The science is in. The world's top climate scientists
agree that the Earth is warming, that global warming
pollution is largely to blame and that unchecked warming
will bring a wide range of serious problems to areas across
the planet, including Pennsylvania.
And while there's no silver bullet solution for
attacking global warming, a number of critical decisions
will be made this summer in Pennsylvania that will either
help us to cut global warming pollution levels or further
exacerbate the problem by creating more pollution.
One such decision will be made by our legislators, as they
decide whether to establish a funding source for
Pennsylvania's public transportation systems.
To briefly touch on what global warming could mean for
Pennsylvania, the Union of Concerned Scientists estimates
that unchecked warming could result in the Mid-Atlantic
region's climate resembling that of present-day Georgia
by the end of the century.
The same study found that Philadelphia could experience
nearly 30 days per year with temperatures higher than 100
degrees Fahrenheit, a marked jump from the approximately two
days higher than 100 degrees the city experiences each year
now.
The scientific community has also made it clear that we can
avoid these worst-case scenarios by acting soon to make cuts
in global warming pollution levels. And because Pennsylvania
creates more global warming pollution than every state
besides Texas and California, we have a role to play in
achieving these reductions.
Where should Pennsylvania begin to cut pollution? Our
transportation sector is responsible for nearly a third of
the global warming pollution created from fossil fuel
combustion, so that's one place to start. Aside from
pushing the federal government to finally raise gas mileage
standards for cars and trucks, we need to use public
transportation to get more people out of their cars and
trucks and onto trains and buses.
The environmental benefits are clear: A 2002 Federal
Highway Administration study estimated that public
transportation produces almost 50 percent less carbon
dioxide -- the chief global warming pollutant -- than
private vehicles transporting the same number of people.
Unfortunately, public transportation systems across
Pennsylvania have been forced to schedule service cuts and
fare hikes for the coming months because of the
Legislature's unwillingness to establish an adequate
funding mechanism for these systems. The severity of these
projected cuts varies by region, but the overall result is
certain: At a time when we need to make significant cuts in
global warming pollution, these cuts will drive even more
Pennsylvanians to their cars and trucks, increasing
pollution levels.
If the threat of service cuts and fare hikes sounds a bit
familiar, that's because it is. The state's
inadequate funding system has forced public transportation
systems to periodically cut services to stay afloat
financially over the years. Pennsylvania is unique among
states with larger population centers in that we lack an
adequate long-term "dedicated" funding source for
our public transportation systems. Instead, politicians in
Harrisburg have repeatedly opted for short-term solutions to
keep under-funded public transportation systems barely
afloat.
But beyond simply keeping the trains and buses running,
fixing the funding crisis is critical to any effort to cut
global warming pollution through an expansion of our public
transportation systems. Today, public transportation in
Pennsylvania only reaches a fraction of our residents, and
that needs to change.
Think big. Imagine trains connecting Erie to Pittsburgh,
connecting Harrisburg to Washington, D.C., and going from
Scranton to Allentown to Philadelphia. Imagine a smaller
regional train system that connects communities in the
Harrisburg area. Imagine a Pennsylvania that is as much
connected by train lines and buses as it is by highways. The
benefits to our economy and our quality of life would be
tremendous, as would be the cuts in global warming
pollution.
All of these improvements and environmental benefits are
possible if we have leadership from our state and federal
elected officials. But we won't be able to make any of
these visions a reality unless Harrisburg acts by July 1 to
give our public transportation systems an adequate dedicated
funding source. The time is now for our legislators to
realize this and to act immediately to provide a dedicated
funding source for the state's public transportation
systems.
NATHAN WILLCOX is an energy and clean air advocate for
PennEnvironment.
