Pittsburgh Patrika January 2022

The Pittsburgh Patrika, Vol. 27 No 2, January 2022
Ironically, we learned the same bitter lesson twice: overdependence on
steel devastated the region when the Mighty Steel died in the 1970s,
and over dependence on US Airways (accounting for over 85% of flights
at its peak at PIT) devastated the airport when it closed its hub here.
Besides, before shutting down its hub, the bad faith in which US
Airways had negotiated with our region’s elected officials and airport
officials left deep scars. So, not many at ACAA and among our elected
officials wanted the airport again to become a big hub for another air carrier.
Twice bitten, thrice shy. So, seeking regional taxes to fund airport
modernization was just out of question.
Then came Nature’s boon in the form of Marcellus shale found in abundance
in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and eastern Ohio. The shale
lying between 5000 to 8000 feet underground is a source for natural gas,
a clean energy fuel for domestic & industrial use and electric power generation
— it has the smallest carbon footprint and no solid waste products
such as fly ash, as with coal. Radio talk show hosts boast that natural gas
for Pennsylvania is what is petroleum is for Saudi Arabia.
Over 9000 acres of land around the airport belong to ACAA. The
airport allowed a local gas company to drill 45 gas wells in its land to
generate revenue for the next several decades. With the natural gas running
five generators and 10,000 solar panels already installed, the airport’s
7