The Pennsylvania gubernatorial election shows that a Democrat can manage the left flank of the party and run a dominant race even in a major fracking state.
Tom Wolf, the Keystone State’s Democratic governor facing reelection, has managed to dodge most of the criticism against him on energy in recent years, a lot of which came from the “Keep it in the Ground” environmental movement during the 2016 presidential race.
Back then, it was common for Wolf to be in the crosshairs of groups like the Center for Biological Diversity and others, which targeted him for not doing enough to combat climate change by not seeking to ban drilling and fracking in his state.
At a Center for American Progress event in the winter of 2016, Wolf and billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer got shouted down by activists.
The progressive think tank’s president, Neera Tanden, tried to stop the activists, but to no avail. After being drowned out by chanting, Tanden quickly ended the conference, saying, “Obviously we got people excited.” The panel she was hosting, incidentally, was on climate change.
Two years later, there is hardly any campaign to pressure Wolf on climate change, and the issue is almost a non-issue in the gubernatorial race. In fact, a recent Franklin & Marshall College poll has Wolf beating his Republican challenger Scott Wagner by 26 points.
A spokesman for the group 350.org, one of the founders of the “Keep it in the Ground” movement, says their campaign is keeping the pressure on Wolf, even though there is very little evidence of them doing so in the midterm elections.
“We don’t really see activists as having [lessened] pressure on Wolf for his fracking stance,” said spokeswoman Thanu Yakupitiyage. “In fact, organizers in Pennsylvania are still very active to push the governor on fracking.”
But conservatives don’t buy it. They believe that climate activists aren’t going after Wolf “because he’s a D, and the other side is desperate to win back Pennsylvania,” said Mike McKenna, a Republican strategist on environmental policy. In the end, the Left would rather have a Democrat than a Republican in charge of a large fracking state, according to McKenna.
The group’s Pennsylvania campaigners were unable to discuss the race. However, its Pittsburgh chapter’s website was devoid of anything targeting Wolf for not doing enough on climate change or fracking.
Most of the emphasis on the 2018 midterm elections by the “Keep it in the Ground” movement is focused on the two anti-fracking ballot initiatives: one in Colorado, and the second in California called Measure G to ban fracking and protect San Luis Obispo County from new oil wells.
And it’s not like Wolf hasn’t done anything to reduce the impact of the oil drilling method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. But his campaign says his energy policies look to balance the energy boom in his state with environmental protection.
“Governor Wolf knows we must strike the right balance with Pennsylvania’s growing energy economy, and he knows our state parks and forests are unique assets that should be preserved, protected, and utilized by our residents for recreational purposes,” his re-election website reads.
The closest thing to a ban on fracking was Wolf’s decision to join New York and Delaware, under the Delaware River Basin Commission, to ban the drilling practice in the river valley that only comprises part of southeastern Pennsylvania, where the bulk of fracking activity does not, and likely would not, occur. New York has banned fracking in the entire state, with Maryland later following suit.
Wolf has also placed a moratorium on issuing leases to energy companies across its state parks, but his administration is very careful to explain that a moratorium is not a ban.
“The governor’s moratorium is on leasing, not frac[k]ing,” said Teddy Borawski Jr., a petroleum geologist with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. “DCNR may not issue new [natural] gas leases,” he added in an email. Under the moratorium, the agency sees leases and fracking as two separate things.
He distinguished between the fracking phase of drilling and the lease contract that must exist prior to drilling in explaining what the moratorium means.
But that doesn’t mean fracking isn’t taking place on state lands. He said fracking may proceed in state forests and state parks under current lease contracts.
Greenpeace, which is heavily involved in the “Keep it in the Ground” movement, explained to the Washington Examiner that activists are still urging governors to do more, but those efforts are much more focused than in the past.
Wolf isn’t even on their list of Democrats to go after, even though they’re still intent on pressuring Democratic governors to take decisive action to block fossil fuel development.
For example, Democratic California Gov. Jerry Brown remains a big target for the anti-fossil fuel campaign. Brown has found himself drowned out by activists calling on him to ban fracking in the Golden State. But Brown has refused to enact a statewide ban. Most of the state’s shale resources are too difficult to get at, and not economical for oil companies to access. At least, not yet.
“California’s Gov. Brown had a unique opportunity to secure a lasting legacy that could have national impact on the future of fossil fuels which is why we prioritized the Brown’s Last Chance campaign for most of 2018,” said Greenpeace spokeswoman Cassady Craighill.
“Now that we’re only a few days from midterm election day, our support is laser-focused on key ballot initiatives in Colorado and Washington that could have a huge impact on climate and energy policy, if passed,” she said.
Colorado has a fracking ban on the ballot, and Washington has a ballot proposal to tax carbon dioxide emissions as a way to combat global warming. The group 350.org is focused on getting voters to vote “yes” on Measure G to ban fracking in San Luis Obispo County, with actor Mark Ruffalo launching an online appeal Friday on Twitter.
After the elections, Greenpeace will continue its campaign for all elected officials to prioritize climate change, but the emphasis will be on “heavily impacted coastal states like Florida,” she added.
The governors of fracking states aren’t necessarily on the list, but Craighill said the more elected officials that “reject new fossil fuel infrastructure, the better,” alluding to the possibility that blocking pipelines could be the next big push.
