On September 17, Pennsylvanians Against Fracking and over 100 faith leaders sent a letter to Governor Wolf urging him to heed Pope Francis’ message and stop fracking in Pennsylvania. View the full text of the letter below. Click here to view the letter in PDF format.
Faith leaders: you can add your name to the letter by clicking here.
Not a faith leader? You can send your own message to Gov. Wolf by taking action here!
We announced the letter by publishing a full-page ad in the Sunday, September 20th edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
September 17, 2015
Dear Governor Wolf,
We, the undersigned faith leaders from across the Commonwealth, are writing to you in anticipation of Pope Francis’ visit to Pennsylvania later this week. Pope Francis began a dialogue about our common home in Laudato Si. It’s a dialogue he’s sure to continue as he speaks before Congress and the United Nations and worships with families in Philadelphia.
“It is possible that we do not grasp the gravity of the challenge now before us,” the Pope cautions us and reminds us that “the human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together.” Although his encyclical is widely regarded as a statement on the urgency of addressing climate change, it is truly a much broader statement about our interdependence and responsibility to the earth and each other.
Pope Francis understands that our current path is unsustainable and that the poorest among us are already witnesses to that fact. He challenges political leaders to “leave behind a testimony of selfless responsibility” and the rest of us to “embark on new paths to authentic freedom.”
Our Pennsylvania Constitution states that the people have a right to clean air, pure water and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all people. This statement encompasses 2 basic principles: Pennsylvanians have a right to a decent environment; and Pennsylvania government has a trustee responsibility to protect the environment on behalf of future generations. We join together to call on you, Governor Wolf, to be the leader who will help our state chart a sustainable course.
The consensus among climate scientists is that we must leave 80% of fossil fuels in the ground. Continued reliance on them to simultaneously provide energy and drive our economy is no longer a realistic option. Pennsylvania ranks third behind Texas and California in total emissions. The shale gas boom of the past decade has reinvigorated the energy industry in the state, but not without profound and far-reaching consequences.
We know you served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Indian State of Odessa. This place where you once dedicated yourself to serving has been dubbed that nation’s “disaster capital”. Some scientists have called what is happening there a “dress rehearsal for the meteorological mayhem” climate change will cause everywhere on earth. Cyclones and floods where they’d never been seen before, heat waves killing thousands, and severe droughts that have had profound impacts on agriculture are just some examples of dramatic effects Odessa is experiencing. We must not ignore cautionary tales like Odessa’s that are becoming all too common.
The localized impacts of shale gas development have been occurring throughout the shale fields of Pennsylvania for more than a decade. They are profound impacts that command our attention and call us to action. Air quality is poor near drilling and related infrastructure. Children, infants, and the in utero are exposed to risks to their health and development as gas wells and compressors are located perilously close to their schools and homes. Frontline residents of all ages are experiencing a range of symptoms that started after gas drilling came to their communities. New research out of Northeastern Pennsylvania shows that hospitalization rates are higher in heavily fracked areas. Property values have diminished, as has quality of life.
To make matters worse, many Pennsylvanians are living without clean water in their homes because it has been fouled by gas drilling activities. Hydraulic fracturing poses an even broader threat to our water supply. Each fracking consumptively uses millions of gallons of that essential and finite resource.
Water, a sacred medium, used in our religious and spiritual practices, water that fills our bodies and is essential for all life on the planet, is rapidly being depleted. We need to look at practices that will conserve and preserve it. We can’t support energy extraction that intentionally poisons and permanently removes large amounts of precious freshwater from the hydrologic cycle. We can’t permit an exchange of life-giving water for climate damaging fossil fuels.
If the industry has its way then shale gas development is only in its infancy in Pennsylvania. The problems Pennsylvanians are already facing will multiply. The effects of climate change will be much more pronounced and irreversible.
Governor Wolf, you have the opportunity and the obligation to act. Shale gas development is not only putting us in an increasingly precarious position, it is also keeping us from making the necessary and urgent transition to clean, renewable energy. Pennsylvania has long been a leading energy producer. It still can be by leading the transition to clean, renewable energy. We are all called to stewardship.
Pennsylvanians are eager to embark on a better path. Many have enacted or are working to implement a statewide moratorium on fracking. We are looking to you as our Governor to lead the way.
