A state commission approved new acreage for fracking in one wildlife area, and delayed action on thousands of additional acres. Then police physically prevented a reporter from talking with the commission chair.
Changes that drove Philly’s emissions reductions in 2022 include the electric grid’s shift from coal to natural gas, the pandemic and the closure of a refinery.
The company will mine metallurgical coal, but an environmental group worries the project will exacerbate longstanding mine drainage problems in the Laurel Highlands.
Thrifting proponents hope more people will turn to sustainable fashion as the trade war between the U.S. and China places the fast fashion industry in a chokehold.
The future of the Endangered Species Act is in question. A bill to amend it was recently introduced in Congress, and environmentalists are taking issue with it. Attacks by black bears are exceedingly rare, but they do happen. How proximity to humans and our pets could be pushing some species, like black bears, to act erratically. Pittsburgh International Airport is doubling the size of its solar field about a mile from the main terminal.
Cement is the glue that keeps concrete together, and it has a big carbon footprint. That's a problem for a warming planet. A Johnstown-based mining company has gotten the go-ahead to expand an underground coal mine in Westmoreland County. The site of a demolished coal-fired power plant is being redeveloped to build a massive gas-fired power plant and data center. The American Lung Association gave Pittsburgh’s air quality an "F" in its latest annual report.
President Trump gives coal power plants an extension on complying with new pollution standards. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is looking to roll back many other climate and environmental regulations faster than the normal process of appealing these rules allows. Invasive plant species like thorny multiflora rose are damaging Pennsylvania forests. A Pittsburgh natural history museum is taking a closer look at the problem.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has begun its annual Black Fly Suppression Program. Camping reservations are up at Pennsylvania’s state parks and forests.
