Reacting rapidly against the President’s withdrawing from the Paris Accord, Pittsburgh’s Mayor in an executive order denounced the withdrawal as a dereliction of moral duty to the planet and to the legacy being left to children and grandchildren. There is no need here to go into detail about the serious flaws in the Paris Accord or to enumerate the many studies that point to the harm the agreement would do to the U.S. economy and the unfairness of the agreement that had U.S. taxpayers subsidizing China’s effort to curb pollutants, even though they do not have to actually reduce pollution until 2030.
It is important to note that there are many scientists who do not subscribe to carbon caused global warming and that predictions of climate catastrophe made 20-25 years ago have not happened. And the Paris Accord merely assumes that temperatures would rise. But in a scheme that redistributes wealth to underdeveloped countries they could insure universal participation to go along with the environmentalists in Europe who have made saving the planet their number one and apparently only meaningful goal.
But the Mayor’s order did not end there. In one of his “whereas” justifications for his order, he complained that Pittsburgh had a paid a very heavy price for the heavy industry that built the economy of the city and region. Now that is the definition of ungrateful. Without the industries that provided the engine of growth, the population of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County would never expanded to the dimensions it reached. Without the industries, the vast fortunes that built skyscrapers, funded the arts, built museums, hospitals and universities would not have happened.
Without heavy industry there would have not been the development of waterways infrastructure that create the stable pools in the three rivers that provide great views, recreation opportunities, and reliable water supplies and a place to put sewer plant effluent. Without the accompanying population growth and the discretionary income industries created for workers, it is doubtful that the Pittsburgh would have ever had the Pirates or the Steelers. And there is little chance Pittsburgh would have had a symphony or opera.
And needless to say, without industry and the fortunes it created, most of the large philanthropic foundations that have provided so much funding for a civic society, the arts, education and health would not have come into existence. Ironically, these same foundations are now major funders of many of the environmental programs that makeup the Mayor’s agenda. It appears alright to take money created by the industries he now deplores.
Finally, it hardly needs to be said but Pittsburgh is not a paragon of prudent governance. In a ranking of the top 150 cities in the U.S., Pittsburgh’s government ranked 144th on financial stability and 117th on per resident expenditures. The Pittsburgh school district is one of the most expensive in the state while the academic record in most of its schools is mediocre to terrible. The Mayor has a lot to worry about. And he continues to lose court cases because ideology trumps respect for the law.
Moreover, the Mayor faces a gigantic environmental problem that seems to keep getting swept under the rug. The water and sewer system is very old and the ancient pipes that are well beyond their expected useful life pose a clear and present danger to the water supply. A ruptured sewer line would be the worst ecological nightmare one can imagine. These problems will cost billions to be fixed but there is no reasonable alternative. We can dedicate bike lanes and tell building owners to curb nonrenewable energy use but the danger that lies under the City gets lip service.
