bold; outline: none; line-height: 1.5;">The New York Times</a>. "Pennsylvania is a margin play. And an outright ban on fracking isn't a margin play."Sanders not only introduced a ban on fracking. On Wednesday, he, along with Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Ma), <a href="https://www.sanders.senate.gov/download/pfas-summary?id=B3C238FF-B9D4-4557-9DE9-D15CFEEFBA8D&download=1&inline=file" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); font-weight: bold; outline: none; line-height: 1.5;">introduced The Preventing Future American Sickness (PFAS) Act</a>, which takes aim at 'forever chemicals' polluting waterways, as <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/480571-sanders-introduces-bill-to-clean-up-of-toxic-forever-chemicals" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); font-weight: bold; outline: none; line-height: 1.5;">The Hill reported</a>.As <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/forever-chemicals-drinking-water-2644897405.html?rebelltitem=2#rebelltitem2" target="self" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); font-weight: bold; outline: none; line-height: 1.5;">EcoWatch reported</a>, a recent study from the Environmental Working Group found that toxic forever chemicals, or PFAS, are far more prevalent in drinking water than previously thought."As hundreds of communities across the country are dealing with toxic PFAS contamination in their drinking water," Sanders says in a statement put out by <a href="https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/news/sanders-unveils-bill-combat-corporate-polluters-and-protect-drinking-water" target="blank" times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" text-decoration-color="text-decoration-color" rgb="rgb" line-height="line-height" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none;">Food and Water Watch</a>, "it is unconscionable that huge corporations like DuPont have, for decades, concealed evidence of how dangerous these compounds are in order to keep profiting at the expense of human health. Congress must pass this legislation to put an end to corporate stonewalling and criminal behavior and tackle this public health crisis. It is not a radical idea to demand that when people in the world's richest country turn on their taps, the water they drink is free of toxic chemicals."</div><div class="rebellt-item col1" data-basename="particle-3" data-href="https://www.ecowatch.com/bernie-sanders-fracking-ban-2644992555.html?rebelltitem=3#rebelltitem3" data-id="3" data-is-image="False" data-reload-ads="false" id="rebelltitem3" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The legislation would ban the chemicals from food packaging and ban the incineration of PFAS firefighting foam. It would also direct the Environmental Protection Agency to designate PFAS as hazardous under both the Clean Air and and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act — commonly called CERCLA or Superfund, as <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/29/sanders-takes-aim-corporate-polluters-bill-clean-toxic-forever-chemicals-drinking" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); font-weight: bold; outline: none; line-height: 1.5;">Common Dreams reported</a>.</div><div class="rebellt-item col1" data-basename="particle-4" data-href="https://www.ecowatch.com/bernie-sanders-fracking-ban-2644992555.html?rebelltitem=4#rebelltitem4" data-id="4" data-is-image="False" data-reload-ads="false" id="rebelltitem4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Labeling the chemicals as hazardous substances would force manufacturers to foot the bill for cleaning them up, <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/480571-sanders-introduces-bill-to-clean-up-of-toxic-forever-chemicals" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); font-weight: bold; outline: none; line-height: 1.5;">according to The Hill</a>."Every American—regardless of the color of their skin, their zip code, or their income—has the right to be free from exposure to a slew of carcinogens and hazardous chemicals," said Merkley, as <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/29/sanders-takes-aim-corporate-polluters-bill-clean-toxic-forever-chemicals-drinking" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); font-weight: bold; outline: none; line-height: 1.5;">Common Dreams reported</a>. "But millions of people are ingesting dangerous PFAS chemicals against their will through the air they breathe, the water they drink, and the food they eat. Congress needs to come together to put the health of our communities above the wish lists of American's biggest polluters, and that means establishing and enforcing chemical standards that protect Americans from PFAS substances."Both bills face an uncertain future in a Republican-controlled senate. Even if they did get through the Senate, Trump has said he would veto them, as <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/01/29/sanders-takes-aim-corporate-polluters-bill-clean-toxic-forever-chemicals-drinking" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); font-weight: bold; outline: none; line-height: 1.5;">Common Dreams reported</a>.</div>=</div></div><div></div><div><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/09012019/pennsylvania-greenhouse-gas-reduction-target-natural-gas-fracking-climate-change">https://insideclimatenews.org/news/09012019/pennsylvania-greenhouse-gas-reduction-target-natural-gas-fracking-climate-change</a></div><div>
