Job growth is of course very high on any government's agenda. Especially today with so many unemployed. But is there a relationship between the economy and the environment? Pennsylvania thinks so.

Pennsylvania, which ranks a dismal 42 in the nation on job growth and has one of the slowest population expansion rates in the nation, is trying to reverse that trend. One area in which it's attempting to make such a reversal is the environment.

"Growing Greener II." This is an environmental reform proposal being set forth by Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell. All in all, millions of dollars are being proposed by the government on this mixed environmental/pro-economy initiative.

Eighty million dollars is being proposed for river restorations and other water improvements. One hundred and forty million dollars are proposed for brownfields restoration and other land use initiatives, including mine reclamation. The reclamation of abandoned mines has been a significant environmental issue for the last two decades.

One hundred and seventy million dollars is being proposed to improve the state's parks, riverfronts and to promote smart growth initiatives. And 80 million dollars is being proposed to support new environmental technologies such as solar energy and wind farms.

Why is all of this being proposed? According to the Governor's office, this is being proposed because Pennsylvania believes that it will be more competitive in the global workplace if it makes its state a better place to live and play.

In other words, cleaning the environment isn't just an environmental initiative. Its also a pro-economy initiative. The state believes that when corporations decide where to create new plants and where to relocate, one of the things they look at is quality of life and related lifestyle issues. Pennsylvania is proactively attempting to position itself to gain increasing favorable treatment in this important arena.

If you don't know Pennsylvania, you need to visit this state. It is truly blessed with abundant, still very beautiful natural resources. One fact that's impressive to me is that it has 3.8 million acres of parks, forests and game lands. This is larger than the state of Connecticut.

Does environmental protection count? The answer is that of course it does. It counts for all of the traditional and well known reasons. It makes our own lives better and it makes all of us healthier people.

And as Pennsylvania has acknowledged, there's clearly an interrelation between a good environment and a healthy business economy.

Published: September 30, 2004

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Stuart Lieberman, Esq. writes about environmental issues. He was a New Jersey Deputy Attorney General assigned to the State Department of Environmental Protection from 1986 to 1990. Currently he is a shareholder in the environmental law firm of Lieberman & Blecher, P.C., located in Princeton, New Jersey. Stuart can be reached at slieberman@liebermanblecher.com.