Environment & Outdoors
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Media Borough Takes on Active Role to Protect Native Bees
Welcome to Bee City, USA, known to the locals as Media Borough. The county seat is now an official Bee City, writes Kenny Cooper for WHYY. On June 2, it joined forces with 300 towns, cities and college campuses to protect native bee species through the Bee City USA initiative. The initiative comes from the…
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A ‘Growing Waste Crisis’ in PA Calls for Recycling Overhaul
Environmental advocates say Pennsylvania is in a “growing waste crisis,” and blame a decades-old recycling law, writes Sophia Schmidt for WHYY. “We live in a much different world than we did in 1988,” when Pennsylvania’s recycling law was signed, said Darren Spielman, executive director of the Pennsylvania Resources Council. Advocates are supporting efforts by Delaware…
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A New Invasive Pest Has Arrived in Montgomery County, and It’s Not the Spotted Lanternfly
The invasive New Zealand mudsnail, which was present in Pennsylvania in only four bodies of water until recently, has spread rapidly in the past several years and has now reached Montgomery County, writes Marcus Schneck for the Harrisburg Patriot-News. Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission surveys from 2020 revealed that the snails have spread to three…
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PHL Airport Expansion Brings Jobs But Could Also Bring Flooding
Expanding Philadelphia International Airport’s cargo business seems great for jobs and the local economy, but there is a tradeoff for Tinicum neighborhoods who worry about airport flooding, writes Danny Freeman for NBC 10. The airport lies on a flood plain. The expansion includes a new taxiway and parking lot. The airport expects it to generate…
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Bear Captured in Clifton Heights After Day-Long Adventure
It took an entire day, but officials Tuesday captured a bear on the loose in Delaware County, visiting a park, a shopping center and a yard, reports Dan Staumm for NBC 10. The black bear finally succumbed to the effects of a tranquilizer dart seen in its backside as it fought to hang onto a…
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Captured Black Bear Safely Released to State Game Lands in Dauphin County
A black bear captured in a Clifton Heights yard has been safely transported to State Game Lands in a less populated area in Dauphin County, reports the CBS 3 staff. The drowsy bear that had been hit with a tranquilizer dart was hanging from a tree in the yard of Adriana Fernande and slowly made…
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Video of Precursor Turtle Sex at Heinz Wildlife Refuge in Tinicum Goes Viral
Philadelphia stand-up comedian Jamie Pappas was eager to get outside one Saturday morning and enjoy the nice weather. So the 29-year-old drove to the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in Tinicum to do some bird watching, writes Victor Fiorillo for Philadelphia Magazine. She found, instead, a turtle slapping another turtle, so she recorded it on…
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World-Renowned Climate Scientist to Speak at Penn State Great Valley on Wednesday
Climate scientist and science communicator Michael Mann will discuss his latest book, The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet, on Wednesday, May 4 at Penn State Great Valley. The New Climate War shows how fossil fuel companies have waged a 30-year campaign to deflect responsibility and delay action on climate change…
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‘There Are a Lot of Stories Out Here’: West Chester Man’s Volunteerism Preserves the Past at Abandoned Cemetery
After the owners of Mount Moriah Cemetery in southwest Philadelphia abandoned it in 2011, volunteers like West Chester resident Ken Smith have taken its care into their own hands by tending the land where 180,000 people rest, writes Kevin Riordan for the Philadelphia Inquirer. As a certified arboretum, its plants and trees, like a 140-year-old…
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Delaware County Has to Update Its Trash Disposal Plan. It’s Aiming for a Loftier Goal
Delaware County figures it has to update its 10-year Municipal Waste Management Plan anyway so it might as well kick it up a notch, writes Kenny Cooper for WHYY. Its minimum obligation under state law (Act 101) is to identify long-term trash disposal methods. But Delco’s decided to aim for getting its trash waste to…
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Phila. Region Exits Top-25 List of Smoggiest Metros, But the News Is No Sigh of Relief
The Philadelphia region has finally dropped off the list of the 25 worst metro areas for ozone smog. But the American Lung Association’s State of the Air report shows that the levels of air pollution are still worrisome. Sophia Schmidt hacked through the data for The Philadelphia Tribune. The report looked at both ozone and…
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Delco’s Future Is Sustainable With New Energy, Zero Waste Policies
A Conference Thursday at Subaru Park in Chester offered a glimpse of creating a sustainable Delaware County now and in the future, writes Pete Bannan for the Daily Times. Enthusiastic supporters listened to more than 25 speakers highlighting electric cars, community gardens, climate resiliency and community zero waste goals. One of those enthusiastic supporters was…
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Covanta Chester Incinerator Contract With County Has Detractors
Not everyone’s thrilled with Delaware County’s new three-year contract with Covanta Holding Corp. to continue sending trash to an incinerator in Chester, writes Kenny Cooper for WHYY. “If you don’t deal with the health issues first, and the health ramifications of this thing, then it should be a full stop on everything. Everything,” said Zulene…
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Major Conference at Subaru Park in Chester Looks at Delaware County’s Energy, Environmental Needs
Delaware County is coming together Thursday, April 21, for a vegan, zero-waste, admission-free meeting of the minds conference at Subaru Park in Chester. The county’s Office of Sustainability will host the 1st Annual Delaware County Sustainability Conference, bringing local and regional sustainability experts together for a “cross-pollination of ideas related to climate change, environmental stewardship,…
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Haverford Leads Way in Delco With Plastic Bags Ban
The Haverford Township Board of Commissioners has passed an ordinance 8 to 1 restricting distribution and use of plastic bags, beverage stirrers, and straws starting January 2023, writes Kenny Cooper for WHYY. Businesses in town in the new year will no longer be able to offer customers single-use plastic carry-out bags and stirrers. Plastic straws…
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New Software Lets Regular Folks Do Some Local Urban Planning
Villanova University associate professor Sarah Cooney has created a software system that uses AI and Human-Computer Interaction so the average citizen can urban design their surroundings and make them more sustainable, writes Melisa Cabello for viterbischool.usc.edu. That could mean trees on every street, roads safe for cyclists, pedestrian-friendly paths, clean air, and helpful neighbors. Cooney,…
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Climate Change Expert to Offer Solutions at Neumann University
“Human-caused climate change is a global emergency, which disproportionately affects the people who are least responsible for the problem,” writes David Blockstein, Ph.D., the co-director of Solve Climate by 2030. Blockstein will present evidence of climate change and offer solutions that he believes can make a difference in a program titled “Teaching the World about Climate Solutions and…
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Talk About Overkill: Pa. Residents Are Incinerating a Seasonal Pesky Pest with Propane Torches
Lanternflies. Yes, they’re annoying. And yes, they affect agribusinesses. But some mitigation techniques against them are getting a bit extreme, writes Abigail Gruskin for The Atlantic. In fact, the entire issue of the need to actively eliminate the critters is being questioned. Spotted lanternflies were predicted to decimate local trees, farms, and vineyards since they…
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