Jay Sweeney

Gas Stock address

admin — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 21:42:50 +0000

Natural gas is claimed to be a clean energy source that could be helpful in addressing global warming. However, methane, the principal component of natural gas is a far more dangerous green house gas than carbon. The extraction of natural gas will only speed up global warming.

Natural gas has been proposed as a bridge fuel to a green energy future, but, natural gas is a shackle to the past and will only delay the implementation of a truly green energy policy. The multi billion dollar oil& gas industry receives billions of dollars in federal subsidies. That money should be invested in solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric and other green energy technologies. Not natural gas, nuclear and clean coal.

Water is the bridge to the future. Without it we won’t get there. Yet, we are being asked to trade water for gas. It takes millions of gallons of fresh water to frack a single well. Thousands of permits have been issued to drill in Pennsylvania. That is billions of gallons of our water that will be turned into industrial waste, most of which will remain underground, never to be returned to our rivers and streams.

The short term economic benefits of natural gas extraction are not worth the long term environmental impact. We can live without natural gas. We cannot live without clean water.

This is a gathering of activists. If you are not an activist, we are here to recruit you. We need you! We need the power of the people to stand up to the Governor. We need you to stand up to the General Assembly. We need you to stand up to DEP Secretary John Hanger. WE need you to stand up to the Marcellus Shale Coalition.

We want our land, our air and our water protected. As a friend of mine likes to say, what happened to Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful?

No more permits! No more fracking!

I’d like to close with words attributed to native american Chief Seatle.

Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.

John Hanger should be fired!

admin — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 11:55:23 +0000

How can DEP Secretary John Hanger defend the Commonwealth’s environmental regulations? They’ve been an abysmal failure. In two years time, we’ve had private water sources contaminated, spills of diesel fuel and fracking fluid on land and in water, fish kills, blowouts, explosions and deaths as a result of the oil & gas industry drilling for natural gas.

Hanger claims DEP spent the past 2 years strengthening environmental enforcement. Meanwhile, drilling went on. As for “coming down hard” on violators, Cabot officials scoffed at the fines Hanger levied on them. They were insignificant not punitive.

New York has taken a common sense approach to the prospect of drilling. They have done an environmental impact study, legislators have visited drilling sites and spoke to those who have been negatively impacted by the industry. Did DEP do any study before giving the oil & gas industry free reign on our lands? Did John Hanger, Governor Rendell or any of our legislators go to visit the Barnett Shale play in Texas?

Pennsylvania has taken a reactive approach while New York’s has been proactive. John Hanger has not lived up to the Department of Environmental Protection mission statement ‘to protect Pennsylvania’s air, land and water from pollution and to provide for the health and safety of it’s citizens through a cleaner environment. We will work as partners with individuals, organizations, governments and businesses to prevent pollution and restore our natural resources”.

John Hanger should be fired!

Earth Day 2010

admin — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 21:05:15 +0000

Thursday April 22 marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. On that day in 1970, millions gathered across the nation to celebrate, educate and protest. I was in high school in Philadelphia at the time and recall a gathering in Fairmount Park with music and speakers that was broadcast over PBS.

Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin was the major force behind the concept of a nationwide grassroots environmental teach-in. The environmental movement was born uniting al fighting pollution, loss of wilderness and wildlife under one banner.

The 1970s saw passage of the Clean Air Act and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. Former Green Party Presidential candidate, Ralph Nader was an early environmental advocate and was instrumental in the passage of these as well as the Clean Water Act. The 80s saw the co-opting of Earth Day. Since then large Earth Day events have been dominated by corporations with little grassroots input.

Today, the green tag is applied to all commodities including energy.

Natural gas and nuclear energy are considered “green” fuels by the Obama administration. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale threatens our Commonwealth’s waters.

The Green Party of Pennsylvania and a coalition of other like minded groups will be taking part in Earth Day demonstrations at DEP offices across the Commonwealth. Join us on April 22 at noon outside DEP offices in Harrisburg, Wilkes-Barre, Williamsport, Norristown, Pittsburgh and Meadeville. No more permits! No more fracking! Fire John Hanger!

