Philly's Free Parking Problem

Philadelphia only charges residents $35 a year for one unlimited on-street parking sticker - just 10 cents a day.

In a related story, Philadelphia has no money for schools.

When Energy Industry Greed and Wall Street Corruption Converge

Chesapeake Energy has been fined repeatedly for its sloppy safety record when it comes to "fracking" natural gas drilling, particularly in Pennsylvania. Now Aubrey McClendon, the same CEO who repeatedly professed Chesapeake's innocence on safety violations, is stepping down as chairman of the board after a Reuters report revealed he was playing Wall Street-style accounting games, using company resources to rake in extra cash for himself:

Aubrey McClendon, the embattled chief executive of natural gas company Chesapeake Energy, will relinquish his title as chairman of the board, the company said Tuesday.

The news follows last week's announcement by Chesapeake that McClendon agreed to negotiate an early termination of the controversial Founder Well Participation Program (FWPP), which allowed him to take personal stakes in wells drilled by the company.

The incentive program came under fire last month following news that McClendon took out loans worth over $1 billion against his personal stake in the company's wells, raising concerns about a conflict of interest.

How the hell does this asshole not get fired outright? What does it say about the state of the energy industry & corporate America that this guy is revealed to be using Chesapeake Energy as his own personal piggybank and he still gets to stay on as chief executive officer?

Side note: McClendon is also one of the weasels who helped screw over Seattle Sonics basketball fans.

Steelworkers Get Behind Green Jobs

Following up to yesterday's post on green jobs and green unions, check out this amazing op-ed in today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a joint effort from the president of the United Steelworkers of America and a top Gamesa official:

In early 2005, Gamesa, a Spanish wind-technology corporation, located its first North American plant just outside Pittsburgh. The company has since expanded its Pennsylvania presence to include a Philadelphia headquarters and a second plant in Fairless Hills. Gamesa has invested more than $200 million and sustained 1,000 well-paid, career-track, green jobs in the state since January 2005 despite market swings due to the recent global credit crisis.

It was no coincidence that Gamesa chose to locate its facilities in Pennsylvania. State and local government officials, workforce-development groups and organized labor set the stage with a ready market and resources to attract the company's investments. Pennsylvania's landmark state policy requiring 18 percent of the state's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2021 was a major factor in creating a favorable economic environment for the wind turbines that Gamesa produces.

Key to Gamesa's success in Pennsylvania has been its innovative partnership with the United Steelworkers of America. We are proud to be at the forefront of America's new energy economy, creating sustainable power and family-sustaining jobs with benefits.

Our successful partnership in the state rebuts what, until recently, had been the conventional wisdom that enacting strong environmental standards would require economic sacrifices. Together, Gamesa and the United Steelworkers have proven that policies to curb CO2 emissions and invest in clean energy can help turn Pennsylvania, a state once plagued by economic demise and plant closings, into a national model of how to rebuild our economy and create high-paying, secure jobs for the future.

Why not Virginia, too? The only thing standing in our way is the political leadership to make it happen.

Pennsylvania Sportsmen Demand Congressional Action on Climate Change

The Green Miles was up in Harrisburg, PA yesterday for a news conference on the National Wildlife Federation's Sportsmen's Letter on Climate Change.

Note to self - don't sit in front row next time, giant head blocks view of podium.