pfas

Spring starts on March 20, but for many places, spring has been here for a while. How does that impact nature?  We have the story of one family in East Palestine who isn't sure if their home or water is safe. We talk with U.S. EPA's onsite coordinator there, who breaks down how the government is monitoring chemical pollution. We have news about U.S. Steel, Shell's ethane cracker, and proposed federal rules for PFAS in drinking water.

An electric heat pump can reduce the carbon footprint of your home. We look at the pros and cons of this climate solution. The National Weather Service wants the public to become "river ice spotters" to help monitor for ice jams on area rivers. Plus, Frick Park has a new resident: Castor the beaver. We have news about new PFAS standards for drinking water in Pennsylvania, the Chesapeake Bay, and the new Pa. DEP secretary.

Fifty years ago, parts of the Delaware River stank, and fish couldn't survive in it. We look at how the Clean Water Act helped to revive this dead river. And, we have the first installment of a new series highlighting Black urban farmers growing food to sustain their communities. Plus, a new collection of climate fiction looks forward to a better world for the environment and for people.

In dozens of Pennsylvania towns, underground steam systems that heat buildings could be re-vamped to be powered by renewable energy. But there's competition: cheaper natural gas. We'll also hear from President Biden's climate envoy about what it will take to meet climate change goals. Plus, a new documentary tells the story of a small, rural town trying to keep a fracking waste injection well out of its community to preserve its drinking water and save a rare salamander. News about PFAS in fracking wastewater in Ohio.

PFAS, called forever chemicals, is the latest worry over fracking. We talk to a reporter about how PFAS found in one man's well water could have come from fracking. One year later, the impacts of Hurricane Ida linger for people in Pennsylvania. And, we talk with a conservationist about purple martins, which need human-made birdhouses to keep them from going extinct in the eastern U.S.