Pennsylvania Legacies

An update on the expired – but not yet extinguished – Land and Water Conservation Fund, and a visit to the 2018 Industrial Heartland Trails Coalition Summit in Morgantown, WV.

As time runs out for the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, we hit the road to discover how LWCF funding has enhanced parks and public lands across the Commonwealth -- and why it's so urgently important for Congress to reauthorize the Fund before September 30.

Without congressional reauthorization, the Land and Water Conservation Fund will expire on September 30. What would that mean for Pennsylvania? And what can we do about it?

Pennsylvania is getting ready to tackle the next phase of the Chesapeake Bay cleanup, with a new emphasis on getting things done at the county level. But will it be enough to get us back on track after a disappointing EPA assessment? We'll get an update from Harry Campbell of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and take a ride on a historic railroad line that could become the setting for northeastern PA's newest trail system.

Pennsylvania's first-in-the-nation recycling law is 30 years old this summer. Act 101 helped launch a multibillion-dollar industry and trained a generation of Pennsylvanians to drop their bottles and cans in the blue bin. But changing market conditions and consumer behaviors have prompted calls for an overhaul to the 1988 legislation. Justin Stockdale of the Pennsylvania Resource Council is our guest.

Community gardens and CSAs make it easy for apartment-dwellers to access fresh, locally-grown produce. What if you could apply the same concept to sell homegrown electrons to utility customers? As lawmakers set the stage for community solar projects to move forward, PEC energy analyst Alissa Burger explains how the model could help transform the market for clean energy in Pennsylvania.

On this episode: how the Super Bowl LII Champion Philadelphia Eagles became the greenest team in pro sports, plus news from the Laurel Highlands Conservation Landscape.

A deep dive into Pennsylvania's new alternative utility ratemaking law, and a visit to the soon-to-reopen Climax Tunnel on Clarion County's Redbank Valley Trail.

The PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has received national recognition for the work of its Trails Advisory Committee. A conversation with committee chair Andy Hamilton, and news about DCNR's plans for confronting climate change, on this episode.

In these digital times, the paper industry isn't what it used to be. But one paper manufacturer in central PA is thriving under a business model that's all about reducing environmental impacts and finding innovative ways to stay viable. On this episode, the story of a mill town on the cutting edge of sustainability.

Technology is a powerful tool, but it's not enough to confront the most complex environmental challenges -- you also need foresight, strategy, cooperation, patience, and above all, leadership. Jared Cohon has exemplified all of these qualities and more during his years as an engineer, educator, researcher, and university president. As we prepare to recognize Dr. Cohon for Lifetime Achievement at the 2018 Western Pennsylvania Environmental Awards, a look back at his extraordinary career and lessons learned along the way. Also: in celebration of National Bike to Work Day, and of PEC's recent designation as a Bicycle Friendly Business, staffers talk about how and why they commute by bike.

An update on recent environmental legislation and other state government activity with PEC’s policy team, and a postcard from our recent Earth Day tree-planting event at Pinchot State Forest.

Pennsylvania looks for an on-ramp to the EV revolution, and Environmental Defense Fund launches a first-of-its kind initiative to track methane emissions from space.

This week marks a major milestone in one of PEC’s most important projects, as the William Penn Foundation (WPF) announces more than 40-million dollars in new funding for the Delaware River Watershed Initiative (DRWI). Launched in 2014, the DRWI is a wide-ranging conservation effort being undertaken by dozens of groups in four states to protect and restore clean water resources throughout the Delaware River watershed. We talk about DRWI’s next stage with WPF’s Andrew Johnson, and with PEC’s Susan Myerov and Patrick Starr.

The site of an archaeological dig in Lycoming County becomes a vibrant community park with help from the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund. Another success story to mark the Keystone Fund's 25th anniversary, and a chat with PEC's new Senior Policy Adviser for Energy & Climate, on this episode.

Nobody knows exactly how much methane is released each year by Pennsylvania's oil and gas industry. But a new Environmental Defense Fund analysis suggests actual emissions could be as high as five times the state's official estimate.

Author and advocate Richard Louv has been writing for years about the connection between human health and our relationship to the outdoors. He joins us with a preview of his upcoming Philadelphia appearance as part of Tookany-Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership’s “Nature Talks” lecture series.

A new art exhibition at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education invites visitors to consider how much of our awareness -- or lack of awareness -- about the landscapes we inhabit is shaped by names. The pieces in "Learn a River's Name" set out to formulate new terms and vocabularies for understanding watersheds, and for creating new bonds of stewardship between people and the land.

Since its inception in 1993, the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund has made possible the creation or improvement of thousands of community assets – everything from trails and green space to libraries and historic sites. In honor of the Keystone Fund's 25th anniversary, we're featuring testimonials from Pennsylvanians whose lives have been enriched through those investments.

Though they may look similar superficially, each of the suburban communities that make up Montgomery County has its own unique qualities… and its own challenges. But one thing they all have in common is a shared stake in the health of Wissahickon Creek. In part 3 of our series on the Wissahickon Clean Water Partnership, we focus on the stakeholders, and what's at stake for them individually, in conversation with Upper Dublin Township Manager Paul Leonard and Lower Gwynedd Township Supervisor Mark Grey.