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Study: Pennsylvanians Want Electricity from Renewable Sources

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Penn State researchers are finding broad public support for increased renewable energy generation, and the strengthening of the state’s alternative energy portfolio standards.  “We looked at different groups with different incomes, different political backgrounds, rural vs. urban,” says PSU professor of agricultural and environmental economics Richard Ready.  “The support is there across the board.”

The broad-based public support encompasses renewable electricity sources like hydropower, solar and wind power.  In fact, Dr. Ready found that the average Pennsylvania household is willing to pay an extra $55 per year to increase renewable energy production.

“We estimate for example that to increase the amount of electricity that comes from wind power, by an amount that would be equal to 1% of the total electricity consumption in the state, the aggregate amount that Pennsylvania households would be willing to pay we estimate at about $290-million dollars per year.”

However, on average, people were not supportive of biomass combustion.  “People are more supportive of technologies that don’t have emissions, and biomass combustion does have emissions,” Ready says.  Pennsylvanians rated biomass combustion rated below other electricity sources, like natural gas and nuclear, according to the report.

The study, Pennsylvanians’ Attitudes Toward Renewable Energy, was sponsored by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania.

Corbett Disappointed in Former PSU Leaders

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Governor Tom Corbett took questions from the media for about 20-minutes on Thursday, and almost every one of them was focused on the Jerry Sandusky scandal and its continued fallout at Penn State.  Corbett calls it clear that there was evidence not initially provided by then-PSU officials when it was subpoenaed by the attorney general’s office.

Gov. Corbett answers reporters’ questions on Thursday.

“I am very disappointed in the lack of forthcoming evidence to the subpoena that was given to them by the attorney general’s office,” Corbett says.  “The prior administration, they made decisions as to how they would deliver, and what they would deliver.  I’m sure that is the subject of much discussion on the 16th floor of Strawberry Square.”  As folks in Harrisburg know, the 16th floor of Strawberry Square is where you can find the attorney general.

Corbett did not comment specifically on the prospect of additional charges being filed, telling reporters that his personal opinions are not as important as the conclusions reached by Attorney General Linda Kelly.

The governor was also very careful to direct his criticism at the former leaders of Penn State, not at the university as a whole.  He believes that some media reports are affecting the reputations of many who had nothing to do with the scandal.  “The university is a wonderful, world-class research institution, world-class university as far as I’m concerned,” says Corbett.  “Rather than trying to knock it down as an organization, we ought to be building it up.”

Corbett says he’s read about 2/3 of the ‘Freeh report’ so far, and he plans to talk about it with the Penn State Board of Trustees before he discusses it with the news media.  He believes the entire incident will be judged by people from different perspectives for decades to come.

PSU Independent Investigation Report Released (Update)

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From 1998 – 2011, former FBI Director Louis Freeh says the “tone at the top” of Penn State was “completely wrong.”  Freeh was tapped by the Penn State Board of Trustees, last November, to conduct an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.  More than seven months later, Freeh has dropped a 267-page bombshell in the form of his findings.  The report includes 119-recommendations to help the school create a more open and compliant culture.

Freeh says the most saddening and sobering finding is the, “total disregard for the safety and welfare of Sandusky’s child victims by the most senior leaders at Penn State.”  Referring to ex-President Graham Spanier, former administrator Gary Schultz, Athletic Director Tim Curley and the late Joe Paterno – Freeh says the most powerful men at Penn State failed to take any steps for 14-years to protect the children who Sandusky victimized.

The internal investigation uncovered a proposed action plan following Mike McQueary’s 2001 report of seeing Sandusky in the locker room showers with a young boy.  That action plan initially included reporting the allegations to authorities.  “After Mr. Curley consulted with Mr. Paterno, however, they changed the plan and decided not to make the report to the authorities,” Freeh explained at today’s news conference.

Freeh also says the four men cited in his report – Spanier, Schultz, Curley and Paterno – knew about a 1998 criminal investigation into alleged sexual misconduct by Sandusky, but did nothing.  He calls it a callous and shocking disregard for child victims.

Schultz and Curley are currently awaiting trial on perjury charges; Spanier has not been charged; Paterno passed away in January.

Today’s report marks the beginning of a process for Penn State, according to Freeh.  He says it’s critical that the University never forgets these failures and commits to an open, compliant and sensitive environment.  In a q&a with the media in Philadelphia, today, Freeh did say that parents should feel comfortable sending their children to Penn State.  He believes the institution has made considerable strides since November 2011.

