Category: Politics

Is the State College Borough Council trying to undermine democracy? Some of them are.

November 5, 2019

Thank you council members and members of the public. My name is Peter Buckland. I live in College Township. In the interest of full disclosure regarding my remarks, I work at Penn State University and have served in local government in elected and appointed positions. I speak to you during this special session as an … More Is the State College Borough Council trying to undermine democracy? Some of them are.

It’s like taking 4,800 cars off the road

October 30, 2019

So I’ve been chairing an intergovernmental solar power purchase agreement working group. It’s a coalition of municipal and county governments, one school district, and a few authorities looking to buy some or all of our electricity from solar. All told, we purchase about 28,000,000 kilowatt hours of electricity. There is interest from a housing authority, … More It’s like taking 4,800 cars off the road

Vote Prasenjit Mitra for Ferguson Township on Nov. 5th!

October 28, 2019

I’m supporting Prasenjit Mitra for Ferguson Township to fill the seat I previously held. He is a perfect candidate for these times of rapid change.  Mitra is a thoughtful and active community member. Everyone is rightly concerned with regional growth. As just one example, consider how long we have been wrestling over the Whitehall Road … More Vote Prasenjit Mitra for Ferguson Township on Nov. 5th!

Resounding Threats. Threatening Sounds. Metal as the sound of global risk.

October 21, 2019

This Friday at noon, come to Penn State’s HUB to see my presentation “Resounding Threats. Threatening Sounds.” as part of the Sustainability Showcase series. What does a global threat sound like? The Pentagon, the United Nations, the World Economic Forum, and the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists all diagnose risks to global society. In the formal language … More Resounding Threats. Threatening Sounds. Metal as the sound of global risk.

It’s time for higher education to engage democracy and climate change.

October 21, 2019

Join members of the Pennsylvania Environmental Resource Consortium to deliberate about climate change and build our capacity for citizenship on November 9th. All over the country, citizens are concerned about climate change. And young people, as the Climate Strikes show clearly, are most concerned of all. But what can we as citizens do about it? … More It’s time for higher education to engage democracy and climate change.

With great power comes great responsibility: Pennsylvania joins RGGI

October 4, 2019

As Uncle Ben tells Peter Parker (a.k.a. Spider Man), “With great power comes great responsibility.” Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced today that he’s moving to get the Commonwealth into the northeast’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). In a statement, Wolf said, “Climate change is the most critical environmental threat confronting the world, and power generation … More With great power comes great responsibility: Pennsylvania joins RGGI

Community safety, people’s rights, and climate optimism: My legacy of service in Ferguson Township

April 13, 2019

As I’m getting ready to step down at the end of June, I will be reflecting on my three+ years on the Ferguson Township Board. I’ll start with accomplishments that I have spurred or been truly honored to be a part of. While I’ve initiated some of these, they all required work from the other board members, our (awesome) staff, and citizen volunteers. We have… … More Community safety, people’s rights, and climate optimism: My legacy of service in Ferguson Township

Pennsylvania’s local governments can go solar…together

March 27, 2019

Local governments can go solar together. That’s what we are trying to do here in the middle of Pennsylvania. It’s environmentally sound and makes sound financial sense. It’s just common sense at this point. A couple of years ago Penn State (where I work but don’t speak for) received an unsolicited bid for a solar … More Pennsylvania’s local governments can go solar…together

Our statement to the Auditor General on the Climate Crisis

March 15, 2019

Today, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale held his first public hearing on the climate crisis. He has stated that Pennsylvania faces grave flooding risks among other problems and that we cannot rely on Washington to tackle the problem. If you didn’t know, last year the Centre Region where I live had record precipitation at about 64″. … More Our statement to the Auditor General on the Climate Crisis