Your Environment Update Archives

Your Environment Update for July 13, 2017

The Allegheny FrontJuly 7, 2017

The green slime of toxic algae blooms is likely to make a reappearance on Lake Erie this summer. Researchers want a better way to know if it’s making people sick.

Your Environment Update

Your Environment Update for Thursday, July 6, 2017

The Allegheny FrontJuly 6, 2017

In 1948, twenty people died when thick smog settled over the small town of Donora, just south of Pittsburgh. Is the city prepared if it happens again?

Your Environment Update

With Environmental Justice For All?

Julie GrantJune 23, 2017

The EPA’s Environmental Justice office is meant to defend communities that face a disproportionate share of the effects of pollution. But the office’s funding could be cut entirely in President Trump’s 2018 budget proposal.

Environmental JusticePoliticsYour Environment Update

It’s Not Paris or Pittsburgh. It’s the Planet.

Reid FrazierJune 9, 2017

President Trump fulfilled one of his biggest campaign promises in taking the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accord. But could his decision lead to more climate action, not less?

Climate ChangePodcastsPoliticsPollutionYour Environment Update

Acosta Deep Coal Mine in Somerset County

Trump Touts a New PA Mine. But is Coal Actually Rebounding?

Reid FrazierJune 8, 2017

By all accounts, the coal industry is in a steep decline. Mines have been shutting down for about a decade. So why is one in Somerset County about to open?

EconomyPoliticsYour Environment Update

CMU Scientists Help Clairton Residents Find Out What’s In Their Air

Kara HolsoppleJune 2, 2017

A research team at Carnegie Mellon is one year into a three-year project to help people in the Pittsburgh region learn more about pollutants they’re exposed to through the air. It’s funded through the EPA’s Air Pollution Monitoring for Communities program, and it was one of only six projects funded throughout the country.

Environmental JusticeHazardous to Your HealthHealthPollutionYour Environment Update

Life Smells Better After Shenango

Julie GrantJune 1, 2017

Last year the Shenango Coke Works closed. This spring some of the people who fought it are celebrating by telling their stories of living downwind from one of the region's biggest and most visible polluters.

Environmental JusticeHazardous to Your HealthPollutionYour Environment Update

Deciphering “lead free” labels at the store isn’t always easy

Rebecca WilliamsMay 25, 2017

Old pipes aren't the only way lead can get into your drinking water. The faucets and fittings and solder on the pipes inside your house can also contain lead. But if you want to replace older plumbing, it’s not always easy to find the right products at the hardware store.

HealthHidden PoisonYour Environment Update