Earth Day + Clean Energy = One Great Event

Last week, PennFuture and Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) co-sponsored a roundtable for business leaders in northwest Philadelphia to hear from speakers on federal, state, and local policies related to clean energy and climate and why business leaders should get involved. The takeaway? A clean energy future is good for the economy and the environment.

Attendees heard from a slate of speakers, each bringing a different perspective to the table. Alice Tong and Bob Keefe of E2 welcomed the attendees and gave an overview of the work their organization is doing in Pennsylvania, highlighting a clean energy jobs report they jointly released with the Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance (KEEA.) The report identifies highlights from the clean energy industry and opportunities for growth. (There are currently 57,000 clean energy jobs in Pennsylvania and additional jobs can be created if the state takes action to improve Pennsylvania’s national energy efficiency ranking from the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE).)

Speaker Rich Freeh from Philadelphia’s Office of Sustainability addressed our clean energy economy from the local perspective. Currently, over 60 percent of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions come from building energy usage. The city of Philadelphia’s energy benchmarking program is raising awareness about building energy usage by having buildings of 50,000 or more square feet disclose their energy use in a standardized database, the EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. This database allows building managers to look at their energy use relative to comparable buildings to help identify areas for energy use reduction and, as a result, generate cost savings and fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

Alex Dews of the Delaware Valley Green Building Council discussed energy efficiency – aka energy we don’t need to produce – as the cheapest, cleanest energy resource available and a viable option for creating jobs. He highlighted that we should not only be looking at ways to make new buildings as efficient as possible, but also be thinking about ways that we can make energy efficiency improvements to buildings that have been built in the recent past and will be around for decades to come.  

PennFuture’s policy director, Matt Stepp, gave a comprehensive overview of the Clean Power Plan and its potential positive effects on Pennsylvania. Stepp noted that with the planned retiring of coal-fired power plants across the state, Pennsylvania is on track to reach half of its carbon reduction goals as specified in the Plan absent further action. He emphasized the opportunity for the growth of the renewable energy sector, a sector that will hopefully receive additional support from Pennsylvania’s state government in the coming years. (Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed budget includes $225 million to be invested in renewables, conservation, and clean technology investments. It’s a relative drop in the bucket compared the $3.25 billion in state subsidies to the fossil fuels industry, but I digress.)

Business leaders attending the event signed postcards addressed to Senators Casey and Toomey supporting the Clean Power Plan as a means to reduce our carbon emissions and an opportunity to invest in a sustainable, clean energy economy. It’s critically important that we make our voices heard in support of good economic and environmental policy! 

Katie Bartolotta is southeastern Pennsylvania outreach coordinator for PennFuture and is based in Philadelphia. She tweets @KatieBartolotta.

Fly-by: An aerial snapshot of methane emissions

As with so many scientific studies, a preponderance of evidence over a period of time tends to prove a point. That's the lens through which we should assess the study of methane emissions from natural gas drilling operations.

A recent aerial study of three drilling regions in the U.S. including the Marcellus Shale found, based on a single day of data, that methane emissions were at the low end of what other research has suggested. However, notes Mark Brownstein of the Environmental Defense Fund, it's not cause for celebration just yet as more robust studies over longer periods of time suggest methane emissions are often higher than previous estimates.


"EDF’s own studies – including two released last week looking at the transmission and storage and gathering and processing sectors of the oil and gas industry – have repeatedly shown that random leaks and malfunctions are a major source of emissions," said Brownstein. "Because these events are random, a one-day overflight will not give a full picture of emissions coming from a basin over a day, a month, or a year. What is needed is regular and ongoing monitoring."


The evidence once again speaks to the need for ongoing leak detection and repair programs like those implemented in Colorado, Ohio and Wyoming, and why Pennsylvania must show leadership by enacting strong methane regulations.

"Methane has the potential to undermine the climate benefits natural gas provides over other fossil fuels," says Brownstein. And he's right. Pennsylvania cannot afford to wait.

Elaine Labalme is director of communications for PennFuture as is based in Pittsburgh. She tweets @NewGirlInTown.