PA Green Party Nominating Convention

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:53:22 +0000

The Green Party of Pennsylvania held it’s Nominating Convention in Pittsburgh over the weekend of February 20-21. The meeting was very interesting. I met several people new to the party including several who will run for office. We had a couple of observers who were moved to join the party.

Saturday was a day for workshops including my presentation on the Marcellus Shale. I will send a separate email with the presentation. There were workshops on ballot access, petitioning, building an effective green party local organization, green economics, a response to Haiti and a comprehensive campaign school by Hugh Esco. Hugh is a member of the Georgia Green Party and a partner in CampaignFoundations.com.

Saturday evening we had a dinner at the India Garden with music provided by GP DJ Matt Cleveland. Mel Packer, who sought and received our nomination for U.S Senate, delivered a rousing speech. Mel has a long history in the peace movement, labor movement and currently works as a Physicians Assistant in the Pittsburgh area. We will have to bring him to the area.

On Sunday, we heard from and nominated Mel Packer for Senate, Ed Bortz for Congress (Pittsburgh district), Dr. Rex D’agostino for State Rep 183 District (Allentown), Hugh Giordano State Rep (Philly), Roy Farrington State Rep (central Pa) and I was nominated to run again for the 111th district against Sandy Major.

Four of these candidates are new to the party. Hugh Giordano is a young union organizer who seems ambitious and energetic. I spent time with him and his campaign treasurer, another young guy named Mike, during Saturday’s dinner. I was impressed with both of them.

We also nominated a new Chair, Ian Samways, who was promoted from Secretary. Katrina Brabham was nominated Secretary. We nominated a new Steering Committee. Bob Small and Jessica Ashman were held over and Sandy Hazley and Guy Gray were new additions. Vivek Ananthan was retained as Treasurer.

We elected a delegation to the GPUS (including Skip Mendler) and the International Committee.

Finally we broke down into working groups including fundraising, politics and ballot access.

I shared a room with Tim Reim from Erie. Tim has been part of a group that has been successful in keeping a tire incinerator plant from being constructed in a poor neighborhood in Erie. Tim also gave me a power point presentation on Marcellus Shale that was put together by a member of BRSC and a copy of Economic Democracy a Grand Strategy for World Peace and Prosperity by J. W. Smith. This book was referenced in the Green Economics workshop. I will be happy to share these as was Tim’s intention.

All in all, I think it was a productive and encouraging meeting.

Marcellus Shale and your water

admin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:57:09 +0000

In 2008, I was running for State Representative in the 111th District. I attended a League of Women Voters meeting. Everyone was asking “Did you sign a lease yet?” It was then that I learned of the Marcellus Shale.

The Marcellus Shale is a sedimentary black shale. It is located beneath most of Pennsylvania with the exception of the southeastern part of the state. It is also found beneath parts of Ohio, West Virginia and New York. It is named the Marcellus due to it’s outcropping near the town of Marcellus New York. In Pennsylvania, it is located between 5,000 and 10,000 feet below the earth’s surface several thousand feet below the fresh water aquifer which is around 400 feet . Trapped between the shale is natural gas. The Marcellus also contains uranium, and the radioactive decay of the uranium-238 makes it a source of radioactive radon gas.

I then learned about the landmen. They approached landholders to sign mineral leases with them. They were given sign on bonuses and the promise of future royalties. This all began quietly as early as 2005 with landmen offering large landholders such as farmers $15.00 per acre. Today they are paying $6000.00 per acre.

Dr. Terry Engelder, Professor of Geology at Penn State University was the co-author of a scientific paper on the economic and geologic opportunities of the Marcellus Shale formation. He estimates there is between 160 and 525 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Marcellus with about 50 tcu recoverable. This is enough to meet the nations needs for 2 years. Since then estimates have rapidly risen to a 14 year supply, 50 year supply and finally to 100 year supply.

