Dear Friends of PSR Philadelphia / Pennsylvania,

We thank you for your long-standing and dedicated support !

February 19, 2019
PSR Philadelphia / PA Events
#1: Launch of the People's Energy Platform
Date: TODAY, February 19, 2019 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Location: PECO Headquarters - 2301 Market St., Philadelphia, PA 19103

Philadelphia's privately owned electric company, PECO has been extracting
$1 million a day from the Philadelphia region and putting it into the natural gas industry because it is owned by Chicago-based Exelon. This company is holding our city back; PECO must create green jobs and 20% local solar by 2025, or get out of the business!

Meet PSR at PECO's Corporate Office, where we will take the streets. Arrive at City Hall by 11:30am for a speak out and send groups of community members into City Hall to let our politicians know we can not get green with PECO! Click here for more information about this rally.
#2: PSR Advocacy Training Event
Date: Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Location: Crozer Chester Medical Center

On February 20, PSR Philadelphia will host a training event for physicians and medical students as part of our advocacy training series. We will discuss how we can use the physician voice to address policy issues using the tools of letters to the editor, op-eds, meeting with our legislators and even direct action. Dr. Joel Fein, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, will be our keynote speaker!
#3: Pennsylvania Health Check-Up - Speed Learning Event
Date: Saturday, March 23, 2019
Location: Erie County Medical Society Building

Our Pennsylvania Health Check-Up speed learning series is helping us engage healthcare providers with the subject of the health impacts of the unconventional gas development (UGD) industry. The first event in our series gave us an opportunity to put together an excellent group of presenters with interesting subject matter in a unique and effective form of learning. In Erie, we hope to recreate an even more condensed version of the speed-learning experience on the morning of March 23rd. Registration and further details will be available soon. 
Updates on PSR
Pennsylvania's Green Amendment Campaign in Harrisburg!
Article 1, Section 27 of the PA Constitution states the Pennsylvania residents have a right to clean air, clean water and the natural beauty of Penn's Woods for all to enjoy. This "Green Amendment" has been upheld by the state Supreme Court. The Better Path Coalition came to Harrisburg to uphold Pennsylvania’s Green Amendment by demanding strong action on climate change and by preventing pollution and environmental devastation in the state.

The campaign continued on Sunday, 1/27 with Opportunity and Obligation: Article 1, Section 27, Pennsylvania’s Green Amendment, a panel discussion on the amendment and its importance. PSR's own Dr. Pouné Saberi spoke here to approximately 200 attendees on the importance of promoting this amendment.

Children dressed as the Lorax delivered the petition and copies of the Dr. Seuss classic to Governor Wolf and 240 policy makers' offices in our state capitol on Monday, January 28th (see below). Freshman legislators also received a copy of the award-winning book The Green Amendment, so they can fully understand their obligation to protect our environmental rights.
For more information, click here!
From Poland to Pennsylvania- How to Bridge the Disconnect: Reflections on The Climate Change Rulebook and What Does It Mean for Public Health
The 24th Conference of Parties (COP24) to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was held in Katowice, Poland in 2018, an event meant to gather UN global representatives to set the rules to operationalize the Paris Climate Agreement. Although the purpose of this event was to solidify scientific language used to describe climate change and focus on health as an outcome, it quickly turned to jargon and discussion that would be incomprehensible to a large majority of people. Dr. Pouné Saberi, PSR Philadelphia's Board President, attended the COP24 and on January 11, 2019 she reflected on her experience attending the talk.
PSR Philadelphia is currently hiring!
PSR Philadelphia seeks a part time Office Manager to assist with administrative issues for our non profit organization. Visit our website for an in-depth job description . Pay is hourly between $17-20 an hour up to ten hours a week. Knowledge of DonorPerfect and Wix website programs and good communication skills are desirable. If you are interested, please visit www.psrphila.org for more information.
Let us know what you think!
Coincident with PSR’s increased focus on the public health impact of climate change, fossil fuel infrastructure and the push for renewable energy, we have had more substantial discussion on the need for a more statewide environmental health focus. We have two active chapters of PSR in Harrisburg and Philadelphia and we are beginning talks of merging to create a larger PSR Pennsylvania chapter. The salient discussion at the January board meeting focused on expanding PSR across the state and we are interested in hearing more from our supporters and interested parties on this topic . If you would like to send us your thoughts, please contact us at info@psrphila.org.
Current News
Governor Wolf Establishes First Statewide Goal to Reduce Carbon Pollution in Pennsylvania: On January 8, 2019 , Wolf implemented a new executive order that calls for a statewide reduction in carbon pollution, and aims to achieve 26% reduction by 2025 and an 80% reduction by 2050. Click here to read more about this pledge that is a first of its kind.
Say No To Wolf's "Restore Pennsylvania" Industry-friendly Severance Tax Plan: The "Restore Pennsylvania" plan will invest $4.5 billion over the next four-years in significant, high-impact projects throughout the commonwealth to help catapult Pennsylvania ahead of every state in terms of technology, development, and infrastructure. The plan, however, also includes endorsing the shale and natural gas industries by increasing the customer base for natural gas and funding more natural gas power plants. Click here to learn more about the positives and negative impacts of this plan, here to read the text of the plan, and here to read the Better Path Coalition's press release about the issue.
Simplest Explanation of Global Warming: Click here to view this very visual and informative article, released by Forbes, that describes the phenomena of global warming in the simplest way possible!
Publis hed: February 19, 2019