Not only will Pennsylvania's participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) reduce carbon emissions -- it will also bring down energy costs, saving consumers $1.5 billion, and leverage hundreds of millions more in federal funding for clean energy. In the second part of our series exploring the latest economic research on RGGI, we consider the surprising cost of NOT participating in the 12-state carbon market.

Checking the Boxes (Part 2)

Governor Josh Shapiro says he wants to decarbonize power generation, but only if it can be done in a way that protects consumers and keeps Pennsylvanians employed in good jobs. Can the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) deliver on those priorities? A profusion of recently published economic research says 'yes.' In the first of a two-part series, the authors of a new study from Penn's Kleinman Center for Energy Policy explain how recent developments -- including Russia's invasion of Ukraine, passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, and new EPA enforcement actions -- have dramatically improved conditions for Pennsylvania's economic success under RGGI.

Governor Josh Shapiro says he wants to decarbonize power generation, but only if it can be done in a way that protects consumers and keeps Pennsylvanians employed in good jobs. Can the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) deliver on those priorities? A profusion of recently published economic research says 'yes.' In the first of a two-part series, the authors of a new study from Penn's Kleinman Center for Energy Policy explain how recent developments -- including Russia's invasion of Ukraine, passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, and new EPA enforcement actions -- have dramatically improved conditions for Pennsylvania's economic success under RGGI.

Checking the Boxes (Part 1)

2023 is an auspicious year for the Endless Mountains Heritage Region. Not only is the organization celebrating its 25th anniversary, they're also the sponsor of this year's Pennsylvania River of the Year, the North Branch Susquehanna. In the wake of a successful River of the Year Sojourn earlier this month, we talk with Executive Director Cain Chamberlain about EMHR's work on both water and land.

Endless Possibilities

With the days getting warmer and summer just around the bend, it’s the perfect time to get out on the water. Paddling in Pennsylvania has grown in popularity, owing in large part to conservation efforts that have rehabilitated many of the state’s waterways. We believe that the more people who get on the water, the more they will want to keep it clean for generations to come.To get a rundown of the opportunities to paddle and to take advantage of grant programs aimed at improving access, we talked with Tali MacArthur, PEC's Program Manager for Watershed Outreach, whose chief responsibility is to advance the mission of the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers, or POWR.

With the days getting warmer and summer just around the bend, it’s the perfect time to get out on the water. Paddling in Pennsylvania has grown in popularity, owing in large part to conservation efforts that have rehabilitated many of the state’s waterways. We believe that the more people who get on the water, the more they will want to keep it clean for generations to come. To get a rundown of the opportunities to paddle and to take advantage of grant programs aimed at improving access, we talked with Tali MacArthur, PEC's Program Manager for Watershed Outreach, whose chief responsibility is to advance the mission of the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers, or POWR.

Whatever Floats Your Boat

Coniferous trees once figured prominently in the makeup of Penn's Woods, but their populations never fully recovered from the deforestation of the nineteenth century. Now Pennsylvania's conifers face a new threat: invasive competitors and pests, warmer and wetter weather, and other disruptions linked to climate change. We explore an evergreen topic with Joe Stavish of Tree Pittsburgh in advance of the group's upcoming Conifer Symposium on June 14.

Coniferous trees once figured prominently in the makeup of Penn's Woods, but their populations never fully recovered from the deforestation of the nineteenth century. Now Pennsylvania's conifers face a new threat: invasive competitors and pests, warmer and wetter weather, and other disruptions linked to climate change. We explore an evergreen topic with Joe Stavish of Tree Pittsburgh in advance of the group's upcoming Conifer Symposium on June 14.

Moving the Needle on Conifers

Of America's ten most endangered waterways, as ranked by the group American Rivers, two can be found in Pennsylvania. While the problems they face are very different, the Ohio and Lehigh rivers both illustrate how intimately connected water issues are with human activity and a changing climate -- not just in the northeastern U.S., but nationwide.

Pennsylvania's Endangered Rivers

The Pennsylvania Wilds is in the midst of an economic revival based on nature and outdoor recreation, but local leaders and residents worry their success could be undone by military jets flying at very low altitudes over protected public lands. With public comment now being accepted, we look at concerns about the Maryland Air National Guard's plans to expand training operations over one of Pennsylvania's wildest areas.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

When people vote to raise their own taxes to fund conservation programs, it's noteworthy. When it happens in a deeply conservative rural community, it's unusual. But when the proposal passes by a four-to-one margin, it's a mandate -- and then some. How did the campaign for Carbon County's open space initiative achieve such a blowout? And could other Sixth Class PA counties do the same? Organizer Dennis DeMara has answers.

