Centre County might soon be known for a new attraction.

No, we're not getting a Six Flags amusement park. Instead, Gov. Rendell is planning on using $8 million to fund the largest landfill east of the Mississippi River.

The site of the landfill will be just north of I-80, in Snow Shoe and Rush townships, which is about 20 miles away from campus. The Centre Region Council of Governments (COG) voted Monday to send a letter to Rendell's office to express its opposition of the state funding for the landfill. However, just a letter from the COG won't stop the governor's office from its economic development.

People need to take action and make their voices heard because we, as the population center of Centre County which carries the most political clout, have a responsibility to support the tier areas.

Not only will the landfill hold Pennsylvania's trash, but also New Jersey and New York's trash. So, we will have the entire tri-state area's garbage right in our back yard.

This is not the first time that out-of-state trash is being dumped in Pennsylvania, but we can not have it become a trend. Central Pennsylvania is not just roaming cows anymore.

Not only does it have one of the largest state universities in the nation, which brings in a lot of the state's economy, but also, more families are starting to grow and commercialize the area each day.

The landfill might bring in some jobs for people, but it won't be a significant number or the type of jobs that we want in our county -- it won't bring enough revenue to be worth it. A landfill is a dirty and unhealthy place.

Even though environmental and health officials will need to approve the site, landfills are not guaranteed to be safe for a long period of time.

Pollution from the landfill would be a problem for Centre County residents and the whole state as well. And it's not like we don't have enough pollution problems already. The government is still trying to fix the I-99 acid drainage problem. Pollution is not the only problem with the landfill though. Having such a large landfill in central Pennsylvania will cause traffic problems on I-80, I-99 and Route 322, which are already extremely dangerous roadways in the winter. Big rig trucks and icy winter conditions are not the best combination for traveling.

This proposed landfill is not a question of how is it going to affect us, but how it will affect the next generation. And considering that the next generation is the children of those sitting in the classrooms of University Park, we should raise our voices to stop the trend of garbage in our back yards.