Drilling in the Marcellus is considered unconventional and utilizes a procedure developed by Haliburton called hydrofracturing. As the name suggests, water mixed with sand and chemicals is forced through the shale under pressure to crush the shale and release the gas. Each fracking operation requires 1 to 3 million gallons of water per well . Wells can be fracked several times. While only 5% of the fracking fluid is composed of chemicals, 50,000 gallons of chemicals are used per million gallons of water. The fracking companies claim the formula for their fluids are proprietary. They do not want to release the information about the chemical content.

Before the hydrofracturing, a bore hole is drilled. It goes through the aquifer and continues for at least a mile. When it approaches the shale it is curved to run horizontally through it. Then the bore hole is cased with pipe. A second layer of pipe is inserted and the well is cased with concrete. A series of explosives are detonated in the area to be fracked, initiating the fissures needed to release the gas. Horizontal drilling allows drilling in several directions from one well and several wells can be drilled from one pad.

The number one environmental problem associated with this drilling is the threat to our water, although there is also fragmentation of the land. Drilling pads of up to 5 acres are cleared for each operation. There is also the release of methane, the principal component of natural gas. As a greenhouse gas, Methane is 20 times more dangerous than Carbon Dioxide. Truck traffic, road damage and noise are just a few more of the environmental problems associated with natural gas drilling.

Getting back to water, Millions of gallons of water are used in the hydrofracturing process. Roughly one half of the water remains in the ground and the rest returns to the surface. This water contains total dissolved solids that make it 5 times saltier than sea water. It contains the chemical additives which have been found to include carcinogens and endocrine disruptors. It is also potentially radioactive. This water is now industrial waste and must be treated as such.

However, there are few facilities available to handle this type of waste. The drilling pads contain pits where this water can be stored. It is subject to leaks, overflow from heavy rain or snowfall and exposes waterfowl and wildlife to these toxins. It is going to municipal wastewater treatment plants which are not equipped to properly handle industrial waste. This water is being diluted with the treated water and dumped into our rivers and streams. This resulted in problems with TDS in the Monongahela River this summer. The Monongahela provides drinking water to many downstream communities.

In addition, this waste water is dumped on roads for dust control and can be used in the winter to pretreat roads prior to snow fall. All of these activities were permitted by DEP even before it was gutted in the recent budget signed by Governor Rendell.

DEP has not lived up to its mission which reads as follows to protect Pennsylvania’s air, land and water from pollution and to provide for the health and safety of its citizens through a cleaner environment. We will work as partners with individuals, organizations, governments and businesses to prevent pollution and restore our natural resources.

DEP is understaffed, underfunded and cannot possibly monitor activity at the wells. The Oil & gas industry expects to apply for 5200 permits in 2010. Three times more than in 2009. DEP has raised the cost of a permit and these funds will be used to hire more employees. This means that the industry that is subject to DEP regulation and monitoring is now funding the agency .

DEP does not plan to regulate the wastewater until treatment plants come online in 2011. Yet, it has streamlined the permitting process to drill a well. The treatment plants that do come online in 2011 will not be sufficient to handle the volume or properly cleanse the wastewater before it is dumped into our rivers and streams. That volume has been estimated to be nearly 20 million gallons per day.

At the request of the oil & gas industry DEP Secretary John Hanger removed the County Conservation districts from any oversight or regulatory role in natural gas drilling. Hanger stated that with all of the drilling, there is bound to be environmental impact, but, the economic benefit would outweigh the environmental harm. The Green Party of Pa called for his resignation.

There have been numerous environmental incidents in the past couple of years. In western Pa there was the contamination of the Monongahela River and the drinking water supply of many area residents. There was the destruction of Dunkard Creek. Atlas Resources was cited for violations at 13 wells, including spills of fracturing fluids and other contaminants onto the ground around the sites. M.R. Dirt, a company that removes waste from drilling sites, spilled more than 7 tons of drilling dirt along a public road. Range Resources spilled nearly 5,000 gallons of wastewater, including hydraulic fracturing fluids, into a tributary of Cross Creek Lake, a protected watershed near Pittsburgh.

