Opportunities to learn more about environmental and energy issues affecting Pennsylvania for students and adults--

Awards/Recognition

-- PA Resources Council Announces Winners Of 2023 Gene Capaldi Lens On Litter Photo Contest  [PaEN]

-- Beaver County Times: North Country Trail Assn. Volunteers Win National Awards

Help Wanted

-- EPA Region 3: 2024 Internship Opportunities

Upcoming Events

-- Warren Times: Audubon Nature Center First Friday Program Features Ralph B. Simpson, Birdwatcher, Collector On Dec. 1

-- Planet Philadelphia Radio Program: Dec. 1 - Efforts To Reduce Natural Gas Emissions: Lessons From Pennsylvania, 4:00 p.m.

Programs/Information

-- Post-Gazette - Salena Zito: Do You Believe In St. Nicholas? [Coal Miners Were Saved From A Mine Explosion In Westmoreland County That Killed 239 While Attending A Liturgy To St. Nicholas 116 Years Ago]  [PDF of Article]

-- Spotlight PA: PA Is Investing Millions To Ensure People Of All Backgrounds, Abilities Have Access To Public Lands

-- The Nature Conservancy-PA Adds 78 Acres To Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge In Monroe County  [PaEN]

-- WeConservePA: DCNR Video Of 2024 Grant Workshop

-- DEP Awards $19.3 Million In 2024 County Clean Water Action Plan Chesapeake Bay Implementation Grants  [PaEN] 

-- DEP: Clinton & York Counties In Drought Warning, Westmoreland Added To Drought Watch, 13 Counties Remain In Drought Watch  [PaEN]

-- TribLive: Drought Watch Declared In Westmoreland, Voluntary Water Conservation Continues

-- TribLive: Daycation Destination: Indiana, PA Is ‘Christmas Tree Capital Of The World

-- Shapiro Administration Kicks Off Christmas Trees For Troops Weekend, Urges Pennsylvanians To Donate A Tree For Service Members

-- WNEP: Tree Farm In Carbon County Donates Hundreds Of Trees For Troops

-- Tribune-Democrat: Mytrysak Family Tree Farm To Host Trees For Troops Event In Indiana County Dec. 2

-- Warren Times - Josh Cotton: US Forest Service Uses Beetles To Combat Hemlock Woolly Adelgid In Allegheny National Forest

-- WHYY: Arborists Encourage Homeowners To Prepare Their Trees For Winter

-- New Report Shows Positive Impact Of Soil Health Management Systems In Delaware River Watershed  [PaEN]

-- Warren, Erie, Crawford Counties Master Watershed Stewards Offering Info Sessions On Becoming Master Stewards; Spring Training Begins In March  [PaEN]

-- Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh Officials Work To Set Proper Funding Levels In Its Fight Against Landslides

-- Penn State Extension Home Garden News: Master Gardener Manual; Books For Young Gardeners; Winterizing Your Garden; Tree Tender Training; More!

-- Penn State Extension Woods & Wildlife News And Notes: Forest Health Snapshot; Forest Stream Origins; Woods In Your Backyard Series

-- Penn State Extension: Wildlife Conservation History In PA - Part I  [Video]

-- Penn State Extension: Wildlife Conservation History In PA - Part II [Video]

-- Williamsport Sun - Bill Bower: Reflections In Nature: Grapes Were One Of Earliest Plants Cultivated By Humans

-- WESA: PennDOT Urges Pennsylvanians To Prepare For Travel In Winter Weather

Public Participation

-- DEP Invites Participation In Last 2 Environmental Justice Policy Public Hearings Nov. 28, 30

-- DEP, Local Partners To Hold 5 Outreach Sessions For Input Into Priority Climate Action Plan Initiatives Starting Dec. 4  [PaEN]

-- DEP Hosts Dec. 4 Public Meeting On Priority Climate Action Steps In Clairton, Allegheny County

-- DEP Oil & Gas Advisory Board Meets Dec. 5 On Methane Reduction Program; Spill Policy; Chapter 78 Update; Certified Inspector Program; Injection Well Primacy  [PaEN]

-- DEP Hosts Dec. 6 Public Meeting On Priority Climate Action Steps In Williamsport, Lycoming County

