Episode for November 28, 2025: Apples, chestnuts and eggs
Release Date: 11/25/2025
Episode for March 20, 2026: Climate and the food system
The Allegheny Front
On this week's episode: According to a new study by state regulators water that runs off of landfills which take fracking waste doesn't pose a threat to the public. Severe storms or drought caused by climate change affect not only farmers but many others in the local food system, like rstaurants. Rock hunting gives a woman in addiction recovery a new way to see the world. The Allegheny County board of health is looking at how it can reduce the impacts of fracking. A group of Pittsburgh high school students is raising money to plug abandoned oil and gas wells. We’re independent...
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Episode for March 13, 2026: Women in farming & climate prep
The Allegheny Front
On this week's episode: A new initiative called Prepare PA is gearing up to help Pennsylvanians face the big challenges of the climate crisis, like more extreme weather and flooding. And 2026 is the International Year of the Woman Farmer. Women farmers in Pennsylvania talk about the growing diversity in agriculture. A sustainable farming group had a $59 million federal contract reinstated after the federal government tried to claw it back last year. A state House committee is advancing measures meant to protect Pennsylvanians from negative effects of new data centers. The Allegheny Land...
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Episode for March 6, 2026: A colonial invasive species and youth climate action
The Allegheny Front
On this week's episode: Young people in Pittsburgh are practicing climate action close to home. An oil and gas company let over a million gallons of drilling fluid escape underground into an abandoned mine during pipeline construction in Washington County. Pennsylvania agencies are teaming up with a nonprofit to study ways to modernize the electric grid. An invasive species came to North America just when the United States was forming. Why Thomas Jefferson was obsessed with the Hessian fly. We’re independent and non-profit, and we don’t get money from WESA, WPSU or any other radio...
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Episode for February 27, 2026: A fight for clean drinking water
The Allegheny Front
On this week's episode: Safe drinking water is not a reality for many Americans. Residents of an Ohio town say their water tastes and smells bad, and leaves an oily sheen. But regulators say it's safe. Monarch butterflies and other species are waiting for official listing as the Fish and Wildlife Service makes changes to the Endangered Species Act. In towns where residents oppose building big data centers, zoning has become a way to control the narrative. The Trump administration announced it would rollback a Biden-era rule on power plant emissions of mercury, a neurotoxin that...
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Episode for February 20, 2026: Avian flu surge
The Allegheny Front
On this week's episode: How last year's fatal blast at the Clairton Coke Works has impacted the community there. A new study shows how many deaths can be attributed to air pollution in the Pittsburgh region. Opposition to data centers is growing as dozens of the facilities are proposed for the region and they could impact the water supply. State agriculture officials are trying to stem a spike in avian flu cases among Pennsylvania poultry flocks. Ski ballet is no longer an Olympic sport, but it's an art still being practiced on the slopes. We’re independent and non-profit, and...
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Episode for February 13, 2026: Forever chemicals from the airport
The Allegheny Front
On this week's episode: How the Trump adminstration's move to rescind the the scientific basis for regulating greenhouse gases could impact states' climate initiatives. High levels of PFAS, known as forever chemicals, are being released into streams surrounding the Pittsburgh Internatiuonal Airport. The Conestoga in Lancaster County is Pennsylvania’s River of the Year. The environmental watchdog group Three Rivers Waterkeeper intends to sue U.S. Steel over an oily sheen on the Monongahela River. State lawmakers are hoping to strengthen energy efficiency standards for...
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Episode for February 6, 2026: Where is the compensation for East Palestine residents?
The Allegheny Front
On this week's episode: Council members in an Ohio town were concerned when a company planned to store fracking wastewater deep underground near their source of drinking water. The industry says stopping the operation would be government overreach. Why some impacted by the East Palestine train derailment still haven’t been compensated almost two years after a settlement with the railway company. A new symptom tracker for East Palestine residents is helping researchers document health changes stemming from the derailment. Federal regulators will no longer consider the economic costs...
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Episode for January 30, 2026: Latest health research after East Palestine derailment
The Allegheny Front
This week, numerous health studies are ongoing following the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio 3 years ago. When conventional oil and gas operators in Ohio started seeing fracking wastewater come up through their wells, they knew there was a bigger problem. January is national Radon Action Month, and that means it's time to test your home for the radioactive gas. There is a relationship between heavy snowfall and global warming. The Nature Conservancy is working to help species adapt to climate change by acquiring land to serve as a critical rest stop for increasingly rare,...
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Episode for January 23, 2026: Eastern wildfire, fracking waste and environmental news coverage
The Allegheny Front
This week, a new project will take on studying the risks of wildfire in Eastern states. Residents of an eastern Ohio town have concerns about fracking wastewater fouling their own water supply. As the Pittsburgh newspaper of record announces its closure, former employees look back and ahead at environmental coverage in the region. Pennsylvania lawmakers and consumer advocates blamed new data centers for rising home energy prices at policy hearing in the state Capitol. Researchers are trying to find new ways to remove microplastics and PFAS chemicals from drinking water. The arguments for...
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Episode for January 16, 2026: Powering data centers
The Allegheny Front
This week, demand for electricity is growing, largely from data centers. Meanwhile the Trump administration is making it harder to produce more renewable energy. Meta wants to purchase nuclear power from a power plant in western Pennsylvania. An Ohio commission approved another oil and gas lease under a state-owned wildlife area. Climate change might be causing native wildflowers to bloom earlier in Pennsylvania. We’re independent and non-profit, and we don’t get money from WESA, WPSU or any other radio station. So we must turn to you, our listeners, for support. Take action today so we...
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On this week's show:
An Allegheny County borough plans to vote next month on a plan to build a massive data center on the site of a former power plant. The U.S. has the largest collection of apples in the world – about 5,000 varieties. How cuttings from old apple tree varieties could have rare genes that fight off new threats to our food supply. A festival in central Pennsylvania celebrates the American chestnut while educating about its conservation struggles. Considering the sticker price of eggs, some in Pennsylvania are substituting other foods for eggs at breakfast. We head to a cabin in the woods to unplug.