Energy & Environment

Pa. U.S. Reps. Boyle, Fitzpatrick want to force federal action on PFAS

BY: - May 3, 2019

Two Pennsylvania congressmen joined forces this week with a colleague from Michigan to try to compel federal action on PFAS, an industrial chemical compound that’s contaminated drinking water across the state and nation. A bill introduced by U.S. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-1st District, and Brendan Boyle, D-2nd District, along with U.S. Rep.  Dan Kildee, D-Mich., […]

Southeast Republicans, unified Dems in the House find common ground: opposing mandatory regulation slashing

BY: - May 3, 2019

Environmental allies celebrated a rare Harrisburg victory this week when the newly emboldened Democratic caucus in the state House, with the help of a few Republican holdouts, voted down a GOP bill to slash state regulations. Eight Republicans, joined by every Democratic member, voted against a bill that would have formed an office of the […]

Bucking Trump, Pa. U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick votes with Dems on bill supporting Paris climate accords

BY: - May 2, 2019

Thursday's vote is a largely a symbolic rebuke to Trump, who announced in 2017 that he’d withdraw the United States from the landmark Paris accord the Obama administration helped broker in 2015.

‘There’s a water crisis in Pennsylvania’: Environmental advocates call for clean water funding

BY: - May 2, 2019

Environmental advocates on Wednesday presented a grim picture of polluted streams, plastic-filled rivers, and underfunded state departments as they called on the Legislature to pony up more money for clean water programs. But the Capitol rotunda press conference was not without a moment of levity, provided by Pennsylvania’s newest celebrity. “I also want to do […]

COMMENTARY

Pa. lawmakers should consider this Senate alternative to a nuke bailout | Opinion

BY: - May 2, 2019

While it’s true that nuclear generation doesn’t emit greenhouse gases, there are several important reasons why I feel this is the wrong way to go.

COMMENTARY

Is this the best way to regulate eScooters? | Wednesday Morning Coffee

BY: - May 1, 2019

You can't halt progress. But you can look silly on a scooter.

Top environmental official’s reconfirmation hearing delayed over pipeline concerns  

BY: - April 30, 2019

This story was updated on Tuesday, April 30 to include a statement from a DEP spokesperson. A state Senate committee postponed a planned confirmation hearing for one of Pennsylvania’s top environmental officials, after a bipartisan group of lawmakers raised concerns about his agency’s involvement in controversial gas pipeline project. The Senate Environmental Resources & Energy […]

Restore or reenergize? Turzai, House GOP offer plan for natural gas-based state economy

BY: - April 29, 2019

Preaching “jobs, jobs, jobs,” state House Speaker Mike Turzai and other House Republicans rolled out a package of bills Monday that they say will expand the manufacturing potential of the shale gas boom.

‘We can’t afford to wait,’ Wolf, lawmakers say as Pa. rolls out its plan to fight climate change

BY: - April 29, 2019

On Monday, Pennsylvania joined with 24 other states, with Republican and Democratic governors, to fight climate change

COMMENTARY

So about that fallout from the nukes bill | Editorial Cartoon

BY: - April 27, 2019

You'll find the mushroom cloud of anger over the ratepayers heads.

Rep. Thomas Mehaffie unveils his proposal for Pennsylvania's nuclear industry at an ironworkers' union hall in Harrisburg.

Fossil fuel industry group-backed poll finds Pennsylvanians uninformed about nuke proposal, skeptical when educated

BY: - April 26, 2019

A poll funded by a fossil fuel-boosting organization shows 77 percent of Pennsylvanians have heard little or nothing about a deal that would aid the state’s nuclear industry at the expense of consumers.  The poll was sponsored by the Secure Energy for America Association, which supports “fair policies and regulation of the coal and natural […]

Small businesses fear ‘huge’ electric bill increases under Pa.’s $500 million nuclear proposal

BY: - April 26, 2019

Sri Kumarasimgam owns Pastorante, an Italian restaurant in Harrisburg’s Midtown neighborhood just blocks from the state Capitol. Right now, the electric bill for his 2,000-square-foot eatery runs him about $500 to $600 a month. It’s a manageable expense. But Kumarasimgam could see his bill jump by more than $1,300 per year — about $110 per […]