-- DEP Invites Comments On Proposed CNX Midstream Project To Expose Natural Gas, Water Pipelines To Prevent Longwall Mining Damage In Washington County  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - December 2  [PaEN]

-- PUC Reminds Consumers Of Hearings On Proposed Conneaut Lake Park Water Rate Increases Dec. 7

-- US Army Corps Of Engineers Pittsburgh District To Hold Dec. 12 Public Meeting On Lower Monongahela River Project

-- Observer-Report: Lower Monongahela River Project Public Information Session Set For Dec. 12

-- DEP Sets Jan. 16 Hearing On East Penn Manufacturing Plant Air Quality Permit In Berks County  [PaEN]

Background On Issues

-- DEP- EQT Settlement Agreement Allows Fracking To Resume From 2 Shale Gas Well Pads In Area Impacted By Frack-Out In New Freeport, Greene County; Does Not Address Water Supply Issues Of Residents  [PaEN]

-- Beaver County Times: Ground Flares Burn Brighter As Shell Petrochemical Plant Reintroduces Ethane To Operation After Weeks Of Maintenance At Site

-- Chesapeake Bay Program: Chesapeake Bay Sees Its Smallest Dead Zone In 39 Years

-- Chesapeake Bay Foundation: Smaller Dead Zone Is Promising Sign, Major Challenges Lie Ahead

-- LancasterOnline: Nature Preserve, Environmental Center Form Lancaster City’s Vision For Sunnyside Peninsula 

-- Public Source: EPA Investigation Shows Failures At MAX Environmental Hazardous Waste Treatment Facility Amid Resident Fears In Westmoreland County [Includes Shale Gas Waste Disposal]

-- LebTown.com: Quittie Stream Restoration At 22nd Street Is Complete, But Won’t Look Ugly For Long

-- WESA: Pitt Study Identifies Pollutants In Streams Feeding Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers; Acid Mine Drainage, Sewage Overflows, Toxic Metals Adversely Impact Water Quality

-- Brodhead Watershed Assn.: Clean Water Is Up To You - Driveway Car Washing Sends Oil, Gas, Heavy Metals Into Our Rivers & Streams

-- WESA: Proposed EPA Rule Would Force Pittsburgh Water Utilities To Prevent Lead Contamination

-- Delaware RiverKeeper Dec. 1 RiverWatch Video Report

-- TribLive Letter: We Must Fight For Accessible Recycling - By May Torpey, Protect PT Sustainability Coordinator

-- Patch: Plastic Bag, Container Ban One Vote Away In Newtown Twp., Bucks County

-- Post-Gazette - John Hayes: Reproductive Anomaly Enables A Tick Species To Race Into Pennsylvania

-- PennLive: Invasive Ticks Fatally Swarm Livestock In Ohio Also Present In PA

-- TribLive Editorial: Lawmakers Should Pull Trigger On Hunting Bills

-- Brodhead Watershed Assn.: Nature At Risk - Restoring The Life Of The Forest

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Scientists Urge Pittsburgh-Base Alcoa To Stop Mining Bauxite In Australian Forest

-- PA Capital-Star: A Year After Winter Storm Elliot, Natural Gas-Fired, Other Power Plant Problems ‘Still Likely’ In Extreme Weather

-- PUC Again Reminds Consumers Of Dec. 1 Price Changes: Natural Gas (+149% to -64.2%); Electric (+18.8% to -25.7%)  [PaEN]

-- PA Capital-Star: Natural Gas, Electricity Price Changes Coming On Dec. 1, PUC Reports

-- Altoona Mirror: Logan Twp. United Fire Dept. Installs Solar Energy Array; Will Pay For Itself In 6 Years

-- Lancaster Farming Guest Essay: Utility-Scale Solar Is Coming, So Let’s Do It Right

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Gov. Shapiro Must Keep His Campaign Promise To Go 30% Solar By 2030 In PA - By PA Solar Center

-- PennTAP Offering 2 Funding Opportunities To Support Business Energy, Engineering Projects  [PaEN]

-- TribLive: Vandergrift-Area, Pittsburgh Companies Get Millions In Federal Funding For Clean Energy Expansion

-- WHYY/BillyPenn: New Heat Map Explores Potential Benefits Of Philly Tree Plan With Block-By-Block Detail

