Эпизоды
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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.
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Пропущенные эпизоды?
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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.
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As competing legislative priorities battled it out in the state budget endgame, one measure sailed through the House and Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support. The newly enacted Solar for Schools program leverages federal funding to cover up to 100% of installation costs for solar arrays at PA public schools -- delivering major cost savings for school districts, new educational opportunities for students, improved climate resiliency for communities, and reduced carbon emission for Pennsylvania. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler of Philadelphia, says this is only the beginning.
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Penn State Extension's Master Watershed Stewards program celebrated its tenth anniversary last year. PEC's Derek Maiolo, a member of the most recent cohort to complete MWS training, shares his experience in the program.
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A Susquehanna University professor is pioneering a new way to restore watersheds in Pennsylvania using old tricks from beavers. What can we learn from nature's engineers?
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Last month, PEC announced the recipients of the first round of Protect Your Drinking Water grants, funded by Aqua Pennsylvania. On this episode we'll learn about grantees' plans for projects to improve upstream water quality in the Chester, Ridley, and Crum Creek watersheds near Philadelphia.
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PEC staff are on retreat this week, so we're revisiting our June 2021 conversation with Amy Camp, author of "Deciding On Trails: 7 Practices of Healthy Trail Towns." Through her consultancy, Cycle Forward, Amy has successfully applied the Trail Town model she helped develop to communities like Kane, PA, winner of PEC's 2024 Trailblazing Community award.
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Gravel riding is the fastest-growing segment of cycling -- and with hundreds of miles of unpaved mountain roads and plenty to see and do along the way, northeast Pennsylvania is poised to become the next big gravel scene. We look at PEC's recent report on opportunities to grow the sport in NEPA, and meet some of the people working to build a regional culture around gravel.
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PEC staff joined partners and neighbors at 2024 Celebrate Trails Day events across the state last weekend. On this episode, we share trailside conversations and sounds from the Three Rivers Heritage Trail and Duck Hollow Trail in Pittsburgh; the Sheepskin Trail in Uniontown; and the Mon River Trail in Morgantown, WV.
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As a clean energy technology, hydrogen holds both promise and peril -- especially in terms of local impacts and public attitudes. With DoE-funded regional hydrogen hubs coming to Pennsylvania, how can we ensure community voices are heard and their needs are met? Researchers from the Energy Futures Initiative recently took the public's temperature and found people across the country broadly willing to engage on the subject. On this episode, we explore the social dimension of hydrogen hubs via a panel discussion at last month's gathering of the Southwest Pennsylvania Decarbonization Forum co-hosted by PEC.
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As Pennsylvania goes after hundreds of millions of Climate Pollution Reduction Grant dollars, a conversation with the architect of RISE-PA, the Department of Environmental Protection's plan to decarbonize heavy industry and other major sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the Commonwealth. Our guest, DEP's Louie Krak, is part of a special team within the Shapiro Administration tasked with making the most of unprecedented federal funding opportunities.
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Climate change threatens the survival of two thirds of all North American bird species. But the massive buildout of power transmission infrastructure needed to support a zero-carbon energy system also poses a threat to birds -- especially in Pennsylvania, which exports more electricity than any other state. How can we scale up the grid while minimizing impacts on our feathered friends? A new report from the National Audubon Society has answers.
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On this episode we get to know PEC's new president, Tom Gilbert, who started in January. A native Pennsylvanian, Tom has led successful campaigns for open space preservation and clean energy policy in New Jersey, where he served as co-Executive Director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation.
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Oil and gas producing states have two years to bring their regulations up to newly finalized EPA standards, including stricter inspection and repair requirements, to stop leaks and intentional release of climate-changing methane. Environmental Defense Fund's John Rutecki explains what the new rule will mean for Pennsylvania, the nation's second-largest producer of natural gas.
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Two of the seven proposals selected for federal funding to develop clean hydrogen "hubs" have a footprint in Pennsylvania. The state has several key components of hydrogen production already in place, including huge quantities of natural gas that can be processed into hydrogen needed to decarbonize key industries. But harvesting hydrogen from methane without releasing even more greenhouse gases is easier said than done -- and the alternative, water electrolysis, will require a gargantuan buildout of nuclear and renewable energy sources. What will it take to get hydrogen right in PA? Sam Bailey of Clean Air Task Force has answers.
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New legislation in Harrisburg would require the use of responsible outdoor lighting at state government facilities, something cities in Pennsylvania and across the country are already pursuing. A panel of Dark Sky advocates explains why limiting light pollution is needed to protect migratory birds, as well as its implications for human health, environmental justice, scientific research, and outdoor recreation in the Commonwealth.
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The Environmental Protection Agency's National Environmental Youth Advisory Council (NEYAC), launched in November of 2023, is EPA's first advisory committee comprised exclusively of teens and young adults. The idea came, in part, from a Pennsylvania high schooler. We talk with Grace Ziegmont of York County, who helped to pitch the idea last year at the White House.
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Throughout Pennsylvania's history, there's a throughline of progress on the environment and conservation that begins with the vision and hard work of dedicated people. In our final episode of 2023, outgoing president Davitt Woodwell reflects on his 30+ years at PEC with thoughts on working with partners, taking risks, and staying positive in the face of climate change.
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The Three Rivers Heritage Trail in Allegheny County extends more than 33 miles on both banks of the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers. The robust trail network has been decades in the making and would not have been possible without an equally robust network of people committed to trail work — including, perhaps most of all, Allegheny County's "trail czar," Darla Cravotta.
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