In an editorial published by the Philadelphia Inquirer Will Bunch, like the many anti-pipeline activists, refuses to acknowledge the benefits that Pennsylvanians reap everyday due to energy infrastructure.
He calls PA’s promised economic future a “scam” but doesn’t mention the thousands of PA citizens who are employed by energy infrastructure projects, the tax benefits that the entire state has inherited, or the lower energy costs in PA.
The coronavirus pandemic has affected business across the board, not just the energy sector. Our entire economy is suffering, however energy infrastructure continues to supply Americans with the resources they need to survive. Whether people are out working and living normal lives, or confined to their homes, they still need access to the resources that heat their homes, cook their food, or the even simply interact with the plastics that are a part of their everyday lives. That will never change.
In addition, the plastics that Bunch attacks are the very resources that our healthcare system is desperate for. The Braskem America plant near Philadelphia has 40 employees that have volunteered to spend 28 days at the plant to help produce polypropylene. Polypropylene is a raw material used to make N95 masks, medical gowns, and other protective gear. Insulting infrastructure that makes it possible for medical professionals to be properly equipped during a pandemic is wrongfully timed and poorly thought out.
To say that the PA’s energy infrastructure was all a scam is abhorrent and simply not based in facts. The natural resources in the Utica and Marcellus Shale regions along with energy infrastructure projects have provided PA the opportunity to bring great economic value to the state and its citizens.