Energy & Environment
Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation gets middling marks from conservationists
When it comes to votes supporting the environment, Pennsylvania’s 18 U.S. representatives and its two senators were perfectly average, a new legislative report card has found. The 2018 votes tracked by The League of Conservation Voters, an environmental advocacy group, included the loosening of rules for invasive species, national forests and clean energy as well […]
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, e-scooters could be coming to a Pennsylvania city near you
A big city Democrat and a central Pennsylvania Republican are teaming up with a former Uber lobbyist to open Pennsylvania up to electric scooter-sharing companies like Lime. San Francisco-based Lime already has pilot programs lined up across the state. But under current law, electric scooters are considered motorcycles and can be impounded if used without […]
Winter weather swings could make potholes worse than usual, PennDOT says
If you thought Pennsylvania’s roads couldn’t get any worse, the state’s top transportation expert has bad news for you. Pennsylvania transportation Secretary Leslie Richards told the Senate Appropriations Committee Monday that her office is expecting a worse-than-usual season for potholes this spring due to extreme temperature fluctuations over the winter. Potholes form when asphalt expands […]
Pa. Health department wants $1.4 million for new staff to tackle PFAS contamination
The state Department of Health wants to hire new staff — including epidemiologists, chemists, and toxicologists — to start a new environmental health effort, according to Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine. Levine revealed the planned hires at a House Appropriations hearing Monday. The department is asking for $199 million for the fiscal year that begins […]
Federal judge tosses Pa. kids’ challenge to Trump’s climate change policies | Friday Morning Coffee
Justice is not only blind, it is occasionally cranky, too.
Pa. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, Michigan Dem push EPA to regulate PFAS in drinking water
U.S. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Dan Kildee, D-Mich., wrote for help to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y.
Bipartisan bill would expand access to solar energy in Pennsylvania
A bill backed by a diverse collection of lawmakers — from urban Democrats to rural Central Pennsylvania Republicans — would let homeowners buy into shared solar power projects far away from home. The legislation, HB 531, would allow people living in properties unfit for solar — because of shade, direction, or size — to purchase […]
Here’s what ‘Green New Deal’ advocates can learn from the 2009 stimulus | Opinion
An ambitious carbon tax could promote broad and deep economy-wide emission reductions today and the far-reaching innovation necessary to transform the energy foundation of the U.S. economy.
How many times are we going to bailout Three Mile Island? | Opinion
If consumers already paid to build Pennsylvania’s nuclear plants, and then paid off the debt on the nuclear plants, why does Three Mile Island need yet another bailout?
State lawmakers question Wolf admin’s plan to fund environmental agencies
Democratic and Republican lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee made the heads of Pennsylvania’s chief environmental agencies defend a controversial funding shift Thursday. In his 2019-20 budget, Gov. Tom Wolf proposed reducing general fund spending on the Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Conservation and Natural Resources by $62 million. The shortfall would be covered […]
Should lawmakers prop up Pennsylvania’s struggling nuclear industry? The debate, explained
When you turned on the lights in your house this morning, there’s a good chance the electricity came from a nuclear power plant. Nuclear energy has been Pennsylvania’s largest energy source for decades. But the industry says it’s struggling to maintain its foothold as energy demand flatlines and natural gas prices plummet. The issue Two […]
That’s ‘plant-based drink’ — not ‘milk’ — to you, freshman GOP U.S. Rep. John Joyce says
A seriously moo-ving debate.