</div><div><div class="content" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded" style="box-sizing: inherit;">In Pennsylvania, a coal-mining state where the fracking boom has also pushed natural gas production to the second highest levels in the nation, Gov. Tom Wolf is launching into his second term with a conspicuous move on climate change.Wolf issued an executive order on Tuesday to set the state's first economy-wide targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.His goal to <a href="https://www.governor.pa.gov/executive-order-2019-01-commonwealth-leadership-in-addressing-climate-change-and-promoting-energy-conservation-and-sustainable-governance/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">cut greenhouse gas emissions 26 percent by 2025</a> compared to 2005 levels mirrors the commitment the U.S. made as part of the <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/paris-climate-agreement" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Paris climate agreement</a>. And his longer-term target—an 80 percent reduction by 2050—is in line with the decarbonization that scientists have said will be needed to keep global temperatures from rising 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.But meeting that target is easier said than done with Republicans in control of both chambers of the legislature, as the Democratic governor pointed out.  The governor can set energy efficiency targets for state agencies, take steps to increase the number of electric cars in state fleets, and increase purchases of renewable energy, but those moves would be insufficient on their own to curb Pennsylvania's emissions.Pennsylvania now ranks fourth in the country, behind Texas, California and Florida, in <a href="https://www.eia.gov/environment/emissions/state/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">carbon emissions</a>. <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16022018/methane-leaks-oil-natural-gas-data-global-warming-pennsylvania-edf-study" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Methane</a>, a short-lived climate pollutant, is also an issue. The state is second behind Texas in natural gas production and the third-largest <a href="https://www.eia.gov/coal/production/quarterly/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">coal</a> producer after Wyoming and West Virginia.<h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333;">'Not Too Much, But Not Too Little'</h3>Wolf cautioned that it was unlikely that legislative action would be forthcoming to accomplish his greenhouse gas reduction goals. He also said he did not have any regulatory actions in mind and did not want to be punitive to industry."What I try to make sure is that what I do is not too much, but not too little," he <a href="https://www.post-gazette.com/business/powersource/2019/01/08/Wolf-Pennsylvania-greenhouse-gas-carbon-climate/stories/201901080082" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">said</a>. Wolf used the signing event at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh to hail a local utility, Peoples Natural Gas, for a commitment to cut its methane emissions in half, calling it a model for industry and government cooperation.By setting the targets, Pennsylvania joins 16 other states that as part of the <a href="https://www.usclimatealliance.org/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">U.S. Climate Alliance</a> have pledged to meet the U.S. climate commitment despite President Donald Trump's vow to exit the Paris accord.<h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333;">States Stepping Up on Climate Policies</h3>The announcement comes at a time when <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/28112018/state-carbon-pricing-tax-fee-climate-change-washington-oregon-new-jersey-virginia-hawaii-massachusetts-new-york" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">states are stepping up</a> on a wide variety of fronts to counter Trump's moves to promote fossil fuels and end climate action.On Tuesday, legislators in <a href="https://www.ncel.net/2019/01/08/legislators-from-eight-states-announce-coordinated-effort-to-block-offshore-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">nine coastal states </a>announced they would introduce legislation to try to block Trump's plan for a major expansion in offshore drilling.Pennsylvania joined eight eastern states and Washington, D.C., late last year in committing to cut <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/20122018/climate-change-solutions-transportation-cap-and-trade-northeast-states-washington-california-model-rggi" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">transportation emissions</a> in the region by designing a new cap-and-trade system.<h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.333;">Pennsylvania Hasn't Joined RGGI</h3>But Pennsylvania has been out of step with neighboring states when it comes to power plant emissions.When New Jersey rejoins the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) later this year, Pennsylvania will be the only northeastern state led by a Democratic governor not to be a part of the market-based program to reduce utility emissions.More than 60 Pennsylvania businesses, communities and faith groups in November petitioned Pennsylvania's Environmental Quality Board to initiate an economy-wide "cap-and-trade" program. Although the board rejected a similar petition before, the new effort relies on a 2017 state Supreme Court ruling that upheld a broad interpretation of the Environmental Rights Amendment in the state's constitution.</div></div></div></div><div class="tagged-with" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-transform: uppercase; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><label style="box-sizing: inherit; display: block; line-height: 1.2;">PUBLISHED UNDER:</label><div class="field field-name-field-topics field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-item even" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topics/natural-gas-and-fracking" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">NATURAL GAS AND FRACKING</a></div> <div class="field-item odd" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/topics/global-climate-treaty" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">GLOBAL CLIMATE TREATY</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-items" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><div class="field-item even" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/paris-climate-agreement" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT</a></div> <div class="field-item odd" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: inline-block; padding-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/short-lived-climate-pollutants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none;">SHORT-LIVED CLIMATE POLLUTANTS</a></div></div></div></div></div><div></div> ===http://ecowatch.com/2016/06/24/pa-oil-gas-regulations/Thanks to a bill passed this June by the state legislature,

