Recent
articles have noted what I think should have been obvious from the get-go
regarding the proposed Shell Oil cracker natural gas cracker plant in Beaver
County: that it will have a net additive effect to the region’s [the earth’s]
air pollution. C’mon folks, all you have
to do is drive along Interstate 10 from Houston to New Orleans to get an idea
of what fossil fuel processing facilities can do to the environment. The good news, as stated by Shell
spokespeople, is that we know a lot more about controlling pollution today than
when many of “Chemical Alley’s” facilities were built. And as a brand new greenfield plant, the
opportunity for the best technology is there.
Metropolitan areas such as New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Los
Angeles and Chicago – not to mention Houston and New Orleans, are all home to
several oil and gas processing plants and their pollution levels are better
than Pittsburgh’s according to recent reports.
Once the issue of particulate pollution generated in Pittsburgh’s neighboring
Midwest power plants is solved, a new cracker facility should have a relatively
small effect on regional air quality.
A “sweet”
couple pieces about Pittsburgh’s emergence as a “creative capital” – to use
that overused moniker – appeared recently in two different sources which I have
linked here. The “Austin Business
Journal” featured a reporter who touted Pittsburgh’s growing appeal in relation
to Austin’s reputed hipness. Go
here: http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/blog/real-estate/2014/06/jans-must-reads-walkable-cities-heywood-hotel-and.html.
And in a
related source piece, the “Pacific Standard” notes Pittsburgh’s rise among
young creative types seeking a more affordable locale but one with
“authenticity” along the lines of Brooklyn.
Go here: http://www.psmag.com/navigation/business-economics/talent-migration-work-creative-much-new-york-poor-pittsburgh-rich-82894/.
All of which makes sense to us – we’re so trend forward.