Sincerely,
Reverend Dr. Leah D. Schade, United in Christ Lutheran Church
Lewisburg, PA
Sister Pat Lupo, OSB, Benedictine Sisters of Erie
Erie, PA
Penny Colgan-Davis, Clerk, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
Philadelphia, PA
Msgr. Joseph Kelly, Diocesan Director of Catholic Social Services, Diocese of Scranton
Wilkes-Barre, PA
Reverend Sandra L. Strauss, Pennsylvania Council of Churches
Harrisburg, PA
Reverend Kim D. Wilson, Unitarian Universalist Association
Stroudsburg, PA
Father William Pickard, Catholic Diosece of Scranton
Scranton, PA
Reverend Lisa Keppeler, Episcopal Church of the Holy Nativity
Wrightstown, PA
Prioress/President Anne Wambach, OSB, Benedictine Sisters of Erie
Erie, PA
Sister Mary Lou Kownacki, Benedictine Sisters of Erie
Erie, PA
Sister Mary Claire Kennedy, SSJ, Sisters of St. Joseph NW PA
Erie, PA
Reverend John Creasy, Presbyterian Church
Pittsburgh, PA
Reverend Mark Hayes, Unitarian Universalist
State College, PA
Sister Ann Muczynski, Benedictine Sisters of Erie
Erie, PA
Therese Glass, OSB, Benedictine Sisters of Erie
Erie, PA
Reverend Michael Bryant, St. John Neumann
Scranton, PA
Sister Margaret Zeller, Benedictine Sisters of Erie
Erie, PA
Reverend Loretta Vasso, Circle of the Sacred Earth
Meadowbrook, PA
Reverend Dr. Neal Jones, Mainline Unitarian Church
Devon, PA
Colette Korn, OSB, Benedictine Sisters of Erie
Erie, PA
Sister Norma Jean Kingsley, OSB, Benedictine Sisters of Erie
Erie, PA
Reverend Jerry Lee Miller, Church of the Brethren
Lancaster, PA
Reverend Paul Otruba, Universal Ministries
Mansfield, PA
Reverend David Reppert, United Church of Christ
Philadelphia, PA
Sister Joan Chittister, Benedictine Sisters of Erie
Erie, PA
Reverend Dr. Renee Waun, East Suburban Unitarian Universalist Church
Murrysville, PA
Sister Mary Egan, Benedictine Sisters of Erie
Erie, PA
Reverend Bryant Brown, Thomas Paine Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Collegeville, PA
Reverend Scott Rudolph, Unitarian Universalist
Pittsburgh, PA
Sister Judith Trambley, Benedictine Sisters of Erie
Erie, PA
Reverend Melinda Hall, The Episcopal Church
Brookville, PA
Rabbi Arthur Waskow, The Shalom Center
Philadelphia, PA
Rabbi Phyllis Berman
Philadelphia, PA
Rabbi Linda Holtzman
Philadelphia, PA
Rabbi Shawn Zevit, Mishkan Shalom
Philadelphia, PA
Rabbi Yael Levy, Mishkan Shalom
Philadelphia, PA
Sister Charles Marie Holze, Benedictine Sisters of Erie
Erie, PA
Reverend Anne Mason, Unitarian Universalist Church of Lancaster
Lancaster, PA
Rabbi Mordechai Liebling, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Wyncote, PA
Reverend Dr. Thomas J. Bodie, Ginger Hill Unitarian Universalist
Slippery Rock, PA
Reverend Mark Terwilliger, Countryside Community United Methodist Church
Clarks Summit, PA
Sister Mary Miller, Director, Emmaus Ministries, Benedictine Sisters of Erie
Erie, PA
Sister Mary Ellen Plumb, Benedictine Sisters of Erie
Erie, PA
Sister Stephanie Schmidt, Benedictine Sisters of Erie
Erie, PA
Rabbi Joshua Waxman, Congregation Or Hadash
Ft. Washington, PA
Rabbi Vivian E Schirn
Fort Washington, PA
Reverend Cheryl Pyrch, Summit Presbyterian Church
Philadelphia, PA
Jasmine Spence, Newtown Friends Quaker Meeting
Newtown, PA
Malinda Harnish Clatterbuck, Spiritual Director, Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster
Lancaster, PA
Reverend James Hamilton, United Methodist
Ambridge, PA
Reverend Chris Stillwell, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
South Park, PA
Lorraine L. Smith, MAPC, Methodist
Warrington, PA
Rabbi Linda Holtzman, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Philadelphia, PA
Reverend Dr. Donna Giver-Johnston, Presbyterian Church (USA)
Pittsburgh, PA
Reverend Dr. Richard S. Armstrong, Minister of Worship, Pennswood Village Interdenominational Congregation
Newtown, PA
Behzad Zandieh, Baha’i Faith
Harrisburg, PA
Reverend Dr. Jean Richardson, Presbyterian
Bangor, PA
Gretchen Plotkin and James C. Barton, Co-Clerks, Chambersburg Monthly Meeting Religious Society of Friends
Chambersburg, PA
Janet Lamborn, Representative, Peace & Social Concern Committee of Reading Meeting
Reading, PA
Reverend Kathleen Lockwood, One Spirit
Stroudsburg, PA
Janice Etchison, Oblate, Benedictine Sisters of Erie PA; steering committee, Benedictines for Peace
Erie, PA
Reverend Bill Thwing, St. Pauls United Church of Christ
Johnstown, PA
Rabbi Linda Potemken, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
Wynnewood, PA
Edwina Gateley, Roman Catholic
Erie, PA
Barbara Roseborough, Benedictine Oblate, Benedictines for Peace
Erie, PA
Sister Maria Lucia B. Serano, RSM, Sisters of Mercy
Erie, PA
Kathleen Kutz, Director of Religious Education, Benedictans for Peace
Erie, PA
Fr. Bernard Survil, Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg
Greensburg, PA
Reverend Bebb Wheeler Stone, PhD, Presbyteria Church (U.S.A.)