Pennsylvania now has the dubious distinction of being the only state in

the nation to abandon oil and gas regulations after they’ve been fully

developed and publicly reviewed. While other states have modernized oil

and gas oversight in the wake of the <a href="http://ecowatch.com/news/energy-news/fracking-2/">shale boom</a>, no other state has exempted a major part of the oil and gas industry in the process.

<figure id="attachment_385933" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="max-width: 760px">map: <figcaption id="figcaption_attachment_385933" class="wp-caption-text">The

Oil and Gas Threat Map shows where all areas across the country within

1/2 mile of an active oil and gas well, and counties with elevated

cancer risk due to oil and gas air toxics.</figcaption></figure>

But that’s exactly what SB 279 does. Called the <a href="http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?sYear=2015&sInd=0&body=S&type=B&bn=279" target="blank">Penn Grade Crude Development Advisory Council bill</a>, it <a href="http://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/06/oil_and_gas_rules_wolf.html" target="blank">wipes out</a>

updated environmental protection requirements for conventional oil and

gas operations (known as Chapter 78). In effect, 178 state

representatives and senators just overturned what it took five years, 12

public hearings, 30,000 public comments and affirmative votes by public

regulatory commissions and the legislature to accomplish.

Unfortunately, Gov. Wolf just signed SB 279 into law, sounding the

death knell for Chapter 78 in the process. Equally unfortunate, official

statements from his administration have completely <a href="https://www.governor.pa.gov/governor-wolf-signs-bill-allowing-new-fracking-rules-to-be-finalized/" target="_blank">ignored</a>

the negative impact SB 279 will have on Pennsylvanians—even as the

Governor declares victory for new rules that will go into effect only

for unconventional oil and gas operations.

Such political spin may be Harrisburg’s status quo, but in this case

it’s a dangerous affront to Pennsylvanians whose air, water and health

is damaged by oil and gas development..

On the same day as the SB 279 vote, the Clean Air Task Force (CATF), Earthworks and the FracTracker Alliance released <a href="http://oilandgasthreatmap.com" target="blank">OilandGasThreatMap.com</a>. Using state well location data and U.S. Census Bureau data, it shows that nearly 25 percent of Pennsylvania’s population <a href="http://oilandgasthreatmap.com/threat-map/pennsylvania/" target="blank">lives within a half-mile of oil and gas wells and facilities</a>—a distance at which serious health impacts are most clearly linked, according to the majority of peer-reviewed science.

Threatened residents include large proportions of several

Pennsylvania counties including Warren (86 percent); McKean (72

percent); Venango (58 percent); and Forest (30 percent). Data from the

Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) show that in 2014, those

four counties comprised more than 90 percent of all the conventional oil

and gas wells drilled statewide.

According to the accompanying report, <a href="http://oilandgasthreatmap.com/fossil-fumes/" target="_blank">Fossil Fumes</a>

(by CATF with support from the Alliance of Nurses for a Healthy

Environment and Earthworks), eight Pennsylvania counties have an

elevated cancer risk directly attributable to toxic emissions from oil

and gas operations (Armstrong, Clarion, Fayette, Forest, Greene,

Indiana, Jefferson and Washington). DEP data indicate that 60-99 percent

of all active oil and gas wells in these counties are conventional

ones.

Throughout the long debate over Chapter 78, the oil and gas industry

and its legislative champions propagated the fantasy that conventional

operations have limited, if any, environmental and health impacts. Yet

just like their shale-drilling cousins, modern-day conventional

activities rely on hydraulic fracturing and chemicals, generate toxic

waste, and cause hazardous spills and air pollution.

