A roughly 100-person team at a NIOSH facility in Allegheny County are set to lose their jobs in June. They study the best ways to prevent injuries, illnesses and death in coal mines.
A one-of-a-kind ecosystem lies above the bauxite Alcoa says it needs for its future. The company’s request to expand mining in Australia is drawing objections from scientists and the land’s original inhabitants.
The 100-acre site in Erie County is being reforested through a partnership between the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and the nonprofit Bosland Growth.
A new outdoor recreation area in a Pittsburgh park is meant to include people of all abilities. When hikers make it to the halfway point on the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania, there’s a tradition of eating a half gallon of ice cream. An environmental reporter shifts his perspective by leaning into the landscape. A network of trails in Northeast Pennsylvania that follows old railroad corridors is now carrying economic development across the region.
A nonprofit hopes to help landowners reclaim mineland in Appalachia by planting trees and selling carbon credits. Their first partner is the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. A bill in the Pennsylvania legislature would withhold funding from communities that try to restrict shale gas drilling because of pollution and disruption. De-paving parties involve hard hats, sledgehammers, and a lot of volunteers to create space for water drainage and gardens.
Last year, workforce development organizations in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia were awarded a $15 million EPA grant to train people in landscaping and tree pruning, and to expand their services. But the federal government just terminated the grant. A new map shows there have been important federal investments in clean energy across Pennsylvania, but as federal dollars to support climate initiatives become uncertain, more action is needed. A reporter was stopped by police for asking follow-up questions at an oil and gas committee meeting.
