Pennsylvania Legacies

Pennsylvania could be the future site of a direct air capture (DAC) hub, according to a report from the Great Plains Institute. What potential does the technology hold, and why are some areas better candidates than others?

Perkiomen Valley School District is the first K-12 Public School in Pennsylvania with an accredited arboretum, and the only K-12 School in the world with two accredited arboretums: Lenape Arboretum and Muhlenberg Woods. They have opened opportunities for students to learn and connect not just with the outdoors, but with the Lenape people who inhabited the area before European settlers displaced them, significantly altering the landscape in the process. In this episode, we speak with two people involved with PV Woods to learn how the arboretums are restoring ecosystems and communities.

Not only will Pennsylvania's participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) reduce carbon emissions -- it will also bring down energy costs, saving consumers $1.5 billion, and leverage hundreds of millions more in federal funding for clean energy. In the second part of our series exploring the latest economic research on RGGI, we consider the surprising cost of NOT participating in the 12-state carbon market.

Governor Josh Shapiro says he wants to decarbonize power generation, but only if it can be done in a way that protects consumers and keeps Pennsylvanians employed in good jobs. Can the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) deliver on those priorities? A profusion of recently published economic research says 'yes.' In the first of a two-part series, the authors of a new study from Penn's Kleinman Center for Energy Policy explain how recent developments -- including Russia's invasion of Ukraine, passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, and new EPA enforcement actions -- have dramatically improved conditions for Pennsylvania's economic success under RGGI.

2023 is an auspicious year for the Endless Mountains Heritage Region. Not only is the organization celebrating its 25th anniversary, they're also the sponsor of this year's Pennsylvania River of the Year, the North Branch Susquehanna. In the wake of a successful River of the Year Sojourn earlier this month, we talk with Executive Director Cain Chamberlain about EMHR's work on both water and land.

With the days getting warmer and summer just around the bend, it’s the perfect time to get out on the water. Paddling in Pennsylvania has grown in popularity, owing in large part to conservation efforts that have rehabilitated many of the state’s waterways. We believe that the more people who get on the water, the more they will want to keep it clean for generations to come. To get a rundown of the opportunities to paddle and to take advantage of grant programs aimed at improving access, we talked with Tali MacArthur, PEC's Program Manager for Watershed Outreach, whose chief responsibility is to advance the mission of the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers, or POWR.

Coniferous trees once figured prominently in the makeup of Penn's Woods, but their populations never fully recovered from the deforestation of the nineteenth century. Now Pennsylvania's conifers face a new threat: invasive competitors and pests, warmer and wetter weather, and other disruptions linked to climate change. We explore an evergreen topic with Joe Stavish of Tree Pittsburgh in advance of the group's upcoming Conifer Symposium on June 14.

Of America's ten most endangered waterways, as ranked by the group American Rivers, two can be found in Pennsylvania. While the problems they face are very different, the Ohio and Lehigh rivers both illustrate how intimately connected water issues are with human activity and a changing climate -- not just in the northeastern U.S., but nationwide.

The Pennsylvania Wilds is in the midst of an economic revival based on nature and outdoor recreation, but local leaders and residents worry their success could be undone by military jets flying at very low altitudes over protected public lands. With public comment now being accepted, we look at concerns about the Maryland Air National Guard's plans to expand training operations over one of Pennsylvania's wildest areas.

When people vote to raise their own taxes to fund conservation programs, it's noteworthy. When it happens in a deeply conservative rural community, it's unusual. But when the proposal passes by a four-to-one margin, it's a mandate -- and then some. How did the campaign for Carbon County's open space initiative achieve such a blowout? And could other Sixth Class PA counties do the same? Organizer Dennis DeMara has answers.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 will deliver unprecedented federal funding for alternative transportation by way of the Carbon Reduction Program. What might that mean for southeastern PA's Circuit Trails initiative? We discuss with Matthew Edmonds of the Montgomery County Planning Commission.

Oil and gas companies pay the U.S. government for the opportunity to drill on public lands, but they only pay royalties on natural gas that's captured and sold. When it's not worth the trouble of bringing it to market, companies either flare off surplus methane or simply release it into the atmosphere, where its near-term climate impact is worse than carbon dioxide's. A new Environmental Defense Fund report documents the amount of gas being wasted as well as the cost to taxpayers, consumers, and the environment.

Pennsylvania's state legislature is divided for the first time in more than a decade, and its new Democratic governor is looking for common ground to govern with bipartisan support. One of his Republican predecessors found that common ground in the environment. On the eve of what could be an especially contentious legislative session, we revisit our 2020 conversation with former governor Tom Ridge.

Could Pennsylvania's underground rock formations become a reservoir for captured greenhouse gas emissions? With a newly funded soil sample storage facility on the way, the Pennsylvania Geological Survey is in a better position to find out. We chat with Assistant State Geologist Kristin Carter.

2023 is already shaping up to be a big year for environmental policy and legislation, especially around matters of energy and climate. We review the agenda with PEC's Senior VP for Legal and Government Affairs, John Walliser.

Pennsylvania's landscape is riddled with abandoned oil and gas wells that were never properly shut down and sealed up, including hundreds of thousands for which the responsible parties can't be identified, or no longer exist. Between inadequate bonding requirements for operators and a chronically underfunded remediation program, DEP is fighting an uphill battle. But private well-plugging efforts like the Well Done Foundation are stepping up to help meet the need. As founder Curtis Shuck explains, they're also exploring innovative ways to finance the work.

The Philly Bike Expo isn't just the largest independent bike show on the east coast -- it's one of the most unique events of its kind anywhere. Director Bina Bilenky explains how what began as a celebration of quirky and inventive design has grown into a hub for organizing and building stronger, more inclusive cycling communities.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission voted unanimously last month to study how electric utilities will meet the demand when Pennsylvania drivers transition to electric vehicles. Commissioners were responding to a petition brought by ChargEVC, a coalition focused on advancing transportation electrification throughout Pennsylvania. We discuss the issue with Pam Frank of Gabel Associates, who represents ChargEVC.

Starting this month, Pennsylvania counties can apply for more than $120 million in new funding from the state’s Whole Home Repairs Program. In addition to fixing up older properties, grants to income-eligible homeowners may unlock other opportunities for funding energy-efficiency upgrades, cutting into a major source of carbon emissions in the Commonwealth. Jeaneen Zappa of the Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance and Elizabeth Marx of the Pennsylvania Utility Law Project explain why the program impacts more than just housing.

The Perkiomen Creek is the newest member of the Pennsylvania Water Trail Partnership. We talked to Ryan Beltz, Executive Director of the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy, about the process of becoming an official water trail and the Conservancy’s other education and conservation efforts within the Perkiomen watershed.