-- PennFuture, Clean Air Council, Sierra Club, Environmental Defense Fund File Appeal Of Commonwealth Court’s Ruling Refusing To Allow Them To Intervene In RGGI Carbon Pollution Reduction Case  [PaEN]

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Environmental Groups Join Shapiro On RGGI Appeal

-- Williamsport Sun Editorial: Governor’s Appeal Of RGGI Court Ruling Wrong, Agrees With Sen. Yaw’s Call For Responsible Natural Gas Production  [Yaw Said Bill To Reduce Health Impacts Of Gas Production ‘Stupid’ ]

-- Environmental Health News: Gov. Shapiro Directs Agencies To Draft New Regulations Improving Disclosure Of Fracking Chemicals

-- The Allegheny Front: Tour Of PA Natural Gas Fracking Sites Connects Activists From Appalachia And The Gulf Coast

-- PA Capital-Star Guest Essay: Time To Move On Natural Gas Development Safety Measures - By Molly Parzen, Conservation Voters Of PA

-- PA Manufacturers Assn. Opposes Bill To Reduce Natural Gas Infrastructure Threats To Public Health, Safety; Praises Sen. Yaw’s Position [Who Called The Bill ‘Stupid’]

-- TribLive Letter: Stop Fracking In Murrysville Parks - By Meredith Juchniewicz

-- TribLive Letter: Fracking Doesn’t Belong In Parks - By Jason Plank

-- PennLive Letter: Claims That Energy Plants Are Closing Prematurely Are False - By Russel Zerbo

-- Inquirer: Murals Across Philadelphia Raising Awareness About Global Sustainability Goals

-- EPA Finalizes Rule To Reduce Methane Emissions From Oil & Gas Infrastructure; DEP’s  Oil & Gas Methane Regulations 1 Year Old  [PaEN]

-- WESA/NPR: EPA Aims To Slash Oil & Gas Industry’s Climate-Warming Methane Pollution

-- The Guardian: US Outlines Measures To Cut Methane Emission From Oil & Gas Operations By 80% In Next 15 Years

-- Bloomberg: Just One Stranded Natural Gas LNG Tanker In Australia Could Cause Rise In Global LNG Prices

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Shale Gas Production Down Slightly In PA In 2022; Trending That Way In 2023

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: 2022 PA Natural Gas Produce Falls Slightly For First Time Since The Fracking Boom

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: EQT CEO Plans Unleash LNG 2.0 Plan For Next Year

-- Bloomberg: UK-Led Group To Deploy Ships To Baltic Sea After Natural Gas Pipeline Sabotage Damage

-- Financial Times: How One Ship By One Natural Gas Producer Is Supply 60% Of Israel’s Demand For Gas Guarded By 2 Israeli Warships

-- TribLive: Gasoline Prices Drop For 10th Week, But Could Rise If OPEC Cuts Oil Production, Analyst Says

-- The Guardian: US Oil & Gas Production Set To Break Record In 2023 Despite UN Climate Goals

-- Post-Gazette/Bloomberg: How Shell, Chevron Are Delaying US Efforts To Refill Its Emergency Oil Reserve

-- PA Capital-Star: Reliability v. Sustainability: Inside The Debate Over EPA’s Proposed Carbon Pollution Rules

-- Utility Dive: California City Lays Groundwork For Natural Gas System Decommissioning As Decarbonization Tool

-- The New Yorker: The Biggest Power Plant In Vermont Is A Network Of 4,500 Storage Batteries Storing Energy From Rooftop Solar

-- AP: 5 Reasons Why COP28, The UN Climate Talks, Are Worth Your Attention

-- AP: How Did Humans Get To The Brink Of Crashing Climate?  A Long Push For Progress, Energy To Fuel It

-- Financial Times: Pressure Mounts Ahead Of COP28 To Dump Fossil Fuels

-- AP: Climate Contradictions Key At UN Talks; Less Future Warming Projected, Yet There’s More Current Pain

Visit the PA Parks & Forests Foundation’s Events webpage and DCNR’s Calendar of Events for activities happening near you.

Visit DEP’s Teaching Green webpage to learn about more environmental education resources.

Visit the PA Environment Digest Calendar Of Events for more opportunities.

[Posted: December 3, 2023] 

12/4/2023