Allegheny Front

06/20/2025

Listen to our latest podcast episode:
https://www.alleghenyfront.org/episode-for-june-20-2025/

A plan to clean up the Ohio River goes public.

Are President Trump and Congressional Republicans going to tank America’s EV industry before it can get off the ground?

An effort to make buildings in Pittsburgh more efficient meets a milestone.

Land in Somerset County, part of a critical ecosystem, has been protected through a recent land acquisition.

Water utilities are under another federal deadline to replace lead service lines, and the difficulties in removing PFAS chemicals from public drinking water.

Nippon Steel is buying US Steel for $15 billion.

06/16/2025

A new mine expansion in Donegal, Westmoreland County, has neighbors worried about more subsidence causing damage to their houses and well water. The expansion will go under the Pennsylvania Turnpike. https://www.alleghenyfront.org/donegal-pennsylvania-coal-mine-expansion-rustic-ridge-well-water/

06/06/2025

DEP said benzene and another hazardous air pollutant could have been released during an explosion at Shell’s ethane cracker Wednesday afternoon. Shell is expected to calculate the amount of these emissions, if any, and report its findings to the agency.

https://www.alleghenyfront.org/shell-beaver-county-ethane-cracker-explosion-smoke/

05/28/2025

A roughly 100-person team at a NIOSH facility in Allegheny County are set to lose their jobs in June. They study the best ways to prevent injuries, illnesses and death in coal mines.

About 100 people who study ways to prevent injuries, illnesses and death in coal mines are set to lose their jobs in June.

05/19/2025

Lake Pleasant in northwestern Pennsylvania was created more than 15-thousand years ago when a glacier retreated and is home to rare plants and birds like osprey. Now a team is working to reforest an area owned by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy that was once mined, as part of an effort to restore hundreds of acres of mine land across the region.

The 100-acre site in Erie County is being reforested through a partnership between the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and the nonprofit Bosland Growth.

05/19/2025

The new Outdoor Discovery Space and Sensory Nature Trail encompasses three acres of land directly next to the Frick Environmental Center and a quarter-mile paved loop trail. Along the trail, sensory stations like a pebble harp and whisper tubes allow visitors to experience nature through a variety of senses.

“So you’re more than just welcome in our space - you’re wanted in this space," said Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy president and CEO Catherine Qureshi.

With its new trail and discovery space in Frick Park, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy aims to create an inclusive outdoor experience.

05/09/2025

Landforce and its partners planned to expand their workforce development efforts in landscaping and upcycling wood waste. Now their funding is gone.

05/06/2025

An Ohio oil and gas commission approved new acreage for fracking in one wildlife area, and delayed action on thousands of additional acres. Then police physically prevented a reporter from talking with the commission chair.

A state commission approved fracking in one wildlife area and delayed action on thousands more acres. Then, police physically barred a reporter from asking questions.

05/05/2025

Changes that drove Philly’s emissions reductions in 2022 include the electric grid’s shift from coal to natural gas, the pandemic and the closure of a refinery.

One of the many changes that drove Philly’s emissions reductions in 2022 was the electric grid’s shift from coal to natural gas.

05/03/2025

When a black bear woke up from hibernation in the middle of winter and attacked three people and a dog, researchers were left with one question: Why?

Listen to this podcast episode from Points North.

When a black bear woke up from hibernation in the middle of winter and attacked three people and a dog, researchers were left with one question: Why?

05/02/2025

A bill before Congress seeks to make changes to the Endangered Species Act that environmentalists say would weaken its protections. We talk with Defenders of Wildlife Defenders of Wildlife on its implications for wildlife protections.

A bill before Congress seeks to make changes to the Endangered Species Act that environmentalists say would weaken its protections.

04/24/2025

Through Pennsylvania Trout in the Classroom, teachers and students raise trout to learn about not only the life cycle, but also coldwater conservation.

“It makes me know, understand, that they just become, they start so little and then eventually they actually do this big effect on our ecosystem,” said Ariana, a fourth grader in Lackawanna County.

Through Pennsylvania Trout in the Classroom, teachers and students raise trout to learn about not only the life cycle, but also coldwater conservation.