Earlier this month MDN told you that a plan to build a $60 million Marcellus LNG export facility on property owned by Philadelphia Gas Works was just one vote away from becoming reality (see Philadelphia LNG Export Plant One Vote Away from Happening). The final vote needed is by Philadelphia City Council. It was supposed to happen yesterday, but instead was delayed.
A handful (maybe five) of what appears to be paid protesters showed up with big signs blathering on about the New Green Deal and the evils of fossil fuels. Look at the following picture and tell us what you see. We see people who don’t even want to be there–obviously paid to be there–holding up signs made with fossil fuels.
City council has put off a final vote on a controversial plan for a natural gas facility in Southwest Philadelphia, but opponents are pressing their case against it. They held a protest before Thursday’s council session.
PGW says the liquefied natural gas plant would generate income, create jobs and be good for the environment, because the gas would replace polluting diesel fuel as back-up power for large-scale customers. Normally, there’s an element of not-in-my-backyard-ism to protests of such facilities, but in this case, opponents such as Aru Shiney-Ajay are driven by a philosophical opposition to investing any more in fossil fuel infrastructure.
“We know, science and justice tell us, we have 11 years to transition to stop climate change and transition to renewable energy. This is a death sentence for Philadelphians,” she said.
This is the sweet spot for council-at-large candidate Adrian Reyes-Rivera, a scientist, who promotes a green new deal for the city.
“Science is real, science is fact, science is data,” he said. “We know that if we continue on the track we are right now, by 2080, Philadelphia will be as hot as Memphis. A third of the city will be under water.”
A council committee unanimously passed the gas plant deal a month ago, but members say they’re still working on amendments.*
Again, how do you counter clinical insanity? This business of “we have 11 years to transition to stop climate change and transition to renewable energy” or we’ll all be dead, is nothing more than sheer asininity. It’s below and beyond stupid. The real death sentence for Philly residents would be to get rid of fossil fuels–a sure prescription for plunging them back into the Dark Age, living short, brutish lives.
As we’ve said in other posts, we don’t much care for the company (run by a former Enron exec) that will build the LNG export facility. But we do think it’s a necessary and good project, a new way to sell more PA Marcellus gas.
Let’s hope Philly Council gets its act together and votes to approve this project at the next meeting.
*Philadelphia (PA) KYW News Radio 1060 (Mar 28, 2019) – Opponents of Southwest Philly liquefied natural gas plant protest at City Hall
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