In NEPA, There was a diesel spill of several hundred gallons in a wet land, there was a frack fluid spill of several thousand gallons that resulted in a fish kill, there was unregulated water withdrawals from streams.

DEP responded with fines that could hardly be described as punitive to companies that generate revenues of hundreds of millions to billions of dollars. Atlas resources paid $85,000 for it’s offenses. Mr Dirt paid $6,000 for it’s violations. Cabot Oil & Gas company had a litany of violations. Cabot entered into a consent agreement with DEP and negotiated a $120,000.00 fine.

One of Cabot’s most egregious violations occurred on January 1, 2009. There was the explosion of a well housing for the water supply of Norma Fiorentino in Dimock. Methane had accumulated beneath the concrete slab over her well. A spark from the electrical connection to her pump ignited the methane.

Norma and others in Dimock could no longer use their once pristine water supply. Water from the faucet could be ignited. It looked and smelled bad. People got sick from drinking it. Cabot denied that this was a result of their operations.

DEP studied and recommended that Cabot supply water to some, but, not all of the affected homes. Norma Fiorentino was not one of the residents to receive water. She and other Dimock residents pleaded with Cabot. Cabot still refused. When she asked if she would have to initiate a law suit, a Cabot lawyer told her you’ll lose. Finally fed up, a group of 15 families filed a lawsuit against Cabot for polluting their water, medical problems and the loss of value of their property.

I should point out that the Oil & Gas industry is exempt from the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Air Act, EPA hazardous waste regulations which require a cradle to grave tracking system and more.

Other regulatory agencies involved in the process in NEPA include the Susquehanna and Delaware River Basin Commissions. They regulate water withdrawals from streams and rivers associated with their respective rivers. Drilling companies must apply to these agencies before they withdraw any water from the basin. In fact, at least one company was fined for illegally taking water from a stream.

Despite claiming to produce local jobs, many of those employed in the drilling industry are transients and bring with them an increase in crime. There has also been a housing issue. As these people move into the area rental values go up and locals are finding difficulty locating affordable housing.

What can we do?

We have formed a watchdog group called Citizens for Clean Water. Members of our group attend public meetings held by DEP and others including Penn State. These meetings are supposed to answer questions and suppress the fear of the public. They tend to be favorable to the industry, but, the opposition is growing.

One thing that I have learned over the course of attending these meetings for the past year or so is that no one owns the water. It is a commonwealth resource. This is where we have a right and a need to speak out. Private landowners have a right to lease their land, but, they do not have a right to utilize and deplete our water resources to enrich themselves and even more so the oil & gas companies.

Citizens for Clean Water were on hand when an 8,000 gallon frac fluid spill occurred at a drilling site. They documented the spill with video recorders and called DEP to complain. Cabot Oil & Gas was supposed to report this incident, which was actually 3 separate spills over a couple of days, but, they did not until Citizens for Clean Water discovered it. Cabot was prohibited from hydrofracturing in the area until they complied with DEPs requirements. Unfortunately, that only lasted 2 weeks.

We had Ben Price from the Community Environmental Defense Fund come and speak about the CELDF strategy of passing local ordinances prohibiting offensive behaviors. While I think this is a great strategy, in an area where most have signed a lease and expect to become millionaires, this would be extremely difficult to implement.

Another thing I have learned is that DEP is answerable to the Environmental Protection Agency. We must address our grievances to the EPA. The gas companies would rather deal with the state agencies and why not. They have had their way with DEP.

Senator Casey is a co-sponsor of the Fracturing Responsibly and Awareness of Chemicals Act, FRAC Act for short, which would require the industry to disclose the chemicals it uses in hydrofrackturing and subject it to the Safe Drinking Water Act. The oil & gas industry opposes the Act. I personally don’t think it goes far enough.

