Groups say proposals to use fracked natural gas to produce hydrogen in Western Pennsylvania pose health and climate risks. An investigation in Ohio alleges that many people whose names are on public comments in favor of fracking in state parks say they did not submit them.
We’ll also hear from an author who revisited the Youghiogheny River of his youth to find some changes for the better. Plus, the federal government wants to put the salamander mussel on the endangered species list. We revisit a story that joins researchers surveying the Allegheny River for the mudpuppy salamander that’s critical for the mussel’s survival.
We have news about ticks, spotted lanternfly’s risk to Pennsylvania forests, and the hellbender salamander.
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- Groups say ‘clean’ hydrogen projects lack transparency and fear climate, safety impacts - Appalachian projects are vying for billions of federal dollars to produce hydrogen from natural gas fracked in the region.
- Surveying Salamanders in Hopes of Finding an Imperiled Mussel - Mussels once numbered the millions in local rivers. Now researchers are hoping to find a type of salamander that an endangered mussel needs to survive.
- Spotted lanternflies not a danger to forests, according to Penn State study - Spotted lanternflies aren’t as harmful to most Pennsylvania hardwood trees as previously feared. It's the first study of its kind.
- State amphibian may get another shot at federal protections - A federal judge vacated a 2019 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision that the eastern hellbender does not warrant a status as an endangered species.
- Chemical companies to pay Pennsylvania $100 million for PCB contamination - The Monsanto Company and two other companies manufactured products containing the toxic chemicals, which damaged waterways across Pennsylvania.
- An author revisits the Youghiogheny River and finds many changes for the better - Tim Palmer updated his original 1984 biography of the river he first knew as a child.
- Ohio AG investigating disputed public comments that urge fracking in state parks - Dozens of Ohioans say their names were used without permission on pro-fracking letters sent to a commission considering proposals to frack under state parks.
- Species of mussel found in western Pa. might soon be listed as endangered - Pollution and river dredging have wiped out much of the salamander mussels in Pennsylvania. Now, it could get federal protection.
- Penn State team leading center focused on stopping tick-borne diseases - Penn State will get $6.25 million over five years from the CDC for the center. Pa. has the most cases of Lyme disease in the country.