Episode for March 29, 2024: Lackawanna River, chemical recycling, solar
Release Date: 03/29/2024
Episode for July 26, 2024: Climate solutions, grassland birds and the PA prairie
The Allegheny Front
This week on The Allegheny Front, many of us are feeling the heat this summer, and climate change is fueling the soaring temperatures. A new book by climate scientist Rob Jackson tells the stories of people who are working to reduce climate-warming emissions in novel ways. Birds, like the bobolink, that need grassland habitat to nest are losing ground. What conservationists and farmers are doing about it. Plus, Pennsylvania is home to a prairie that is just now bursting with blooms.
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Episode for July 19, 2024: Mine cleanups, chemical recycling and synchronous fireflies
The Allegheny Front
This week, a stream polluted by an old coal mine at a former golf club is getting cleaned up thanks to a land trust and a new pot of federal money. Plus, we have news about why it's hard for states to access other federal mine reclamation money. We also talk with an author of a new report that says chemical recycling of plastics isn't all it's cracked up to be for the economy or the planet. We head to a festival celebrating a very special population of fireflies in Pennsylvania that flash in a pattern. We have news about Pa.'s budget, heat islands in Pa. cities, and a new dark sky park in the...
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Episode for July 12, 2024: Coal plant closure, downwind air pollution and hemlocks
The Allegheny Front
Just over a year ago, the largest coal-fired power plant in Pennsylvania closed. For some, it's been hard to accept. We'll visit Homer City to hear how it's going. A US Supreme Court decision to put a cross-state air pollution rule on hold could impact clean air in Pennsylvania. And, we tag along with a crew trying to save hemlock trees from an invasive pest. Plus a new report outlines ways to keep kids playing outside in the warmer months. As fossil fuel production has gone up in the U.S., greenhouse gas emissions have gone down as, except in the region that includes Pennsylvania. The miles...
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Episode for July 5, 2024: Trout streams, coyote myths and using the whole fish
The Allegheny Front
This week on The Allegheny Front, commercial fisheries in the Great Lakes hope to follow an example set in Iceland. It calls for using every part of the fish to increase the value of each one caught, while decreasing waste. And, central Pennsylvania is one of the best places for fly fishing, but there is a need to protect its prized streams from farm pollution. Plus, as coyotes move into cities, we have to face our myths about them.
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Episode for June 28, 2024
The Allegheny Front
The National Transportation Safety Board approved its investigative findings into last year’s train derailment in East Palestine. It issued recommendations on rail safety and emergency response, criticizing Norfolk Southern for keeping critical information away from responders. Former workers at an oil refinery in Philadelphia remember the fire and explosion five years ago that shuttered the plant. Plus, giant wood sculptures at a botanic garden help visitors understand the bees and other pollinators that live among us. We have news about pollution from gas stoves, another mishap at the...
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Episode for June 21, 2024
The Allegheny Front
This week, the first town in Allegheny County commits to creating a bird-friendly community as an official Bird Town. We also talk with a climate scientist about how this week’s heat wave is related to climate change. We have a preview of next week’s release of the final report of a federal investigation into last year’s Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, which will include insights into the decision to vent vinyl chloride from some of the railcars and burn it, which caused chemical contamination. We have news about toxic PFAS in school drinking water, concerns about a...
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Episode for June 14, 2024: A community fights for clean water, Black Birders Week, PFAS
The Allegheny Front
CNX plans to use methane from coal mines to make hydrogen and clean jet fuel. To pay for it, they want to use new clean energy tax credits. Inside a brewing fight over billions of dollars in hydrogen subsidies. Some residents of Greene County want answers from EQT and state regulators about why their well water is giving them rashes after showers. They blame an event two years ago for their dirty water. Plus, we talk with a family participating in Black Birders Week for the first time. We have news about a whistleblower’s claim against EPA’s East Palestine clean-up, PFAS in...
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Episode for June 7, 2024: Doctors take climate action, A community fights flooding
The Allegheny Front
This week, hospitals have a big carbon footprint. We report on how local medical professionals are fighting climate change. Some politicians and advocates are calling for a ban on the longtime practice of spreading drilling wastewater on dirt and gravel roads. We talk to a former DEP secretary who says this practice should remain illegal. Flooding can be devasting for communities. We look at what one Ohio River town is doing to prevent future disasters. Plus, the latest problem for the Mountain Valley Pipeline. We have news about how a new coke oven rule will impact the Clairton Coke Works, a...
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Episode for May 31,2024: Norfolk Southern settlement, pipeline concerns and helping mussels
The Allegheny Front
This week on The Allegheny Front, Norfolk Southern will invest $200 million in rail safety as part of a settlement with the federal government over last year's train derailment in East Palestine. Earlier this month, a controversial natural gas pipeline that will soon go online failed a crucial safety test. We speak with a reporter who is following the story. Some student entrepreneurs looked for alternatives to firefighting foam and equipment which commonly contain PFAS, those forever chemicals linked to increased cancer risk. We have news about federal money for cleaner school buses,...
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Episode for May 24, 2024: Native plants, invasive snails and the state of fireflies
The Allegheny Front
This week, we talk to entomologist and author Doug Tallamy, who wants people to landscape with native plants to feed bees and other pollinators. His goal is for half of the 40 million acres of lawn in the U.S. to be replanted with native species in what he calls the "Home Grown National Park." We'll also visit a special bog habitat in eastern Pennsylvania that was formed in the ice age. Plus, we join researchers at Presque Isle State Park who are looking for an invasive snail that has gained a foothold in Lake Erie. New research reveals how fireflies are faring in the eastern U.S. We have news...
info_outlineThe Lackawanna River in northeastern Pennsylvania was once polluted from mining and sewage. We profile the longtime leader of a conservation group who spearheaded its cleanup. Chemical recycling plants that turn plastic into fuels and other materials have been proposed in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. Why some residents worry about pollution and safety. Plus, a Penn State professor gives us the scoop on why the upcoming solar eclipse is such a big deal. A Pennsylvania college student is developing a new technology could save one million horseshoe crabs each year.
We have news about a federal grant to build the largest solar farm in Pennsylvania, why the West Virginia governor vetoed a bill expanding renewable energy, and why activists in Virginia think a fine for a major pipeline project is too small.