If drilling is planned near you, you should get a comprehensive water test done. If your water becomes contaminated, you will need this water test to validate your claim. To stand up in court, it must be done by a professional with no interest in your property. A chain of custody needs to be established for the water samples and they must be tested by an EPA certified lab. This is costly, about $1,000, but necessary.

You may also want to get an appraisal of your property. If your property value declines due to drilling, you could also present this evidence to the courts.

Finally, there is direct action. I believe we should use Earth Day to assemble outside DEP offices across the Commonwealth to demand that DEP fulfill it’s mission and protect our environment from the oil & gas industry.

The Governor and General Assembly are also responsible. They have sworn to uphold the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania which includes Article I, Section 27

The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.

The failure of the Governor, our State Senators and State Reps to uphold the constitution makes them liable for damages and potential defendants in future lawsuits.

We must stand up to these elected officials and challenge them at the polls.

admin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:23:09 +0000

DEP has issued thousands of drilling permits before it even thought about treating the wastewater that hydrofracking generates. DEP has ignored it’s responsibilities and Secretary John Hanger sped up the permitting process at the request of the oil & gas industry instead of seeing that safeguards were in place to protect the environment , Hanger, Governor Ed Rendell and the General Assembly have ignored the constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania they swore to uphold . The constitution states in Article 1 Section 27

Hydrofraturing is incompatible with this section of the constitution and must be banned. There must be a moratorium on the permit process and no drilling should be allowed on state owned lands without the permission of the owners of these lands the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

If these policies are not implemented, Pennsylvania will be turned into an uninhabitable industrial wasteland. There is no compromise. Water is essential to life natural gas is not. Protecting our water resources is our number one priority.

Forum on Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Extraction

admin — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 19:04:14 +0000

The League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania decided to study and discuss all facets of the Marcellus Shale issue and reach consensus on the role of state and local governments on this volatile issue. The League believes it is essential to look at all sides of an issue before reaching consensus and speaking out. Toward that end, the LWV will hold meetings until March 26, 2010.

On Wednesday, January 20, the LWV of Lackawanna County in conjunction with the University of Scranton’s Task Force for Sustainability held a Forum on Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Extraction. Pearn Auditorium was filled beyond capacity and the crowd was vocal.

Bless the LWV for their last minute addition of Damascus Citizens for Sustainability Co-founder Pat Carullo to the panel. Mr. Carullo added the activist perspective to the otherwise staid commentary from the industry, DEP and Penn Future.

Wendy Straatmann, a vice president for Exco Resources, began the presentation. She noted the jobs that would be created from exploiting the 500 trillion cubic foot Marcellus gas play. The shale has been there for millions of years, but, it is now economically feasible to extract it with the hydrofrackturing process. She claimed hydrofrackturing has been done since the 40s and 50s.

Matt Sheppard, the senior director of corporate development for Chesapeake Energy, demonstrated the concentric rings of steel casing used to protect the water table in the drilling process.

Pam Fedrock from Penn Future described her organization as “mainstream” and not an environmental group per se. Penn Future supports a severance tax , responsible drilling and the FRAC Act. The FRAC Act would require industry to disclose the chemicals used in the hydrofracturing process which have been been labeled “proprietary”.

Fedrock raised the question where is flowback water treated? This water often referred to as brine is saltier that ocean water and has been found to contain the radioactive isotopes Radium 226 and 228. She also mentioned

a proposal to take the wastewater to the Chesapeake Bay region and disposing it in saltier water.

Jennifer Means from Department of Environmental Protection’s

Eastern Oil & Gas region Williamsport office stated that fracking is unlikely to cause water problems due to the 5,000’ to 8,000’ depth of the shale. DEP has been responding mostly to complaints of onsite spills and gas migration issues. The Eastern Region has issued 1200 drilling permits.