When people vote to raise their own taxes to fund conservation programs, it's noteworthy. When it happens in a deeply conservative rural community, it's unusual. But when the proposal passes by a four-to-one margin, it's a mandate -- and then some. How did the campaign for Carbon County's open space initiative achieve such a blowout? And could other Sixth Class PA counties do the same? Organizer Dennis DeMara has answers.

Landslide

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 will deliver unprecedented federal funding for alternative transportation by way of the Carbon Reduction Program. What might that mean for southeastern PA's Circuit Trails initiative? We discuss with Matthew Edmonds of the Montgomery County Planning Commission.

TIPping Point

Oil and gas companies pay the U.S. government for the opportunity to drill on public lands, but they only pay royalties on natural gas that's captured and sold. When it's not worth the trouble of bringing it to market, companies either flare off surplus methane or simply release it into the atmosphere, where its near-term climate impact is worse than carbon dioxide's. A new Environmental Defense Fund report documents the amount of gas being wasted as well as the cost to taxpayers, consumers, and the environment.

Waste Lands

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) protects and restores the natural and built environments through innovation, collaboration, education, and advocacy. PEC believes in the value of partnerships with the private sector, government, communities, and individuals to improve the quality of life for all Pennsylvanians.

Pennsylvania Legacies

In these digital times, the paper industry isn't what it used to be. But one paper manufacturer in central PA is thriving under a business model that's all about reducing environmental impacts and finding innovative ways to stay viable. On this episode, the story of a mill town on the cutting edge of sustainability.

Paperwork

This week marks a major milestone in one of PEC’s most important projects, as the William Penn Foundation (WPF) announces more than 40-million dollars in new funding for the Delaware River Watershed Initiative (DRWI). Launched in 2014, the DRWI is a wide-ranging conservation effort being undertaken by dozens of groups in four states to protect and restore clean water resources throughout the Delaware River watershed. We talk about DRWI’s next stage with WPF’s Andrew Johnson, and with PEC’s Susan Myerov and Patrick Starr.

Four States, One Source

The campus of Pittsburgh's Phipps Conservatory is home to some of the world's greenest buildings -- in more ways than one. We learn about Phipps's 124-year evolution from public botanical gardens to R&amp;D lab for sustainable building and design. Plus: your monthly update on bald eagle news from across PA.

Growing a Sustainable Future

The state's Conservation Landscapes program is poised to expand in 2017 with the creation of a new landscape area in western PA. We'll learn about the new "Glacier's Edge" landscape from program manager Marla Papernick on this week's show.

Pennsylvania Legacies: 2017 Preview, part 4

Sixteen projects are being recognized for their contributions to environmental stewardship with the 2017 Governor's Award For Environmental Excellence. PEC is proud to co-host the awards dinner on April 25th along with the Department of Environmental Protection. On this Earth Day weekend, Acting DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell joins us to highlight a few of the honorees and discuss how their ideas are leveraging similar projects across the state.

Dinner With Friends

Growing Greener Coalition members rally for funding, and DEP's Environmental Justice office hits the road in search of intersectionality across Pennsylvania's diverse communities.

Bending Toward Justice

In 2014, Colorado became the first state to regulate methane emissions from the oil and gas industry. As Pennsylvania takes similar steps, what can we learn from Colorado's experience convening diverse stakeholders to create effective and feasible rules?

The Colorado Way

PEC opposes a state Senate bill that would expose surface water to further impacts from underground mining, and we pay tribute to two western PA environmental leaders up for Lifetime Achievement honors at our spring awards dinner.

A Legacy of Service

With new urgency around the unfolding climate crisis, policy discussions at the state level are intensifying. PEC's policy team has an update and analysis on recent and forthcoming proposals to tackle Pennsylvania's carbon emissions.

Bonus: Climate Action Brewing at State Level

Nobody knows exactly how much methane is released each year by Pennsylvania's oil and gas industry. But a new Environmental Defense Fund analysis suggests actual emissions could be as high as five times the state's official estimate.

