The Allegheny Front

Never miss a story:  Sign up for our newsletter! How a Bedford County community benefitted when two dams were removed. A court rules in favor of a stricter ambient air pollution standard to protect public health. Republican gubernatorial candidate Stacy Garrity was in Western Pennsylvania to discuss data centers and criticize Governor Josh Shapiro. An artist provides tips for finding colorful beac...

Never miss a story:  Sign up for our newsletter! As our nation celebrates its founding, we're looking at where the environment and history meet. This summer 70 paddlers in kayaks and canoes took a trip down the Delaware River, including the spot where Washington crossed in 1776. A group of Pennsylvania residents is working to revive the colonial practice of growing flax one square yard at a time....

Never miss a story:  Sign up for our newsletter! When the Army Corps of Engineers removed a dam on the Monongahela River a couple of years ago, the water level dropped more than some businesses expected. Researchers are working on buoys that combat harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie by releasing an algaecide. Council members in a Jefferson County borough are putting a nearly six-month pause on data...

Never miss a story:  Sign up for our newsletter! Opposition to data center development has been growing in Pennsylvania. We hear from an investigative reporter on Governor Shapiro's office offer to streamline the permitting process for Amazon. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is accepting public comment on a proposed water pollution permit for a coal mine planned in western...

Never miss a story: Sign up for our newsletter! This week, we look at the life and legacy of Henry David Thoreau, who has been called the godfather of the environmental movement. We interview the directors of a new Ken Burns documentary about Thoreau, his evolution as a thinker, philosopher of the natural world and abolitionist.   Affordable solar power could be coming to a balcony near you. That...

Never miss a story: Sign up for our newsletter! In this special bonus episode, we're talking with the co-directors of the new Ken Burns documentary, Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau has been called the patron saint of early environmental thought in the U.S., from his transcendentalist writings of the mid-19th century to his decision to live a secluded life at a cabin on Walden Pond in Massachusetts. ...

Never miss a story: Sign up for our newsletter! Passenger pigeons were once the most abundant bird in North America. But in 1914, they went extinct. Most of their last nesting grounds hugged the Great Lakes. What was it like to experience these birds? And what are we left with when we lose a species? This special episode is from Points North, a podcast about the land, water, and inhabitants of the...

Sign up for our newsletter! On this week's episode:   Pollution from the Pittsburgh airport has found its way into a nearby stream. Scientists are looking into how PFAS forever chemicals got there and what happens next. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would give Pennsylvania nearly $40 million to address PFAS contamination in drinking water; at the same time the agency a...

Sign up for our newsletter! On this week's episode:   This week, a special show of award-winning and recognized stories. What advocates and residents who live near U.S. Steel plants are saying about the Trump administration's policies on the pollution drifting into their communities. A nature preserve is dedicated to saving an ancient creature that lives in our region: the hellbender salamander. T...

Sign up for our newsletter! On this week's episode:   The U.S. Forest Service is planning a massive overhaul that includes closing research stations in Pennsylvania. What's at stake? Some residents and environmental groups oppose the Pennsylvania Turnpike's proposal to reroute the highway over wildlife habitat. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are turning food waste like egg shells an...

Sign up for our newsletter! On this week's episode:   A new online tool calculates how much Pennsylvanians could save by switching from a gas-powered car to an EV. As Trump administration policies are impacting funding for scientists, some are choosing to move overseas. Pennsylvania is getting a federal grant to install a geothermal project at an existing natural gas site. Pennsylvania's utility r...

Sign up for our newsletter! On this week's episode:   Coke from U.S. Steel near Pittsburgh fuels the company's steelmaking in Indiana. But there's a movement afoot to make greener steel without coal. The heavy industry along Lake Michigan's shore is impacting the surfing culture there. An environmental group issued a 'notice of intent to sue' the Neville Chemical Company for polluting the Ohio Riv...

Sign up for our newsletter! On this week's episode:   Gov. Josh Shapiro announced two Western Pennsylvania coal-fired power plants will push back their retirement dates by at least four more years. Ohio residents worry about more fracking planned for a remote natural area, becuase of their own experiences with the industry. Native hawthorn trees provide useful habitat to a carnivorous singbird spe...

Sign up for our newsletter! On this week's episode:   At family-friendly event in the Laurel Highlands climate change communication tools were used to engage the public about the issue and what they can do. The Pennsylvania state House has approved two bills to regulate data center development. An energy company is seeking the right of eminent domain to build a high-voltage power line in southwest...

Sign up for our newsletter! On this week's episode:   An environmental engineer is starting a new act as a storyteller and educator for local waterways. A state legislator in Ohio wants to bring back the state's elk. We take a peak into the springtime mating dance of the elusive American woodcock.   The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection held a public hearing to gather comments ab...

Sign up for our newsletter! On this week's episode:   The fast pace of data center development has caught many communities off guard. Environmental organizers are trying to help them find their voices. A study released in February finds that energy generated in Pennsylvania will be used for data centers out of state. US Steel's new owner scored near the bottom in a climate ranking for steel compan...

Sign up for our newsletter! On this week's episode:   Pennsylvania regulators are deciding whether to give Shell's ethane cracker a new air pollution permit. Some residents say the plant is making the air there worse. An environmental group wants a moratorium on data center development in the state until stricter laws can be passed. A recently proposed settlement in a central Pennsylvania electric...

Sign up for our newsletter! 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 wo...

Sign up for our newsletter! 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...

Sign up for our newsletter! 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 spe...

Sign up for our newsletter! 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 resi...

Sign up for our newsletter! 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...

Sign up for our newsletter! 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...

Sign up for our newsletter! 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 settleme...

Sign up for our newsletter! 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....