Robert Steffes – 9/25/09

This page was last updated on September 25, 2009.

State budget is too generous on drilling; Robert Steffes; Beaver County Times; September 25, 2009.

For a little more background, a Post-Gazette letter indicates Mr. Steffes believes the only scientists who don’t believe humans are causing global warming are those who work for the energy industry. In another letter, Mr. Steffes tried to get us to sign a petition so Bob Edwards could keep his job at NPR. According to Mr. Steffes, “Mr. Edwards’ calm baritone stands alone in the sea of slime that has become commercial talk radio.” I could be completely off base, but I suspect Mr. Steffes really meant “conservative talk radio.” In one letter from Mr. Steffes, he sang the praises of a woman on a crusade against electronic voting machines and offered to send her a check. I wonder if he ever followed through?

The last Steffes letter I critiqued was entitled “The time to develop clean energy is now.”

Below is a detailed critique of the letter.

“While I am a big supporter of natural gas development, the giveaways to drillers in the proposed state budget are outrageous and risk lasting damage to our land and water.”

[RWC] Here’s my only comment. Given Mr. Steffes’ previous letters, it’s difficult for me to believe he is “a big supporter of natural gas development.” After all, while burning natural gas puts less carbon in the atmosphere, it still contributes to manmade global warming if you believe in that religion. Please read my paper entitled “Manmade global warming.”

“At a time when the state is crying for revenue, the budget contains no severance tax for extracted gas. This makes it the only state in union without one.

“The state would also immediately offer another 200,000 acres of state forest for lease to drillers, in addition to the 600,000 already available. Since gas prices are at a seven-year low, these leases would sell for a pittance.

“Development of the Marcellus shale deposits can be a boon for Pennsylvania. However, drilling has its downsides.

“It uses massive amounts of water and some very toxic chemicals to fracture deep rock. News accounts last week of the poisoning of a 38-mile stretch of Dunkard Creek along the Pennsylvania-West Virginia by what appears to be illegal dumping of gas drilling wastewater should be a warning of the consequences of weak regulation.

“Please urge your state representative to oppose the state budget unless we get strong protections and our money’s worth from the gas drillers.”