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Day two of David Pecker testimony wraps in NY Trump trial; Supreme Court hears arguments on Idaho's near-total abortion ban; ND sees a flurry of campaigning among Native candidates; and NH lags behind other states in restricting firearms at polling sites.

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The Senate moves forward with a foreign aid package. A North Carolina judge overturns an aged law penalizing released felons. And child protection groups call a Texas immigration policy traumatic for kids.

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Wyoming needs more educators who can teach kids trade skills, a proposal to open 40-thousand acres of an Ohio forest to fracking has environmental advocates alarmed and rural communities lure bicyclists with state-of-the-art bike trail systems.

PA Township Takes On Climate Change

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Thursday, May 25, 2017   

FERGUSON TOWNSHIP, Penn. -- It takes a village to save the planet. That's the message one Pennsylvania township is hoping to send with its resolution on climate change.

Through his work at Penn State's Sustainability Institute, Peter Buckland became keenly aware of the impacts of climate change that already are being felt around the world, as well as here in Pennsylvania. In his role as a supervisor in Ferguson Township, he has introduced a resolution which, if adopted, would require the township to develop a strategy for achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

"I think that it is absolutely incumbent on elected officials who understand the risks, threats and opportunities of climate change to take action,” Buckland said. "It is our duty. It's our responsibility to do it."

The resolution is expected to come up for a vote of the Ferguson Township's Board of Supervisors at a meeting on June 19.

The township itself could take steps to meet its own energy needs with clean sources - such as solar - almost immediately. Buckland said it also can encourage businesses within the township to join in the effort.

"There are things that we can do through zoning, for example, to encourage low-impact development and encourage the adoption of green building practices,” he said.

He noted that if the state were to pass Property Assessed Clean Energy legislation, then the township could give businesses municipally backed loans for clean energy development.

Buckland said the resolution he introduced already has inspired residents of neighboring townships to take similar action.

"Citizens from Harris, Patton, College and Halfmoon townships, and the State College Borough, they're already talking about taking the resolution as it's written right now to their own township,” Buckland said.

He added that moves by the Trump administration to abandon the fight against climate change have added a sense of urgency to local actions to reduce carbon emissions.


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