Why Leach is no friend to the environment

To the Times: We are at a critical juncture when it comes to climate change. With temperatures increasing, sea levels rising, and a president who said climate change is a “hoax perpetrated by the Chinese,” now more than ever we need to elect environmental leaders in Washington.

Unfortunately, despite the hoopla surrounding styate Sen. Daylin Leach’s campaign announcement party, his actions suggest that he will not be the pro-environment warrior we need, and more importantly, our children need, if he is elected as U.S. representative for the 7th Congressional District.

Sen. Leach’s PAC finance reports suggest that he is keeping campaign funds in a PNC Bank account, despite the fact that PNC Bank is one of the major financial backers of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Finance reports also reveal campaign contributions from a PAC associated with FirstEnergy Corp., a company that has been the subject of numerous lawsuits alleging that it dumped toxic coal waste into an unlined holding pond in Beaver County, causing arsenic, sulfates, and other contaminants to leach into the surrounding area.

If Sen. Leach is taking money from such an unscrupulous purveyor of pollutants, I find it hard to believe that he will be a true champion of environmental causes.

This skepticism is only reinforced by Sen. Leach’s recent voting record.

For the 2015-2016 legislative session, Sen. Leach received a dismal 40 percent rating on PennEnvironment’s legislative scorecard. By way of comparison, Sen. Charles McIlhinney and Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, both Republicans, received a 60 percent rating.

In addition to being inexplicably absent for several key environmental votes, Sen. Leach voted in favor of SB 279 when it was in committee and again when it was first considered on the Senate floor in February 2015. This bill created the Pennsylvania Grade Crude Development Advisory Council, whose express purpose was to “promote the long-term viability of the conventional oil and gas industry.”

As an environmentalist, I do not want a state senator, let alone a federal representative, who promotes the “long-term viability” of an aging, unsustainable, and increasingly unprofitable fossil fuel industry. I want a representative that invests in the renewable energy economy that will power our future.

Sen. Daylin Leach is not that representative.