Your Environment Update Archives

Trump on Earth: EPA Suspends Some Enforcement During Coronavirus Pandemic

Julie GrantMarch 31, 2020

EPA has said it will not enforce monitoring and other reporting requirements on industry due to the coronavirus. Critics say this is just too broad.

CoronavirusPodcastsPoliticsPollutionYour Environment Update

State to Allegheny, Beaver and 10 Other Counties: Seek and Destroy Spotted Lanternfly Eggs

Julie GrantMarch 13, 2020

The pest, which has already damaged grape crops in eastern counties, is moving westward. Businesses will need permits to move goods in and out of quarantined counties.

Food and AgricultureWild PennsylvaniaYour Environment Update

Trump on Earth: A Dark History of Oil, Power and War

Reid FrazierMarch 6, 2020

One author examines the rise of oil as the dominant resource for power. "So we fought many wars for access to oil when oil was plentiful. You have to wonder what's going to happen when oil becomes a scarce resource."

EnergyHistoryPodcastsYour Environment Update

Trump on Earth: A New Rule Would End Penalties for Bird Deaths

Julie GrantMarch 4, 2020

A change to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act drastically weakens how birds are protected. A former official who managed the bird program for 30 years speaks out.

ConservationNewsPodcastsPoliticsWild PennsylvaniaWildlifeYour Environment Update

Why This Climate Scientist Says ‘No’ to Flying

Kara HolsoppleFebruary 26, 2020

Scientists do a lot of flying to meetings and conferences. For Peter Kalmus, flying 50,000 miles a year for his work was a huge chuck of his carbon footprint.

Climate ChangeYour Environment Update

Northern Long-Eared Bat Was Improperly Denied Endangered Status. What’s Next?

Kara HolsoppleFebruary 11, 2020

A judge’s ruling gives environmentalists new hope for the future of a bat that's quickly disappearing from Pennsylvania.

ConservationWild PennsylvaniaWildlifeYour Environment Update

Clean Water Group to Start Monitoring Near Proposed Ethane Cracker in Ohio

Julie GrantFebruary 7, 2020

Freshwater Accountability Project will collect air and water quality data near schools, and daycare and senior centers close to the site in Belmont County.

EnergyPollutionThe Coming Chemical BoomWaterYour Environment Update

A Decade of Cleaner Air Ended in Controversy and Questions about Allegheny County’s Future

PublicSourceJanuary 24, 2020

Recent fires at the Clairton Coke Works and temperature inversions have sparked a debate about what should be done to address air pollution in the county.

PollutionYour Environment Update

A stream inside Ryerson Station State Park; Photo: Reid R. Frazier

Assessing the Damage from Mining: a 5 Year Report

Kara HolsoppleJanuary 17, 2020

One thing the report found was that the information system to track impacts dates back to the 1990s. Another finding is that coal companies are buying up land that they are mining under.

EnergyWild PennsylvaniaYour Environment Update

Wait, People Live There…In the Winter?

Rebecca WilliamsJanuary 17, 2020

Most of the 32,000 islands in the Great Lakes are uninhabited. But the people who live year-round on about 30 of them are banding together to preserve their way of life.

CultureYour Environment Update

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Trump on Earth

Trump grants exemptions from mercury rules for coal-fired power plants, including several in Pennsylvania

Trump moves to quickly slash federal regulations, target state and corporate climate efforts

Advocates, environmentalists split as Trump signs orders to bolster coal industry

Your Environment Update