Measuring Methane

It's not just Pennsylvania -- trails and greenways are becoming must-have amenities for communities throughout the U.S. and around the world. But the trend isn't universal, and the scarcity of trails in many areas is reflected in lower public health, wellness, and quality-of-life ratings. We assess the global trails landscape in conversation with Mike Passo of American Trails, the national nonprofit behind the International Trails Symposium.Plus: a forthcoming state Senate bill would cap greenhouse-gas emissions from Pennsylvania's electricity sector and create a new market for zero-carbon energy produced in the commonwealth. We kick off this week's episode with details and analysis from the PEC Policy program.

It's not just Pennsylvania -- trails and greenways are becoming must-have amenities for communities throughout the U.S. and around the world. But the trend isn't universal, and the scarcity of trails in many areas is reflected in lower public health, wellness, and quality-of-life ratings. We assess the global trails landscape in conversation with Mike Passo of American Trails, the national nonprofit behind the International Trails Symposium. Plus: a forthcoming state Senate bill would cap greenhouse-gas emissions from Pennsylvania's electricity sector and create a new market for zero-carbon energy produced in the commonwealth. We kick off this week's episode with details and analysis from the PEC Policy program.

Trails Are the New Golf

A coalition of municipalities, local and state agencies, NGOs, and citizens is working on a plan to clean up Montgomery County's impaired Wissahickon Creek. But before seeking out answers for a problem as complex as this one, you need to be sure you're asking the right questions. In part 2 of our series on the Wissahickon Clean Water Partnership, Pennsylvania Legacies visits the Temple University lab of Dr. Laura Toran, who's helping to set the agenda by diagnosing the creek's many ills.

The Right Questions

After months of training in state and county parks around central Pennsylvania, state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale is ready for the grueling Spartan World Championship obstacle race next month in Reykjavik, Iceland. We talk with Pennsylvania’s fiscal watchdog about the value of parks and trails, and how he uses the tools of oversight to fight for the environment.

No Obstacle Too Great

Back in January, PEC published a list of legislative and regulatory recommendations for cutting greenhouse gas emissions from Pennsylvania's electricity sector. Since then, the governor and legislative leaders have embraced one of the report's key ideas: putting a price on carbon and investing the proceeds in clean energy innovation. Where is the decarbonization agenda headed in 2020? Senior VP for Legal and Government Affairs John Walliser returns for a review of the year's biggest policy developments for the environment and outdoor recreation in Pennsylvania.

The Year in Policy

Cambria County's business, government, and nonprofit sectors are teaming up with citizens to reinvent the historically flood-ravaged city of Johnstown. We explore Johnstown's evolution through the work of the Vision 2025 initiative and the Laurel Highlands Conservation Landscape.

Vision Statement

An executive order signed by Governor Tom Wolf last week initiates the rulemaking process whereby Pennsylvania will join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a multi-state effort to cut carbon emissions using market-based mechanisms. Policy expert Franz Litz, one of RGGI's original architects, explains how it works and what the transition will mean for Pennsylvania.

Carbon Pricing 101

This year's GAP Relay -- a 150-mile team footrace along the Great Allegheny Passage -- was the first carbon neutral trail relay in the nation. Troy Schooley of race organizer p3r talks about the movement toward sustainability in endurance sports, and Allegheny Trail Alliance director Bryan Perry explains why the partnership is good for the GAP and the trails community.

Carbon Footprints

More and more states are adopting measures to limit emissions of methane from the production and distribution of natural gas. Finding and fixing methane leaks is good for the environment, but it's also good for business -- like the 20+ companies that are now employing Pennsylvanians to help gas companies boost their own bottom lines by improving efficiency.

Less Waste, More Jobs: A "Win-Win" for PA

Patriots Cove, along Beaver Run in Wyoming County, is more than just a great fishing spot. It's a refuge for brook trout and human beings alike, where injured veterans are healing themselves and one another while helping to restore an impaired stream. Patriots Cove co-founder Jeff Swire is our guest.

Down By the Riverside

Despite what you may have heard, environmental causes resonate with Pennsylvanians from all walks of life, throughout the state, and across the political spectrum. Recent polling from the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership shows Pennsylvania hunters and anglers in particular are passionate about conservation, irrespective of party affiliation -- and they vote their values.

Why Conservation Transcends Partisanship

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