For years the environmental movement has been criticized by those who dismiss its efforts as bad for the economy and detrimental to job creation. Since its inception twelve years ago, PennFuture has made it their mission to debunk this myth.
Founded with funds from the Heinz and Pew Foundations and by people like outgoing Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, John Hanger, PennFuture sought to immediately distinguish itself as an economically focused environmental organization. Today, the group maintains these beliefs with the slogan, “every environmental victory grows the economy.”
The primary mission of the group as stated on their website is to “create a just future where nature, communities, and the economy thrive.” In a time when the economy and jobs weigh heavy on American minds, PennFuture serves an invaluable role. This role was explained in more detail by Director of Outreach, Christine Knapp.
Of their numerous significant accomplishments, Knapp is particularly proud of PennFuture’s lobbying for the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard (AEPS or Act 213) legislation that was implemented by former Governor Ed Rendell in 2004. Act 213 requires a percentage (which increases annually based on a fifteen year schedule) of electricity sold to Pennsylvania consumers to come from alternative energy sources like wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal, biomass, and fuel cells. In addition to providing consumers and investors with opportunities the make environmentally sustainable consumption choices, the act also creates diversification in energy portfolios that keeps prices competitive and creates jobs.
It is impossible to discuss jobs and energy in the state of Pennsylvania without discussing the Marcellus Shale. Knapp explained that PennFuture believes that because natural gas is cleaner than oil and coal, it is a viable energy option, but (and this is a big but) its potential should be viewed as a means of transitioning to a more sustainable solution. Because it is a finite, fossil fuel, natural gas should be used as an energy source by which Americans can be weaned off of oil and coal and toward solar, wind, and other renewable energy resources. Drilling in the Marcellus Shale must be done responsibly and it must be taxed—the much debated severance tax—because unregulated drilling would not only devastate the environment and negatively affect the health and well-being of millions of people, plants, and animals, it would jeopardize the thousands of jobs already established in Pennsylvania’s timber and tourism industry.
Much of what happens in the Marcellus Shale and beyond will be determined by the newly elected Republican congress, many of whom are traditionally and notoriously anti-climate change and regulation legislation. In this new political climate, PennFuture will undoubtedly face challenges when touting the benefits of a greener economy. To combat this, Knapp explains that the organization will dig in its heels and continue to press core issues like defending and expanding alternative energy portfolios, focusing on carbon reductions, and instating drilling regulations. Because the environmental movement is, in essence, a conservative one, Knapp and her co-workers are optimistic that support may eventually come from the right.
Helping to navigate the legislative waters on both sides of the aisle is PennFuture’s full time staff of attorneys who litigate $2 million in pro-bono cases each year. The legal staff offers counseling and advocates on behalf of citizens and groups to protect our rights to environmental well-being. Clients include the National Audubon Society, the Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen’s Club Inc., the Pennsylvania Chapter of Trout Unlimited, and the Pennsylvania Chapter of the Sierra Club. The staff also works hard to enforce hot-button environmental issues as well as to protect laws already on the books, a task Knapp refers to as “watch dogging the watch dogs.”
Outside the political realm, PennFuture spends a great deal of time working with the public. In a city where problems abound, the biggest challenge facing Philadelphia’s transition to sustainable urban living may be one of semantics.
When residents of Philadelphia were asked to identify issues most adversely affecting their communities, things like high energy bills, inefficient public transportation, increases in respiratory illnesses like asthma, and a lack of access to safe public parks were all commonly reported. Without identifying their issues using language like “climate change” and “sustainability,” the public cited concerns related to both.
To make sure PennFuture and those they aim to serve are speaking the same language, the organization will be drafting new language into a set of directives under the Next Great City banner. These directives will be absent buzzwords like “sustainability” and “climate change” and be given to members of city council for implementation in the community where they may simultaneously please constituents and improve some of the most nagging issues of urban sustainability.
While PennFuture navigates the changing political climate and continues their advocacy work to address the systemic problems of climate change, there are some things they encourage individuals to do on their own. Knapp believes that recycling is still the simplest thing a Philadelphia resident can do to have an immediate positive impact. Recycling diverts waste from landfills and keeps city costs (taxes) down. In Philadelphia, it also pays to recycle. By joining the Recycle Bank program, residents can enjoy discounts to hundreds of local and national retailers and vendors. Such simple steps on the part of individuals go a long way toward furthering the movement PennFuture is working so hard to progress.
