Philadelphia Reflections

Fisher on the Environment

Joseph Wharton

I grew up in Pittsburgh, where they kept the street lights on all day for several days each year. So I'm well aware of environmental issues, and the dangers of neglecting them. At one time, the forks of Ohio were world famous for their beauty and now look at them. Furthermore, I know the story of Joseph Wharton, after whom the Pine Barrens were named because he owned them. Mr. Wharton wanted to pierce the Pine Barrens with drill holes down to the so-called Cohansy aquifer of the purest water known to man. Wharton planned to pipe the water over to Philadelphia, but even then there was enough public outcry to stop it. No doubt we ought to have experts thoroughly examine the matter before we permit the destruction of that neighborhood jewel.

But the Alaska Wildlife Preserve and the fate of the grizzly bears, now really, should that really be a concern of the New Jersey legislature? Really, give me a break. We have plenty of local concerns that the New Jersey Legislature might actually do something about. Like sending a doctor to the legislature to speak for the interest of the patients, amidst all of the confusion of rather vague healthcare reform. The plan seems to be to put the uninsured into Medicaid, the most rickety, underfunded program in American medicine. When those people discover what Medicaid is like, there's going to be an uproar of some kind. That will probably lead to hasty re-adjustments, and someone has to speak out about the effect on patients, from the program or the reaction to the program, or both. For that, I'm your man.

Originally published: Friday, September 27, 2013; most-recently modified: Friday, May 17, 2019