#ShowYourStripes and Q&A with Secretary Shirley
Bill Sabey
- fyi----- Forwarded Message -----From: Penn State Climate Consortium <cli...@psu.edu>To:Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2026 at 12:00:04 PM EDTSubject: #ShowYourStripes and Q&A with Secretary Shirley
June 2026
#ShowYourStripes Day is June 20
#ShowYourStripes Day, observed annually in June, uses a simple but powerful visual to illustrate the reality of climate change and encourage action. Every stripe is a year. The shift from blue to red tells the story of our warming planet and the urgency of the moment we're in.
“Penn State helps turn climate science into shared action—amplifying impact and strengthening communities everywhere.”
—Jackie O’Connor, Acting Director, Penn State Climate Consortium
Penn State stands with the International Universities Climate Alliance and universities worldwide to make climate science impossible to ignore.
Make and Share Your Stripes Q&A with DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley
Following her keynote address at the 2026 Climate Solutions Symposium, DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley answered several audience questions but was unable to address them all during the event. We followed up with Secretary Shirley and her team, and they provided written responses to additional questions submitted by symposium attendees.
Q: Several attendees asked about the environmental footprint of data centers, including energy use, water consumption, emissions, and regulatory oversight.
A: For more information on what the Shapiro Administration is doing around data centers, please see the following:
Governor Shapiro’s Responsible Infrastructure Development (GRID) Standards (released on May 27, 2026)
DEP Fact Sheet on DEP’s Oversight of Data Center Development
Q: The community energy part of the Lightning Plan sounds very promising, are there particular opportunities there?
A: The Governor’s proposed 2025-26 budget introduces “Community Energy,” a proposal that helps rural communities, farmers, and low-income Pennsylvanians jointly share energy resources to lower costs. For example, farmers could use methane digesters to produce energy for their farms, reducing reliance on utility companies and lowering their energy prices. More information about Governor Shapiro’s Lightning Plan, and co-sponsorship memos in both the House and Senate around lowering energy costs for rural communities.
Q: How does DEP see themselves working with Pennsylvania Department of Education and higher ed to ensure the next generation understands the environment and their role in local and global climate?
A: This is a great question, and working within the Administration, not just with Education, but with various agencies around educating the next generation about the environment, and their role in protecting it, is essential work.
One of the biggest discussions occurring within DEP is how we ensure that young adults entering the workforce know that they can make any job a green job. It doesn’t take someone working in government, or directly in roles related to the environment to do this, we all play a role in a sustainable future.
Education and incentives to develop and keep engineers, conservationists, agriculture technicians, and individuals with the knowledge to write technical plans for environmental permits in Pennsylvania are in high demand.
A few examples of work we are doing:
The DEP Bureau of Safe Drinking Water (BSDW) has begun work with PA’s Operator Certification Board for Water and Wastewater Operators to convene a group of industry experts to focus on how to improve recruitment and retention of water operators within PA. This effort has been met with much enthusiasm and positivity from industry participants as it will play a key role in improving compliance by attracting, training, and retaining more competent individuals into this essential service career.
In addition, the State Conservation Commission is sponsoring a new Ag Conservation Apprenticeship program with the Indiana County Conservation District through a grant provided by the Department of Labor and Industry. The goals of this program will be to lower barriers for employees entering the agriculture conservation field for public and private sector employment and to provide a robust curriculum that supports on-the-job training as well as classroom coursework for agriculture conservation career development. Through the establishment of this program, apprentices will gain the experience and knowledge necessary to enter the Ag conservation field as Journeymen, whose experience and credentials will be publicly recorded and transferable for employment across the commonwealth.
Q: The new geothermal project in Indiana County sounds really exciting, can you talk more about the plans for that project?
A: We are very excited about this opportunity as well, as we will be piloting an innovative solution to meet energy demands not just of today, but also the future. Geothermal systems have the potential to supply the clean energy needed for economic growth and long-term grid resilience for our communities. This is the type of “all-of-the-above” energy solutions that Governor Shapiro has prioritized.
DEP has published a press release with additional information, as has the U.S. Department of Energy.
Q: What are your hopes for Prepare PA? Are there any particular initiatives you’re particularly excited to see?
A: The goal for Prepare PA, from the time when it was the Pennsylvania Climate Mitigation and Resilience Network, was to develop climate leadership and build capacity in various sectors in the Commonwealth. As Penn State continues to build out this initiative, our hope is that Prepare PA will become the go-to sustainability network with resources, education and best practices for businesses, academia and local government.
Our changing climate is a problem that impacts many different professions, not just engineers. It is important that we all work together to increase our collective understanding of the issues and work together to find solutions.
One area of potential excitement is finding public-private projects to advance climate mitigation and climate resilience, including improving our resilience to flooding and heat stress.
Learn more on the PreparePA website or join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates.
This monthly newsletter is sent by the Penn State Climate Consortium, which is committed to identifying, creating, and implementing research-based solutions to climate change.
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