The Allegheny Front Environmental Podcast

Researchers are hoping a genetically modified American chestnut can help restore this giant to eastern forests. Others are opposed. Emergency planners in communities along the Mariner East pipeline say they've been left in the dark. A psychologist discusses how to cope with the anxiety of climate change. Plus news about radioactivity from gas wells. 

Why Trump keeps losing in court. How will the issue of fracking influence the 2020 election? A coal magnet who fought mine safety rules filed for black lung benefits. Allegheny County improves its handling of applications for air pollution permits. 

A rare bird, both male and female, is banded during fall migration. What a more conservative Supreme Court means for climate and environmental cases. How cities should prepare to welcome people escaping climate-related disasters. Plus, Ohio's complaint system for gas industry is 'impossible' to use.

Remembering the environmental legacy of RBG. Will massive wildfires finally convince the public climate change is real? Plus, one way to get office buildings to reduce their carbon footprints could be to make energy use public.  Proposed Ohio cracker plant to get ethane from Pa. driller. 

How realistic is a petrochemical boom in the Ohio Valley? Authors of "Appalachian Fall" say lessons from coal country can help what's ailing America. Groups challenge new federal air rules for ethane crackers. Plus, a study links air pollution and risk of stroke in heart patients. Pa. is a step closer to joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

How Appalachia reimagines itself, with an equitable, carbon neutral future. An Obama-era climate rule that Big Oil actually liked is gutted by the EPA. Why? Will a controversial cap-and-trade program reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Pennsylvania?

This Labor Day: Why a coalition of environmental groups and unions endorsed Joe Biden. Coal miners are suffering from an epidemic of Black Lung disease, COVID is making it worse. Federal judges throw out Pa.'s air rules for coal plants that address smog. Rare bipartisan support for community solar projects. 

What's better in a pandemic -- plastic or reusable bags? Farmworkers' jobs are becoming more dangerous from heat, coronavirus, and smoke from wildfires. Despite decreasing emissions, climate change is making air quality worse. "Bomb trains" get federal go-ahead.

The pandemic is delaying climate and environmental research at Penn State. Outdoor Afro works to connect Black people to nature, while one expert says nature groups need to do more to engage communities of color. Opening up the National Arctic Wildlife Refuge to drilling. 

Drilling mud from Mariner East pipeline construction gets into a state park lake. Why Pennsylvania's GOP-led legislature isn't acting on climate. EPA rolls back rule on methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas. Meanwhile, a TIME journalist says 2020 may be our last best chance to stop climate change. Landscaping with goats.

An alleged bribery scandal at the highest levels of Ohio politics produced a clean air bill that benefitted nuclear and coal plants over renewables. Plus, how important are environmental issues for voters as they head to the polls in November? And a one-of-a-kind prairie habitat in Pennsylvania is home to an endangered rattlesnake and a lot of wildflowers.

Following Pennsylvania shale gas to Scotland, where ethane is being made into plastic. We also delve into the Scottish fracking debate and how they're dealing with plastic pollution. News about a green stimulus plan for Pennsylvania and reimagining Appalachia with a clean, sustainable future for all. 

Changing bird names tied to racism and colonialism. What recent court rulings against major pipelines mean for 'energy dominance,' the environment and Indigenous rights. A trip to Ice Mountain where rare plants grow and cool air seeps out of ice vents deep in the rocks.

The race to save a plant so rare, few have ever seen it. Native plants can create habitat yard by yard. The combo of an invasive shrub and mice could be bad for future forests. News about the Ohio ethane cracker, tax breaks for natural gas and one of Trump’s biggest environmental rollbacks yet. 

Environmental health advocates weigh in on the grand jury report that says the state didn’t do enough to protect residents from the industry. Plus a court says the federal government needs to step up to regulate coke ovens. And climate activist Bill McKibben on why divesting from fossil fuels makes financial sense.