In fact, between 2008-2014, conventional operators were responsible

for 60 percent of the cases in which oil and gas activities contaminated

the private water supplies of Pennsylvanians. In 2014, conventional

drillers were responsible for three-quarters of regulatory violations

issued by DEP. Conventional operations are clearly a big problem with

which a vastly understaffed DEP will have to continue to contend, though

now without the benefit of stronger regulations
OMG corbett gone, beat by green dem?!hmmn nuance on frackDemocratic Governor-elect Tom Wolf says New York made the wrong move by banning fracking.New York State health officials say <a href="http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2014/12/17/new-york-state-bans-fracking/#document/p3/a194045" style="text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; font-weight: bold;">there isn’t enough evidence</a> to show whether or not gas development has an impact on public health. Acting Health Commissioner Howard Zucker wrote in a report released Wednesday that “absolute scientific certainty” is “unlikely to ever be attained,” which is why his department said it could not recommend allowing natural gas development in the Empire State.At a press conference Wednesday in Northeast Pennsylvania, which is home to some of the most lucrative gas wells in the state, Wolf called New York’s decision “unfortunate.” He says he believes fracking can be done safely.“I want to have my cake and eat it, too. I don’t want to do what New York did,” he said. “I want to do what I think we can do here in Pennsylvania and that is have this industry, but do it right from an environmental point of view, from a health point of view.”It is a position, Wolf said, that has not gotten him credit from either hard-lined environmentalists committed to a ban on fracking or with the state’s natural gas industry.Marcellus Shale Coalition President Dave Spigelmyer said in a statement that while he appreciates Wolf’s support for the industry, the coalition “looks forward to working with the governor-elect on common sense policies that will help bolster Pennsylvania’s position as a top natural gas-producing state.”Although he opposes a statewide ban on fracking in Pennsylvania, Wolf supports <a href="http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2014/12/18/what-new-yorks-fracking-ban-means-for-drilling-along-the-delaware-river/" style="text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; font-weight: bold;">a moratorium in the Delaware River basin</a> and on new leasing in state parks and forests.The incoming governor would not get into specifics, but said one of his priorities will be to create a health registry that would monitor impacts in heavy drilling areas. That idea was proposed under the outgoing Corbett administration in 2011, but the legislature never allocated funding to the state Department of Health to do the work. The proposal was also opposed by the industry.Following revelations in June that the DOH had <a href="http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2014/07/02/pa-health-department-policies-on-drilling-meant-to-guide-not-silence-employees/" style="text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; font-weight: bold;">practices in place that muzzled employees</a> on the issue of drilling, some environmental groups and public health professionals called for the state to recommit to plans for a health registry.As of Wednesday, the DOH has <a href="http://www.health.pa.gov/My%20Health/Environmental%20Health/Documents/FAQ%20env%20%20health%20final%20(08_27_14).pdf" style="text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; font-weight: bold;">logged 76 drilling-related health complaints</a> since 2011, but has said the substance of those complaints cannot be made public.Again, without elaborating on specific policies, Wolf said his administration would be “open and transparent about what our health challenges are” and is directing some members of <a href="http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2014/12/16/wolf-names-more-members-to-transition-team/" style="text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; font-weight: bold;">his transition team</a> to review New York’s health report.“What we’ll find is in the absence of good regulations, in the absence of a strong concern for health, you have problems,” he said.=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29Thomas Westerman "Tom" Wolf<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#cite_note-1" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[1]</a> (born November 17, 1948) is an American politician and businessman who is the 47th and current <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Governors_of_Pennsylvania" title="List of Governors of Pennsylvania" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Governor of Pennsylvania</a>, since taking office on January 20, 2015. A <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party(United_States)" title="Democratic Party (United States)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Democrat</a>, he defeated <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party(United_States)" title="Republican Party (United States)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Republican</a> incumbent <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Corbett" title="Tom Corbett" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Tom Corbett</a> in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_gubernatorial_election,2014" title="Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2014" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">2014 gubernatorial election</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#cite_note-primarywin-2" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[2]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#cite_note-govcampaign-3" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[3]</a> Previously, Wolf served as secretary of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Department_of_Revenue" title="Pennsylvania Department of Revenue" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Pennsylvania Department of Revenue</a> from April 2007 until November 2008<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#cite_note-4" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[4]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#cite_note-drbio-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[6]</a> and as an executive in his family-owned business.