The Allegheny Front

The Trump administration's policies couldn’t keep the largest privately-held coal company from bankruptcy. A new report details impacts from coal mining in Pa., while state park officials say they can't keep up with maintenance needs. Plus, living on a Lake Erie island.

A study shows thousands of lives saved from switching from coal to natural gas for power. Air quality in Pittsburgh and a settlement with U.S. Steel. A proposed EPA rule would limit the kinds of scientific studies used to create environmental and public health regulations. Our Good River series about the Ohio continues.

Some of our biggest stories of 2019: 40th anniversary of the partial meltdown at Three Mile Island and links to thyroid cancer; environmental investigations involving the fracking boom; and a court order not publish the details of an agreement between a gas driller and residents. Plus, PFAS contamination of drinking water.

Some of our best conservation stories of 2019: Surveying Pittsburgh rivers for a salamander important for an endangered mussel. Hope for bats devastated by white-nose syndrome. What we know about insect die-offs. Plus, friendship in birdwatching.

In Scotland, efforts to keep plastic produced from Pa. shale gas out of the ocean. Climate change means more rain in our region. Will aging infrastructure protect towns from flooding? The strip mining and flooding connection in a warming world. Hemp growers have high hopes of turning a profit...someday. 

Shell’s ethane cracker in Beaver County will produce tiny plastic pellets that can spill or escape the plant. Will the Ohio River be protected? RiverWise is embracing sustainability in Beaver County. Plus, there's a new plan to keep sewage overflows out of Pittsburgh's three rivers. A CMU study finds economic value from natural gas in the region, but also premature deaths.

American natural gas is exported to 35 countries, including Japan. But some Pennsylvanians have been forced to give up their land in the process. We talk with Obama's chief climate negotiator on the future of climate action and a longtime environmentalist on advice to the new generation solving the climate crisis. Arrests made in a security scheme along the troubled Mariner East Pipeline construction project.

From talking to kids about the uncertainty of a warming planet to educating ourselves about climate science, we hear from people grappling with the enormity of the climate crisis.

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One community along the Ohio River is using outdoor recreation to boost its economy, kicking off a new series about the wonder and worries of the Ohio River watershed. Plus, the fallout from Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto's announcement opposing more petrochemical plants in Pennsylvania. A Philly charter school didn't notify parents when high levels of lead where found in the school's water fountains. 

While fracking is banned in Scotland, fracked gas from Pennsylvania is imported there to make plastic. The FBI is investigating the Wolf administration for its role in permitting of the Mariner East pipeline. The Pa. AG says climate change is costing the state hundreds of millions of dollars. A report from the borderlands: how the wall will impact wildlife.