DG3 - Environment vs. Jobs in Western PA

Amazon is planning to build a huge distribution center on the former Westinghouse site in Churchill.  Proponents tout the number of jobs that will be created and the expansion of the tax base, but opponents point out that since Westinghouse left, this land has become a haven for wildlife, with hundreds of trees that will be cut down and paved over by Amazon.  They cite noise and diesel pollution that will be generated by hundreds of trucks traveling on local roads in this residential area.

The Shell cracker plant in Beaver County is scheduled for completion in 2022.  Proponents tout the number of jobs that have been and will be created and the expansion of the tax base, but opponents point out that making plastic “nurdles” from compressed ethane gas, a fracking byproduct, is a highly polluting process that has created “cancer alleys” near similar installations in Louisiana. 

1.  Are the jobs and increased tax revenue worth the environmental destruction?
2.  Are there other sites in this region that could be used for this type of industry?
3. Should our state and local governments be supporting the transition to new, cleaner industries instead of the dirty rust-belt industries that have been a driving force in this region’s history?
4. When deciding how to grow the local economy, how much should we consider world-wide climate change, since what happens locally affects global events and-vice versa?
5. Must job creation always result in environmental degradation?  Are there alternatives?
6. Is there a moral imperative to fight for every tree now that natural areas are so scarce?

Churchill Amazon Distribution Center:

https://www.wesa.fm/development-transportation/2021-07-06/churchill-residents-say-theyre-concerned-about-proposed-development-believed-to-be-for-amazon

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/churchill-residents-fighting-proposed-amazon-site/ar-BB1g4NAz

https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2021/04/27/churchill-residents-hesitant-amazon-facility/

https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/potential-amazon-site-in-churchill-faces-uncertain-future/

Beaver Cracker Plant:

https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2021/03/16/beaver-county-cracker-plant-expected-to-be-complete-in-2022/

https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/ethane-cracker-plants-what-are-they

https://www.shell.com/inside-energy/pittsburgh-pennsylvania-beaver-county.html

E.O. Wilson Interview (short) on Half-Earth:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq3w7cldgMU

David Attenborough: Netflix A Life on Our Planet Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64R2MYUt394

Discussion Groups are moderated forums with pre-selected topics. Anyone who wishes to participate in the civil discussions is welcomed but not required to do so. The groups nominally represent different geographical locations and will morph back into geographically located in-person discussions when we can do so, for now we meet using zoom. They are currently held every Thursday. The topic for each discussion is announced in advance, sometimes with recommended reading.