Dear President Trump:

The residents of Pennsylvania recognize your recent repeated visits to our state for what they are: a last-ditch attempt to use energy issues to sow division among us for your own election.

Betting our economic future on petrochemicals and production of plastics would send us back to our polluted past when a brighter economic future exists.

The economic and jobs bonanza promised by natural gas forecasters never happened. Economists tell us the natural gas industry was collapsing even before the coronavirus pandemic. The industry has not delivered on its promises of plentiful jobs. Instead it has has written off billions of dollars in bad debts while drillers have gone bankrupt.

The gas industry has never employed more than 30,000 people in Pennsylvania — not the exaggerated figure you tout. Compare this with the 1 million state residents working in health care, 222,600 in education, and more than 590,000 in local and state government.

Families living on the front lines of gas development in our states have been ignored for too long. With the right federal resources, Pennsylvania will build a 21st-century economy that provides living wages for workers while protecting the environment and the health of the people. We embrace the Reimagine Appalachia blueprint calling for investments in clean and renewable energy, sustainable transportation, a modern electric grid, and a revival of the Civilian Conservation Corps. Analysis shows this plan will create nearly a half-million new jobs in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

We have a vision for a brighter and healthier future, and so do voters.

Matthew Mehalik

Hill District

The writer is executive director of the Breathe Project.

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