Pat Carullo, co founder of Damascus Citizens for Sustainability, started his presentation by declaring we are here because we are addicted to fossil fuels. He went on to point out the dangers from hydrofracking to our water resources especially the Delaware River which provides drinking water to Philadelphia. Carullo flew over the region and detected a line of defoliated trees near the corner of a drilling pad. Testing revealed some indication of chemical contaminant. Shortly thereafter, the soil was mounded and removed. He concluded by playing an audio clip from a man from Southwest Pennsylvania who’s water was affected after drilling in the Marcellus Shale near his home. An independent test revealed volatile organic compounds in the water.

A panel discussion and question and answer period followed. These were quite contentious. There were shouts of “liar” from the audience after answers from the industry were not accepted. Carullo refuted the industry and regulatory agencies from the panel. A representative from the League of Women Voters took the mic and stated that the forum was being taped for broadcast on local public access TV and the crowd response would not be audible. Only those that had a microphone would be heard.

The forum ended shortly thereafter. The LWV will post answers to questions submitted by the audience on their website.

letters to editor 2009

admin — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 14:02:02 +0000

December

Editor,

I would like to respond to an Associated Press article published in the Times Tribune on 12/21. The article touts he benefits of natural gas without pointing out any of it’s detriments. While it’s true that natural gas burns cleaner than coal, extracting it from the Marcellus Shale is the equivalent to mountain top removal to extract coal. Both processes leave the environment irreparably damaged. Their impact on our most vital resource, water, threatens our very survival.

I don’t often agree with President Obama, but, I do agree that natural gas, coal and oil are fuels we must be moving away from. Coal fired power plants need to be replaced with wind and solar arrays. Home heating can be done with geothermal energy. Electric cars should be developed faster not natural gas vehicles with their explosive potential.

We live in the 21st century yet rely on 19th century energy sources. When are we going to grow up? When will we stop polluting our air and water?

These transitions will be costly. Let’s stop spending money on wars to protect our national (oil & gas) interests abroad and spend it here creating jobs and protecting our environment.

Jay Sweeney

November

I’d like to commend the Times-Tribune for denouncing Judge Colwell’s recommendation for PP&L’s 500 kv powerline plan. I attended two of the PUC public hearings. The only people I can recall who spoke in favor of the project were a union rep and union member who hope to get work from the project and a couple of former PP&L employees. The rest of the people, about 90% of those who testified, spoke out against the project. Many good reasons to stop the project were brought up including health concerns, expansion of nuclear power and devaluation of property. In short, PP&L and New Jersey would benefit at the expense of Pennsylvania residents. Judge Colwell paid no attention to these concerns.

Besides urging the PUC to “protect this area’s interests”, local officials should contact the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund. CELDF can help them write local ordinances prohibiting 500 kv lines from going through their township or municipality. In addition, they will defend the ordinances they help draft. CELDF has used this strategy to protect communities throughout the Commonwealth. Visit their web site CELDF.org.

Jay Sweeney

October

I must respond to Lee Fuller from the oil and gas industry group Energy in Depth. Mr Fuller describes a DEP violation as the “spill of nontoxic materials” into a stream and wetlands near Dimock. DEP has handles the industry with kid gloves. If they found them in violation, you can bet the incident is more severe than we know. Haliburton, the manufacturer of the agent spilled, LGC-35 CBM, describes it as a ”potential carcinogen” that ”may cause headache, dizziness and other central nervous system effects” to anyone who breathes or swallows the fluids. To describe this as “nontoxic” I couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Jay Sweeney

September

Having heard president Obama deliver his health (s)care speech last night, how can any one can call him a socialist? The Obama plan is more welfare for the corporations at the expense of the working class.

First of all, it would mandate the purchase of health insurance. That will increase the insurance industry profits and break the backs of the working poor.

