No state built America more than Pennsylvania. On the heels of our 250th year of independence, most think of how Pennsylvanians built the nation ideologically. From the Declaration of Independence to the Gettysburg Address, Pennsylvania has been a central place for articulating the idea of America.

Residents in the Greater Lehigh Valley and northeast Pennsylvania have always had to balance our access to pristine, natural beauty and a small-town way of life with the demands of industry and economic development. Our neighboring Carbon County in particular itself derives its name from the large deposits of anthracite — the highest quality coal that were once mined here and helped our towns power the economic engines of the entire country.

Pennsylvania is undergoing a data center boom, but depending on which side of the debate you fall on, that’s either a reason to celebrate or a reason to protest.