The Clock is Winding Down for Growing Greener II
The proposed Growing Greener II initiative would offer critical funding to revitalize the health of Pennsylvania's rivers and streams, while taking direct aim at issues that has long plagued our commonwealth: abandoned mines, acid runoff and contaminated brownfields. It would help preserve open space, farmland and forests while improving our state parks and game lands. Growing Greener II seeks solutions for bringing businesses to small towns and aids in the development of alternative energy sources such as wind farms and solar cells. And by Thanksgiving, Growing Greener II could very well be gone.
Our representatives in Harrisburg have a very brief window of opportunity to act on these urgent needs – just the few working days left in the legislative calendar before the lawmakers adjourn for Thanksgiving and end their 2003-2004 legislative session.
Today's photo is of Nine Mile Run, the location of a project where stream restoration work has just begun. This project and the long-term health of the stream could suffer if funding is threatened and the measure is left off the ballot. Nine Mile Run begins at Frick Park and runs through Edgewood, Swissvale, Wilkinsburg, and a part of the City of Pittsburgh, before draining into the Monongahela River. During wet weather, Nine Mile Run is overloaded with water, causing stream bank erosion and degradation of in-stream habitat. Also, sewage often overflows into the stream during big rains, decreasing water quality and limiting any human recreation opportunities. During dry weather, the water level is often unnaturally low, leaving nowhere for fish and aquatic insects to live.
To voice your support for Growing Greener II, visit the Take Action section of our website.
Read WPC Executive Vice President Cynthia Carrow's op-ed piece in the Nov. 17 issue of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
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