Mechanicsburg, PA
Reverend Daniel W. Hinkle, Episcopal
Atglen, PA
Reverend Michael Walker, Unitarian Church of Harrisburg
Harrisburg, PA
Rabbi Elliot Strom
Yardley, PA
Reverend Darcey Laine, Unitarian Universalist Church of Athens and Sheshequin
Athens, PA
Rabbi Marcia Prager, P’nai Or Jewish Renewal Congregation of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA
Rabbi Yael Levy, Mishkan Shalom
Philadelphia, PA
Tom Hocking, UCC Penn Central Conference Environmental Justice Ministry
Lebanon, PA
Rabbi Linda Holtzman
Philadelphia, PA
Rabbi Rebecca Alpert, Pikkunolam Chavurah
Philadelphia, PA
Rabbi Shawn Zevit, Mishkan Shalom
Phialdelphia, PA
Rabbi Yaacov Kravitz, Center for Spiritual Intelligence
Elkins Park, PA
Rabbi Meryl Crean, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
Philadelphia, PA
Rabbi Rayzel Raphael
Melrose Park, PA
Rabbi Doris Dyen, Makom HaLev Minyan
Pittsburgh, PA
Rabbi Carl Choper, Interfaith Alliance of Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, PA
Rabbi Julie Greenberg
Philadelphia, PA
Reverend Greta Browne, Unitarian Universalist
Bethlehem, PA
Pastor John Woodcock, Church of the Loving Shepherd
West Chester, PA
Reverend Charlotte H. Whiting, United Church of Christ
Lancaster, PA
Rabbi Alanna Sklover, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
Philadelphia, PA
Pastor Beth Lyon, Glenside United Church of Christ
Glenside, PA
Rabbi Elisa Goldberg, Kol Tzedek
Philadelphia, PA
Tom Hoopes, Head of Religion, George School
Newtown, PA
Reverend Cynthia Crowner, Presbyterian Church USA
Stroudsburg, PA
Carolyn Belle Lyday, M.Div., George School Religion Department
Newtown, PA
Reverend Michael W. Beynon, United Church of Christ
Harrisburg, PA
Reverend Randy Philip Orso, The Universal Life Church Monastery
Hawley, PA
Sister Diane Bardol, Social Justice Coordinator, Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart
Yardley, PA
Sister Mary E. Looby, Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart
Yardley, PA
Sister Julia C. Lanigan, Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart
Yardley, PA
Reverend Patricia Pearce, Presbytery of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA
Reverend Catherine de La Vigne, Universal Life Church Monastery
Spokane, PA
Lorrainee Kennedy, Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart
Yardley, PA
Rabbi Rayzel Raphael
Melrose Park, PA
Rabbi Nathan Martin
Philadelphia, PA
Rev. Andrea Brown, United Methodist
Lancaster, PA
Laurie Stuart, Upper Delaware Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Beach Lake, PA
Director, Sister Nora M. Nash, OSF, Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia
Aston, PA
Rev. Greg Kammann, Ph.D., Trinity United Church of Christ
Telford, PA
Association of Pittsburgh Priests
Pittsburgh, PA
Sister Mary Elizabeth Clark, Director, Sisters of St. Joseph Earth Center
Philadelphia, PA