The Penn State Board of Trustees is holding its regular meeting in Scranton later today.  Penn State President Rodney Erickson is expected to offer remarks at that time.

 

Jerry Sandusky is currently locked up in the Centre County Correctional Facility. He will appeal the conviction.

Jerry Sandusky awaits his sentencing hearing from the Centre County Correctional Facility.

Home Gardeners Beware

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Late blight has been confirmed in four Pennsylvania counties (Blair, Franklin, Lancaster & Mifflin), and the count is likely to increase as additional samples are analyzed.  “It’s the same pathogen and disease that caused the Irish potato famine,” explains Penn State Extension plant pathologist Beth Gugino.

While late blight has only been found in commercial potato and tomato operations so far, Gugino says home gardeners should be alert for brown lesions on the leaves of their potato and tomato plants.  “When they flip the leaf over they’re going to see kind of a whitish-gray fuzzy growth, which is the pathogen growing out of the leaf.”  She tells us that fuzzy growth is how the pathogen moves between plants.

A close-up of a late blight lesion on a tomato plant.
(photo credits: Beth Gugino)

If you suspect late blight in your garden, Gugino recommends you contact your local Cooperative Extension office.  “We need to try to manage the disease as quickly as possible, because we tend to think about late blight as a community disease… and we want to take measures to manage it for the betterment of everybody.”

While some fungicides can help to prevent late blight, Gugino says there’s not much that can be done once the disease develops.  Plants showing the symptoms should be removed – or affected parts should be pruned out – and placed into a dark plastic bag.

Late blight is most commonly found in cool, wet weather.  The warm, dry conditions that many Pennsylvanians are experiencing can stop the disease from progressing, but cannot eliminate it.

Cooperative Extension Restructuring Underway

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Cooperative Extension offices will remain in all 67-counties, according to Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences Dean Bruce McPheron.  It’s the administrative functions of those offices that will now be streamlined into 19 new districts.

“We had more than 50 Extension directors, administrators across the state,” McPheron tells Radio PA.  “This change alone resulted in more than 30 positions going from a primarily administrative role back to a primarily education role.” 

The restructuring is being driven by the need to keep the Cooperative Extension relevant in the information age, and financial pressures from all budget sources.  Over the past three years, the College of Agricultural Sciences has seen its funding cut by $18.5-million dollars.  Including Cooperative Extension, the college has lost about 200 of their 850 employees over that time. 

Dr. Bruce McPheron

“Our goal is to be able to continue to provide high-quality answers to folks who need that information, based upon the great science that we do here on campus,” McPheron says. 

Cooperative Extension offers educational programming and consultation to Pennsylvania residents on both agricultural and environmental issues. 

Governor Tom Corbett’s latest budget proposals would provide level funding to Extension and agricultural research by tapping the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development Fund.  It’s a potential change that’s already sparked debate under the capitol dome.

Voices for Victims Delivers Letters, Still Collecting Messages

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Voices for Victims

You can link to the Voices for Victims Facebook page below.

A student-led campaign is delivering letters of support to the alleged victims in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.  “Many of us have not forgotten about them, many of us do care,” says Voices for Victims project leader Matt Bodenschatz, who believes the alleged victims should not be lost in the scandal just because they are anonymous. 

“If you think about it, in today’s world we rarely send letters to our friends, let alone to take that action out of empathy and support and thanks from thousands of miles away,” Bodenschatz explains.  The letters the campaign’s already received have come from as nearby as the Penn State campus to as far away as Croatia. 

Bodenschatz has already delivered scores of letters to the attorneys for the alleged victims, but stresses their work is not done.  As a victim of child sex abuse himself, Bodenschatz tells Radio PA that a heartfelt message can have a profound impact.  “When I held it in my hands… tears were brought to my own eyes.” 

Voices for Victims has taken down the drop boxes they had placed around the campus and town, but are still accepting correspondence electronically and through the US Mail.  With the trial looming, they believe the alleged victims will be in need of another showing of support. 

Bodenschatz is often asked for advice on what to write.  “Really what people are often looking for is reassurance that what is coming from your heart is so very, very likely the right thing.” 

Sandusky’s trial on 52-counts of alleged abuse is currently scheduled to begin next month.  He has denied any criminal wrongdoing.