Full Episode

A federal agency faulted U.S. Steel for a lack of safety procedures which caused the death of two workers at one if its plants last year. A new report from Pennsylvania environmental groups finds more than half of monitored waterways statewide had at least one day with high levels of e-coli bacteria last year. We take a look at pollution from a chemical plant along the banks of the Monongahela River. An environmental engineer started a new act as a storyteller and educator for local waterways. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has unanimously ruled wildlife officers cannot enter open fields and woods without a warrant. With soaring energy demand and a friendly federal administration, coal companies are angling for a comeback.

We speak with the author of a collection of stories that has a furry recurring theme: bears. A reporter tags along into the woods with some birders to talk to barred owls. An environmental group is claiming the latest Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection publication about underground mining damages to properties and the environment has major issues.

Conservationists are trying to stop the spread of the invasive wavyleaf basketgrass in Pennsylvania's forests. A new exhibit of landscape paintings in Pittsburgh encourages rest and reflection. Concrete made with plants, like flax, has climate benefits. Several environmental groups in Pennsylvania are casting doubt on a report about landfill runoff released by state regulators. Three Mile Island is on schedule to receive nuclear material by the end of the year. A grandson and grandmother visit all 63 national parks together.

U.S. Steel is investing big money to modernize a mill in the Pittsburgh area. Some are worried about continued air pollution from the plant, while others in the area are excited about its economic impact. The data power of AI could help weather forecasters with some of their trickiest work, like tornadoes. A new book looks at the complexities of reintroducing large wildlife species like wolves and bison back to their original habitats. Pennsylvania has renewed its Solar for Schools program for a third time. Nonprofit environmental groups are seeking crowdfunding support for their legal challenge to a massive data center project in Indiana County. Our travel guide provides a glimpse of a rare bog habitat in the Laurel Highlands.

There's a movement to slow down data center development in Pennsylvania, but state lawmakers weren't ready to repeal a key tax exemption. People who live near a gas processing facility in rural Pennsylvania are against its plans to expand. Operations have been stopped at four injection wells for fracking wastewater in southeastern Ohio, at the request of state regulators. Forests in Allegheny and Fayette Counties are also now part of the Old-Growth Forest Network. A new book explores the beauty of Pennsylvania's natural wonders.

How a Bedford County community benefitted when two dams were removed. A court rules in favor of a stricter ambient air pollution standard to protect public health. Republican gubernatorial candidate Stacy Garrity was in Western Pennsylvania to discuss data centers and criticize Governor Josh Shapiro. An artist provides tips for finding colorful beach glass on your next trip to Lake Erie. Pennsylvania’s elk country is featured on the season premiere of  Discovery Channel show “RV There Yet?.” A week-long camp provides community, support and fun for young campers with brain injuries.

As our nation celebrates its founding, we're looking at where the environment and history meet. This summer 70 paddlers in kayaks and canoes took a trip down the Delaware River, including the spot where Washington crossed in 1776. A group of Pennsylvania residents is working to revive the colonial practice of growing flax one square yard at a time. We'll hear about an effort to preserve the records of a Pennsylvania coal company. An environmental history book about Pennsylvania aims to include multiple perspectives. Plus, a bill introduced in the U.S. House could help coal miners disabled by black lung disease. Cases of alpha-gal syndrome, which causes a red meat and dairy allergy from tick bites, have been showing up around Pennsylvania.

When the Army Corps of Engineers removed a dam on the Monongahela River a couple of years ago, the water level dropped more than some businesses expected. Researchers are working on buoys that combat harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie by releasing an algaecide. Council members in a Jefferson County borough are putting a nearly six-month pause on data center development, and state lawmakers have passed three measures this week to pump the brakes on data center development. Environmental groups say recent investments announced by Nippon Steel for its US Steel plants in the Pittsburgh area won’t do much to improve the region’s air quality. How restaurants are managing recycling, composting and sustainability, and training customers along the way.

Opposition to data center development has been growing in Pennsylvania. We hear from an investigative reporter on Governor Shapiro's office offer to streamline the permitting process for Amazon. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is accepting public comment on a proposed water pollution permit for a coal mine planned in western Pennsylvania. Researchers are bringing back a nearly extinct beetle that buries dead animals.

This week, we look at the life and legacy of Henry David Thoreau, who has been called the godfather of the environmental movement. We interview the directors of a new Ken Burns documentary about Thoreau, his evolution as a thinker, philosopher of the natural world and abolitionist. Affordable solar power could be coming to a balcony near you. That is, if Pennsylvania lawmakers legalize so-called "balcony solar." A festival celebrating frogs returns to Central Pennsylvania. Nippon Steel's new investment in U.S. Steel's Pittsburgh-area plants prompts questions.