Energy & Environment
In ‘paradigm shift,’ U.S. Forest Service to use logging, controlled burns to prevent wildfires
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will announce Tuesday it is using $3 billion from last year’s infrastructure law to revamp the federal approach to wildfire management, introducing a 10-year plan to deal with the large swaths of the West scientists consider most at risk of destructive blazes. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, a former Iowa […]
Attendance low for Pa. Farm Show’s in-person return, Ag Dept. says | Five for the Weekend
Attendance this year was low compared to pre-pandemic years, with vendors, competitors and guests alike, choosing to forgo the crowds, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
2021’s biggest climate disasters cost the U.S. $145B. Five essential reads | Analysis
It was the third-most expensive year on record, and 2021 was also one of the hottest years globally and the 4th hottest year in the U.S. in 127 years of record-keeping.
With a proposed ban in N.Y., Erie lawmaker invites National Fuel Gas to relocate to Pa.
Work to draft a formal invitation from the Erie delegation to National Fuel Gas is ongoing.
Wolf vetoes GOP effort to block carbon fee on Pa. power plants
*This story was updated at 6:25 p.m. 1/10/25 with comment from Senate Republicans Gov. Tom Wolf has vetoed an attempt by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to block his administration from implementing a carbon fee on the commonwealth’s 58 fossil fuel-burning power plants. Wolf, a Democrat, announced in 2019 he was bringing Pennsylvania into the Regional […]
‘Don’t Look Up!’ is a documentary masquerading as satire | Dick Polman
Anyone who thinks the Netflix comedy lacks subtlety need only look around and behold what mass stupidity has wrought.
A New Year’s Resolution for Pa.: Go big on reducing methane emissions
With increasing extreme weather events plaguing Pennsylvania and the rest of the world, there’s no more time to waste.
DEP outlines a path for Pa. to hit ‘100 percent’ of Chesapeake Bay pollution reduction goal
The announcement by the state Department of Environmental Protection comes after a litany of criticism and legal challenges from neighboring states Virginia and Maryland, the District of Columbia, and environmental advocacy groups that the Keystone State wasn’t meeting its fair share of the cleanup burden.
Penn State study: Pa. flood risk rising with climate change | Wednesday Morning Coffee
Projections show the state will face more extreme rainfall and flooding by 2050.
Capitol Hill Dems push to rescue climate plan in Biden’s spending package
WASHINGTON — A group of congressional Democrats on Tuesday called for preserving the climate portions of President Joe Biden’s stalled domestic spending bill as Democrats in the U.S. Senate rewrite the measure. U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Tina Smith of Minnesota and John Hickenlooper of Colorado, along with Reps. […]
Banned: Callery Pear tree phased ban to begin next month
The offending tree, the Callery Pear or Bradford Pear, will join the list of Class B noxious weeds, and be banned from sale or cultivation in Pennsylvania beginning Feb. 9, according to the department.
The U.S. is making plans to replace all of its lead water pipes from coast to coast | Analysis
Every lead pipe that’s replaced will pay off in higher lifetime earnings and lower rates of illness for families that gain access to safer tap water.