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#cite_note-exec1-7" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[7]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#cite_note-exec2-8" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[8]</a><div id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 7px; display: table; zoom: 1; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);"><div id="toctitle" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;"><h2 style="margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border: none; display: inline; line-height: 1.3; background: none;">Contents</h2>  [<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#" id="togglelink" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">hide</a>] </div><ul style="line-height: 1.6; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#Early_life_and_education" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">1 Early life and education</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#Business_and_political_career" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">2 Business and political career</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#Governor_of_Pennsylvania" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">3 Governor of Pennsylvania</a><ul style="line-height: 1.6; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#2014_election" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">3.1 2014 election</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#Tenure" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">3.2 Tenure</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#Electoral_history" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">4 Electoral history</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#References" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">5 References</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#External_links" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">6 External links</a></li></ul></div><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Early life and education[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tom_Wolf(politician)&action=edit&section=1&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Early life and education" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>Wolf was born on November 17, 1948, in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York,Pennsylvania" title="York, Pennsylvania" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">York, Pennsylvania</a>, the son of Cornelia Rohlman (née Westerman) and William Trout "Bill" Wolf, a business executive.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#cite_note-phillymag-9" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[9]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#cite_note-10" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[10]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#cite_note-11" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[11]</a>Wolf was raised in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Wolf,Pennsylvania" title="Mount Wolf, Pennsylvania" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Mount Wolf, Pennsylvania</a>, which was named after his ancestor, the town's postmaster.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#cite_note-12" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[12]</a> He was raised Methodist<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#cite_note-13" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[13]</a> but is now affiliated with the Episcopal Church.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#cite_note-church-14" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[14]</a> Wolf graduated from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hill_School" title="The Hill School" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">The Hill School</a>, a boarding school in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pottstown,Pennsylvania" title="Pottstown, Pennsylvania" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Pottstown, Pennsylvania</a>, in 1967.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#cite_note-15" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[15]</a> He went on to receive an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelor_of_Arts" title="Bachelor of Arts" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">A.B.</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_cum_laude" title="Magna cum laude" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">magna cum laude</a>from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dartmouth_College" title="Dartmouth College" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Dartmouth College</a> in 1972, an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Philosophy" title="Master of Philosophy" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">M.Phil.</a> from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_London" title="University of London" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">University of London</a> in 1978, and a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Philosophy" title="Doctor of Philosophy" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Ph.D.</a> from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_Institute_of_Technology" title="Massachusetts Institute of Technology" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> in 1981.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#cite_note-drbio-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a> While a student at Dartmouth, Wolf joined the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_Corps" title="Peace Corps" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Peace Corps</a> and spent two years in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India" title="India" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">India</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#cite_note-16" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[16]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#cite_note-dpbio-17" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[17]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#cite_note-18" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[18]</a> He met his wife, Frances, at school and married her in 1975. They have two adult daughters.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#cite_note-19" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[19]</a>...Wolf assumed office as the 47th Governor of Pennsylvania upon the expiration of Tom Corbett's term on January 20, 2015, with the inaugural ceremony occurring in front of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_State_Capitol" title="Pennsylvania State Capitol" style="text-decoration: none; line-height: 22.4px; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Pennsylvania State Capitol</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrisburg,Pennsylvania" title="Harrisburg, Pennsylvania" style="text-decoration: none; line-height: 22.4px; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Harrisburg</a>.