Letter to the editor: Support proposal to protect our parks

As an Allegheny County resident, past sustainability manager with the county, chairperson of LeboGreen and development associate with Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light (PA IPL), I am writing to encourage all county residents to urge your councilpersons to vote “yes” in support of Bill No. 12162-22, proposed to protect Allegheny County’s parks from new fracking and industrial development.

I have seen significant changes in regional air and water quality over my lifetime, from catching fish with cancerous tumors in the 1960s to witnessing species flourishing due to passage of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts in the 1960s-’70s. I returned to Southwestern Pennsylvania to raise my family with a strong connection to our beautiful environment. As empty-nesters now, my husband and I still visit Allegheny County parks to listen to music, hike, bike and dog-walk.

Our parks are treasures. We know that fracking has been linked to dangerous airborne radiation and toxic air and water pollution. Let’s continue air and water quality improvement. Let’s not backslide. Let’s protect all of our greenspaces to improve human and environmental health by not permitting fracking and other forms of industry in our parks, at the very least.

Many of our Allegheny County councilpersons and employees are people of faith. PA IPL is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that inspires and mobilizes people of faith to take bold and just action on climate change. I implore all councilpersons and the county executive to be good stewards of the Earth. Vote “yes.” Sign this bill into law. Protect our parks as your faith dictates.

Kathleen A. Hrabovsky

Mt. Lebanon