On today's special holiday-themed episode, we dig into some of the holiday season's evergreen questions with a Pennsylvania Christmas tree expert, such as what's better for the environment — a real or a fake tree? We also discuss the local Christmas tree industry, its threat under climate change, and efforts to develop climate-resilient conifers that could, quite literally, save the future of Christmas.

As living ecosystems that can sequester carbon and use it to feed a hungry planet, farms have an important role to play in the fight against climate change. Emerging sensor technologies originally developed for healthcare applications hold the promise of equipping farmers with robust realtime data on the health of their soil.

In Pennsylvania and beyond, the food industry's economic importance is rivaled only by its environmental and climate impacts. Pittsburgh-based Chef Christopher Galarza has made it his mission to green up the food system by building more energy-efficient commercial kitchens, promoting environmentally friendly and community-supporting food production, and educating restauranteurs and their customers about why culinary sustainability matters.

Building collisions kill more than a billion birds each year in the U.S. and Canada. A product-testing program at Powdermill Avian Research Center in southwestern PA is helping manufacturers make windows more visible and less hazardous to birds, but what will it take to implement bird-safe design throughout the built environment?

Leaders and experts from across the country gathered in Pittsburgh to discuss the potential for outdoor recreation to grow rural economies. What can Pennsylvania learn about their challenges and successes?

For the first time since its 2019 launch, this year the PEC Public Lands Ride was a sold-out event. PEC's Derek Maiolo joins 150+ happy cyclists on the trails and gravel backroads of Black Moshannon State Park and Moshannon State Forest.

The outdoor industry employs thousands of Pennsylvanians in bike shops, outfitters and retailers, hospitality services, and even manufacturing. It also produces niche products like maps, guides, and information resources to help users make the most of their outdoor experience. We talk with Mike Hermann of State College-based Purple Lizard Maps, PA's homegrown publisher of beautiful and rugged maps geared for outdoor recreationists.

The Great Rivers Greenway is advancing its mission to make the St. Louis region more vibrant by developing a network of trails and greenways. We learned all about it from our hosts at this year's Collaboration of Regional Trail Initiatives. PEC played an instrumental role in launching CRTI several years ago on the premise that trail professionals around the country can learn a lot from one another and can be more effective in their missions by coordinating efforts.

In that spirit, we speak with some of the people behind the Great Rivers Greenway to understand how the successes and lessons learned can inform other trail projects.

Pittsburgh’s bike share organization launched a new adaptive rental program this summer to provide riders of various cognitive and physical abilities the chance to enjoy local trails. We speak with the people behind POGOH to learn more about the program and bike share in Pittsburgh.

Landslides are occurring more frequently in Pennsylvania, and projected increases in the frequency and severity of rain events will only compound the problem. But vulnerable property owners can’t get landslide insurance because commercial insurers don’t offer it. A state-run program proposed by two state representatives from western PA would provide not only coverage, but also resources to help communities prevent and mitigate problems. We speak with the bipartisan team behind the bill, Rep. Valerie Gaydos and Rep. Emily Kinkead of Allegheny County.