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#cite_note-inauguration-37" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[37]</a> Upon taking office, Wolf opted not to move into the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Governor%27s_Residence" title="Pennsylvania Governor's Residence" style="text-decoration: none; line-height: 22.4px; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Pennsylvania Governor's Residence</a>, instead commuting from his home in York; however, a spokesman for Wolf indicated that the residence would still be used for official events and other functions.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#cite_note-residence-38" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[38]</a> Shortly after being sworn in, Wolf signed two executive orders banning gifts to state employees and requiring a bidding process for outside legal contracts.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#cite_note-39" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[39]</a> Wolf also restored a ban on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_fracturing" title="Hydraulic fracturing" style="text-decoration: none; line-height: 22.4px; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">hydraulic fracturing</a>, or "fracking", in state parks<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf%28politician%29#cite_note-40" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[40]</a> and placed a moratorium on the death penalty within Pennsylvania.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolf_%28politician%29#cite_note-41" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[41]</a>ALEC did not respond to repeated requests for comment.Pennsylvania is one of a handful of states that have already enacted rules requiring legislative approval of the state plan to cut carbon emissions. The law does provide a loophole that allows the governor to submit a compliance plan without legislative approval. The legislation was signed last October under then Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican who <a href="http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/policy-powersource/2014/09/15/Corbett-other-governors-oppose-greenhouse-gas-controls/stories/201409150016" style="text-decoration: none; outline: none;">had been vocal in his opposition to the Clean Power Plan</a>.Since then, polls have confirmed that Pennsylvanians believe climate change is a real and immediate threat that requires swift action. A <a href="http://docs.nrdc.org/globalwarming/files/glo_15020401a.pdf" style="text-decoration: none; outline: none;">recent survey conducted by a bipartisan polling team</a> found that 82 percent of Pennsylvanians want their state to implement its own plan to reduce carbon pollution. A majority support clean energy and doubt that renewable energy will mean burdensome costs to consumers.Pennsylvania's newly elected governor, Tom Wolf, a Democrat who ran on a pro-environment platform, has indicated that he will engage with the EPA to meet the state's targets under the Clean Power Plan."It's depressing that groups like ALEC have so much influence," said Masur. "When hundreds of thousands of people say that the time to tackle climate change is now and the state legislature and governor [Corbett] ignore that and say we will still do what we want, that’s a bad signal for democracy."
=Fracking has become a prominent issue in this year's Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, energizing ads, debates and campaign appearances.The argument isn't about whether to frack the state's abundant natural gas reserves or even how to do it safely—but how to make money doing it.At the heart of the debate is whether to tax energy companies for extracting natural gas from the Marcellus Shale, a geologic formation rich in fossil fuels that runs underneath the western half of the state. Incumbent Republican Gov. Tom Corbett argues that a drilling tax would drive energy companies to abandon Pennsylvania's natural gas fields. Businessman Tom Wolf, Corbett's Democratic challenger, says a 5 percent  "severance tax" on the value of natural gas produced within its borders would provide desperately needed revenue—up to $1 billion annually—for the state's budget, and more specifically, its education fund.Political opinion polls <a href="http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster/2014-pennsylvania-governor-corbett-vs-wolf" style="text-decoration: none; outline: none;">show</a> the Democratic candidate winning the Nov. 4 election by approximately 20 points. If Wolf wins, it will mark the first time that an incumbent Pennsylvania governor has lost a re-election bid since the state began allowing second gubernatorial terms in the 1960s....=ARRISBURG, Pa. — As snow flurries fell across the state capital Monday, Erik Arneson donned a Green Bay Packers parka and knit hat and went searching for a legal locksmith to get him back into his office.Arneson was left out in the cold — literally and figuratively — after <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Tom_Wolf" style="outline: none;">Gov. Tom Wolf</a> removed him Thursday as executive director of the Office of Open Records. Now, he and state Senate Republicans are suing to get his job back.“The message that this sends to the governor is that the office is independent, it needs to be independent,” said Arneson, whose complaint alleges that Wolf violated the state’s <a href="http://openrecords.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/open_records/4434/right-to-know_law/466460" style="outline: none;">Right-to-Know Law</a>. “It is simply impossible to envision any executive director of this office being impartial if they have to live in constant worry that the governor could fire them for any reason at all.”
Corbett had the authority to name a replacement after the former executive director, Terry Mutchler, abruptly resigned and took a private-sector job. But Wolf described the quickly falling dominoes as an affront to transparency and removed Arneson while also recalling other last-minute Corbett nominations.That’s exactly what happened to Arneson last week. The new governor, a Democrat, took issue that his Republican predecessor, former <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/Tom_Corbett" style="outline: none;">Gov. Tom Corbett</a>, appointed Arneson to the post Jan. 9, less than two weeks before Wolf was set to take office.Arneson, a longtime aide for state Senate Republicans before landing the open-records job, reported to work Friday anyway, but found himself locked out of the executive director’s office by Monday. Wolf also cut off his salary and benefits.==</div></div></div>