Obama points out the deficit spending caused by 8 years of war and tax cuts for the wealthy, but, he doesn’t propose we roll back the tax cuts or end the war to pay for health care reform. Obama plans to eliminate billions of dollars of waste and fraud from Medicare to pay for the bulk of his plan. He points out, for profit corporate, Geisinger Health Care system as a model of quality care at below average rates. While Geisinger Health Care may indeed be a good system, it cannot possibly be cheaper than Medicare. Granted there are cases of fraud and abuse in Medicare as there certainly are in other areas of federal spending. However, Medicare is in serious trouble now and needs more funding. There is no fat to trim in the program. Obama care will destroy Medicare.

The Obama prescription for health care reform: take more from the working class, give more to the corporations and kill Medicare.

Be very scared!

Jay Sweeney

August

Editor,

Single payer health care will get it’s day on the floor of the House of Representatives sometime after they return from their summer recess. Our Representatives will debate and vote on HR 676 to provide comprehensive health care coverage for all U.S residents and to improve health care delivery. Now is the time to begin letting your representative know if you want a health care system that covers everyone, reduces costs by eliminating the profits of private insurers and puts money in your pocket by eliminating monthly insurance premiums.

Single payer health care will not restrict procedures as bureaucrats in private insurance industry do. Single payer will let you see the doctor of your choice rather than one in the “network”. Single payer will merely, as the name implies, pay for health care. It’s the equivalent of Medicare for all.

Call your representative now.

Jay Sweeney

June

I take exception to NEPA Blue Cross CEO Denise Cesare’s column on health care reform published on 6/21. First of all, she is misleading in speaking about a “government run plan”. Even the “public option plan” she refers to would only be financed by the federal government. The health care professionals would still be providing health care, not the government.

A single payer plan, not a public option, is the only way to reduce costs and provide coverage to all. Expanding Medicare to cover everyone is the best way to achieve these goals. The “power of the private markets” brings us annual double digit increases in premiums and the hundreds of millions of dollars in surplus that Blue Cross NEPA maintains.

A government mandate to purchase insurance is unconstitutional and immoral. It should be stopped at all cost if it is part of Obama’s health care reform. It will be a boon for the insurance industry at the expense of the 50 million or so who do not have coverage now. I am sure they would have coverage if they could afford to do so.

Jay Sweeney

admin — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 13:16:32 +0000

I would like to publicly thank all of those who contributed in any way to my campaign for Representative in the General Assembly in the 111th district. I would like to especially thank the Susquehanna Green Party, the Wayne County Green Party and the Green Party of Pennsylvania. I would also like to acknowledge the efforts to the Susquehanna County League of Women Voters in educating the electorate of their choices on election day. Thanks also to the local media for their coverage. Last, but, not least, I would like to thank the voters who entrusted me with their vote.

Congratulations to Sandy Major. I hope she and the General Assembly can address some of the issues in a way that is beneficial to all of the residents of the 111th district including balancing the financial benefits of natural gas drilling with the impact on our environment.

I will continue to work with like minded individuals and organizations to achieve the goals of the Green Party including preserving democracy, advancing social justice, protecting the environment and promoting non-violence.

Jay Sweeney

Major re-elected with 70%
BY JOSH MROZINSKI
STAFF WRITER
Published: Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Updated: Wednesday, November 5, 2008 2:42 AM EST
TUNKHANNOCK — Republican incumbent Sandra Major was re-elected state representative Tuesday to the 111th Legislative District by a wide margin.

With about 70 percent of the precincts reporting, Ms. Major had 10,695 votes. Green Party challenger Jay Sweeney had 1,519 votes.

The 111th district includes parts of Wayne, Wyoming and Susquehanna counties.

“I’m extremely thrilled and I sincerely thank the voters of the 111th Legislative District for their trust in me and for sending me back to Harrisburg for an eighth term,” Ms. Major, 54, said.

During her next two-year terms, Ms. Major said she expects to work on a shortfall in the state’s budget.

“We’re going to have to tighten our belts in spending in Pennsylvania,” she said.

Ms. Major noted natural gas drilling is also a significant issue that will be addressed. While natural gas will have economic benefits, she said people have to be mindful of the industry’s potential affect on the environment.

Tuesday was the third time Ms. Major and Mr. Sweeney faced off.

