Energy & Environment
Senators decry Trump White House’s ‘lack of urgency’ on PFAS contamination
Senators from Pennsylvania's neighboring states expressed their concerns during a hearing Thursday.
Poll: Pennsylvania voters strongly support nuclear energy as Legislature debates bailout
Lawmakers may be skeptical about a plan to keep the state’s nuclear power plants afloat, but a new poll has found it has broad public support despite its anticipated cost to consumers.
Self-described climate contrarian tells Pa. House committee global warming alarm is overblown
Gregory Wrightstone’s testimony on what he called climate myths Wednesday ended up drawing a chuckle from a vampire, fairy, and other mythical creatures who gathered to protest a self-described climate contrarian’s take on the global warming. Wrightstone, a geologist and self-published author with ties to the natural gas industry, was invited to speak to the […]
Three Mile Island at 40: ‘We were told a nuclear accident was as likely as a meteor falling from the sky’
With the 40th anniversary this week of America's worst nuclear accident, survivors and experts discuss its legacy - and the ongoing public policy challenges it poses.
Natural gas industry consultant to ‘debunk’ climate change consensus in House testimony
A Pittsburgh geologist who consults for the natural gas industry, published a book casting aspersions on the scientific consensus around climate change, and who serves on a board for a climate denialist think tank will speak to members of a House committee Wednesday. Environmental Resources & Energy Committee Chair Daryl Metcalfe invited Gregory Wrightstone to “present […]
Three Mile Island, 40 years later: It was Gov. Dick Thornburgh’s defining moment – and his legacy | Opinion
Forty years later, while we look back on Thornburgh’s performance with pride and reassurance, we are again confronted with questions about the future of the nuclear industry.
Should Pennsylvania invest money in organic agriculture? Some lawmakers aren’t so sure
A proposal to spend $1.6 million to help conventional farms convert to organic production methods drew criticism Wednesday from state lawmakers, who said it could pit the commonwealth’s farmers against one another.
Pennsylvania’s new Pipeline Caucus wants stronger regulation of Mariner East II
Dozens of people rallied in the state Capitol rotunda Tuesday for stronger regulation of the Mariner East II pipeline, which transports natural gas across 17 counties in southern Pennsylvania. The event also served as the debut for the General Assembly’s Pipeline Caucus, a bipartisan group of lawmakers trying to advance a package of bills that […]
‘Bad public policy and an unfair burden:’ Electric utility PPL warns that nuke bailout will cost customers $130M a year
*This story was updated on Thursday afternoon with new comments from a PPL spokesman. The nuclear industry bill introduced in the Republican-controlled state House this week can count one more member on its long list of critics: Central Pennsylvania’s main power supplier. Pennsylvania Power and Light (PPL), a utility company headquartered in Allentown, told customers […]
Wolf joins bipartisan group of Midwestern governors resisting Trump’s Great Lakes cuts
"This is a risk we simply can’t afford to take."
‘A slap in the face’: Environmentalists slam Trump’s proposal to slash Chesapeake Bay cleanup funds
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday issued his latest proposal to dramatically scale back the funding for Chesapeake Bay cleanup programs. In his fiscal 2020 budget request, Trump suggested cutting federal spending for the Chesapeake Bay Program from its current level of $73 million to $7.3 million. The answer from the activists at the […]
Pa. lawmakers are skeptical of a proposed nuclear rescue. Could more solar panels and wind turbines get the job done?
The plan by Rep. Thomas Mehaffie, R-Dauphin, would add the nuclear industry into the state’s existing alternative energy portfolio.