Your Environment Update Archives

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

Clairton Coke Works, near Pittsburgh, is Allegheny County's largest single source of particle pollution. Photo: Reid R. Frazier

What You Need to Know About Air Quality, the U.S. Steel Settlement and Temperature Inversions

Kara HolsoppleJanuary 10, 2020

We discuss the settlement of a class action lawsuit against U.S. Steel and how the Christmas temperature inversion that made Pittsburgh's air smell like "rotten eggs, sewer backup, burning plastic and hospital waste."

HealthPollutionYour Environment Update

Trump on Earth Podcast: Strengthening Transparency or Silencing Science?

Julie GrantJanuary 10, 2020

A new rule proposed by the Trump administration would limit scientific studies that use confidential health data when setting public health regulations.

HealthPodcastsYour Environment Update

Rising Waters: Aging Levees, Climate Change and the Challenge to Hold Back the Ohio River

Liam NiemeyerDecember 18, 2019

Record rainfall and more intense storms are hitting towns along the Ohio River. With climate changing predicted to bring even more rain, will aging flood protection hold?

Climate ChangeGood RiverYour Environment Update

Full Episodes

Episode for March 7, 2025

Episode for February 28, 2025

Episode for February 21, 2025

2024 Election

What Pennsylvania voters say about the environment

Longtime environmental official on Pennsylvania election results: People will need to be ‘as tenacious as the industry’

What can we expect from a Trump administration? Our reporters weigh in.

Your Environment Update