In 2006, Ms. Major beat Mr. Sweeney by 12,722 votes, capturing 82.6 percent of the electorate in the district.

“Sandy is a formidable candidate and the area is largely Republican, but nonetheless I feel that someone needs to challenge our state legislators,” Mr. Sweeney, 55, said. “I think Democracy demands it and by definition Democracy demands choice.”

He added that he was able to promote his party’s philosophy as a candidate.

Contact the writer: jmrozinski@timesshamrock.com

Scranton Times political columnist Roderick Random predicts the outcome of the election.

http://www.scrantontimes.com/articles/2008/10/25/editorial/roderick/sc_times_trib.20081025.a.pg15.tt25roderick_s1.2021568_rod.txt

111TH LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT: Green Party candidate Jay Sweeney, who knows the issues as well as any candidate we’ve ever met, is running against longtime Republican incumbent Sandra Major for the third and, he says, final time.

Two years ago, he upped his 2004 vote total by 1,000 votes. If he kept at it, maybe he would shock the political world. Not this year.

PLATFORM

Safeguard Democracy
-Free and Fair access to the ballot to all parties
-Voter Verifiable Paper ballots

Public Financing of Elections
-No candidate left behind

Living Wage not Minimum Wage

Eliminate KOZ’s
-Replace with micro loans

Single Payer Health Insurance
-Healthcare for all Pa residents
I support Pa HB 1660 and SB 330 which provide single payer, publicly financed, privately provided, affordable, comprehensive healthcare with low overhead.

Twenty First Century Energy Policy
-Solar, Wind, Geothermal, Hydroelectric energy
-Phase out Nuclear and Coal power plants
-Increase efficiency of autos, appliances & other consumer goods
-Increase efficiency of manufacturing sector
-Conservation of energy
More at http://www.jaysweeney.org/?p=13

Strengthen Environmental Enforcement
-Give the Department of Environmental Protection the people and tools to
proactively protect our environment.
-Increase bonding for industries that threaten the environment.
-One strike and out for companies that violate the law & harm the environment.

Support Family Farms and Sustainable Agriculture
-Increase direct sales from farmers to public with year round Farmers Co-op Markets.
-Create incentives for school districts to purchase from local farmers and producers.

Protect Civil Liberties
-from the Real I.D. Act and PATRIOT Act

Bring Home Pa National Guard
-Our National Guard service men and women do not belong in Iraq and Afghanistan. They belong here in Pennsylvania.

I oppose
-Leasing the Pa Turnpike
-The fracturing process to extract natural gas. This process pollutes and threatens Pennsylvania’s water resources.
-Drilling or otherwise disturbing Pa State and National Forest and Park lands.

I support
-Bicycle lanes in all road construction and repaving projects
-Green building in all new and retrofitted Pa construction projects

Please visit the following for more detailed position papers.
Reform http://www.jaysweeney.org/?p=16
Sustainable Agriculture http://www.jaysweeney.org/?p=14

Please visit the following sites to learn more about the Green Party.
The Green Party of Pennsylvania http://www.greenpartypa.org.
Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
Susquehanna County GP http://www.geocities.com/tuscademe/sqgreen/

letter to editor December 2007

admin — Fri, 09 May 2008 12:56:38 +0000

The Berwick Chamber of Commerce and PPL officials claim that reaction to a new nuclear reactor are positive. This is nothing but a preemptive strike against opposition. Nuclear power does not release carbon into the atmosphere, but, the spent nuclear fuel rods pose an equally threatening environmental problem. There has been no solution to the disposal of highly radioactive waste that will remain radioactive for thousands of years. The federal government has proposed transporting it across the USA to a sacred site of the native american indians, Yucca mountain. The only solution to radioactive waste is to stop producing it.

The $5 - 6 Billion would be far better spent on technologies that not only produce no greenhouse gases, but, also produce no nuclear waste. This includes solar, wind, geothermal and hydro electric.

Jay Sweeney
Falls Township