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This week, demand for electricity is growing, largely from data centers. Meanwhile the Trump administration is making it harder to produce more renewable energy. Meta wants to purchase nuclear power from a power plant in western Pennsylvania. An Ohio commission approved another oil and gas lease under a state-owned wildlife area. Climate change might be causing native wildflowers to bloom earlier in Pennsylvania.

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This week, Inside Climate News tells us about their three-part investigation of solid fracking waste in Pennsylvania. We also look at the climate impacts of concrete, and talk with a couple that's taken their fascination with birds into the studio.

We have news about environmental groups objecting to an air quality permit for a natural gas plant at the site of the former coal plant in Homer City, Indiana County, and research shows that salt used for winter de-icing is being found in Pennsylvania waterways throughout the year.

We're independent and non-profit, and we don't get money from WESA, WPSU or any other radio station. So we must turn to you, our listeners, for support.

Take action today so we can continue to keep you informed.

Donate today.

Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203.

And thanks!

We're asking our listeners to become members with a donation of any size. Your membership will help us keep the lights on and the environmental news flowing.

We're independent and non-profit, and we don't get money from WESA, WPSU or any other radio station. So we must turn to you, our listeners, for support.

Take action today so we can continue to keep you informed.

Donate today.

Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203.

And thanks!

On this week's episode:

Some of our favorite stories from 2025 from across Pennsylvania: A nonprofit hopes to help landowners reclaim mineland in Appalachia by planting trees and selling carbon credits. The site of a recently retired coal plant in Indiana County is getting a new life – as a data center. What impact will this have on the electric grid, and the local community? River otters have made a comeback in Pennsylvania.

Trout in the Classroom participants said goodbye to their aquatic classmates. Students learn the power of farm to table. Proponents of sustainable clothing hope U.S. tariffs will persuade people to buy second hand.

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Become a member today. Our nonprofit newsroom is powered by our members. Now through December 31st, every donation up to $1,000 will be matched. One-time donations will be doubled and monthly donations matched 12 times. Another $1,000 will be unlocked if we gain 50 new members at any amount.

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Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203.

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On this week's show:

A former dairy farmer turned musician uses his story to get others in agriculture to talk about their feelings and find healing. And how a man has kept his appointment with the sunrise every morning, for years. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.

It's our end-of-year membership drive!

Become a member today. Our nonprofit newsroom is powered by our members. Now through December 31st, every donation up to $1,000 will be matched. One-time donations will be doubled and monthly donations matched 12 times. Another $1,000 will be unlocked if we gain 50 new members at any amount.

Donate today.

Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203.

And thanks!

On this week's show:

How nature-based learning inspires human creativity. Pennsylvania is among the states suing the Trump administration over funding for electric vehicle chargers. We head out into the wilds of Pennsylvania with the people who keep an eye on the state's bears. We speak with the author of a collection of stories where bears are recurring characters. The US Environmental Protection Agency heard testimony in Pittsburgh about proposed changes to the Clean Water Act. A controversial data center has the green light to move forward with construction at the site of a former coal-fired power plant in Allegheny County. Three Mile Island is at the center of the Trump administration's push for new nuclear energy projects to power the ongoing race to advance artificial intelligence. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.

It's our end-of-year membership drive!

Become a member today. Our nonprofit newsroom is powered by our members. Now through December 31st, every donation up to $1,000 will be matched. One-time donations will be doubled and monthly donations matched 12 times. Another $1,000 will be unlocked if we gain 50 new members at any amount.

Donate today.

Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203.

And thanks!

On this week's show:

A new nature preserve is dedicated to saving an ancient creature that lives in our region, the eastern hellbender salamander. The Trump administration is looking to scale back federal protections for endangered species and wetlands. It also announced plans to roll back fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks, citing affordability. Penn State students made a documentary about plans to build a new roadway that will impact agricultural land, and students presented projects at an annual environmental symposium at Westminster College. Chesapeake Bay officials elected Gov. Josh Shapiro to lead a regional agreement to help clean and restore the waterway. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.

It's our end-of-year membership drive!

Become a member today. Our nonprofit newsroom is powered by our members. Now through December 31st, every donation up to $1,000 will be matched. One-time donations will be doubled and monthly donations matched 12 times. Another $1,000 will be unlocked if we gain 50 new members at any amount.

Donate today.

Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203.

And thanks!

On this week's show:

Drilling for oil and gas creates waste that can contain heavy metals and radioactivity, and much of it is sent to the same landfills as our household trash. An investigation into how contamination from shale drilling waste can move from landfills into waterways without much oversight. Treating drinking water to prevent lead contamination might have the unintended consequence of higher phosphorus levels in urban waterways. Researchers are working to figure out the balance between how much carbon forests emit and how much they absorb.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has reached a $3.3 million agreement over decades-old contamination at a petroleum storage facility in Pittsburgh. U.S. Steel has agreed to pay a fine in a settlement with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for pollution in the Monongahela River. The Trump administration has reversed course again on a new air pollution rule for coke oven plants. Older adults who live in southcentral Pennsylvania have higher rates of melanoma skin cancer, according to a study by Penn State researchers. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.

It's our end-of-year membership drive!

Become a member today. Our nonprofit newsroom is powered by our members. Now through December 31st, every donation up to $1,000 will be matched. One-time donations will be doubled and monthly donations matched 12 times. Another $1,000 will be unlocked if we gain 50 new members at any amount.

Donate today.

Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203.

And thanks!

On this week's show:

An Allegheny County borough plans to vote next month on a plan to build a massive data center on the site of a former power plant. The U.S. has the largest collection of apples in the world – about 5,000 varieties. How cuttings from old apple tree varieties could have rare genes that fight off new threats to our food supply. A festival in central Pennsylvania celebrates the American chestnut while educating about its conservation struggles. Considering the sticker price of eggs, some in Pennsylvania are substituting other foods for eggs at breakfast. We head to a cabin in the woods to unplug.

Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.

It's our end-of-year membership drive!

Become a member today. Our nonprofit newsroom is powered by our members. Now through December 31st, every donation up to $1,000 will be matched. One-time donations will be doubled and monthly donations matched 12 times. Another $1,000 will be unlocked if we gain 50 new members at any amount.

Donate today.

Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203.

And thanks!

On this week's show:

The Ohio River Basin is poised for a multi-year ecological restoration after decades of industrial pollution, but only if Congress decides to fund it. Constellation Energy's project to restart a nuclear reactor at the former Three Mile Island plant in Dauphin County is getting a one billion dollar loan from the federal government. Allegheny County Council voted unanimously to approve a series of fee increases for facilities that produce air pollution. Ohio's Great Black Swamp might hold the key to reducing pollution in the Great Lakes. The first leg of a new trail system in Centre County, Pennsylvania, is ready for visitors. A percussionist from Brazil turns discarded objects into musical instruments.

Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.

It's our end-of-year membership drive!

Become a member today. Our nonprofit newsroom is powered by our members. Now through December 31st, every donation up to $1,000 will be matched. One-time donations will be doubled and monthly donations matched 12 times. Another $1,000 will be unlocked if we gain 50 new members at any amount.

Donate today.

Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203.

And thanks!

On this week's show:

The Trump administration is looking to boost coal production, and one company is planning to expand its coal mine in Western Pennsylvania. But some neighbors aren't on board. Energy efficiency tax credits that help the climate and people's budgets are expiring. But there's still a little time for consumers to act. The Pennsylvania budget deal meant getting rid of a major climate initiative. Environmentalists have filed a lawsuit to stop the expansion of a major natural gas pipeline system in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Fifty years ago, the pride of the Great Lakes, the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, sank with its crew.

Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.