Environment & Energy Educational Opportunities For Students & Adults

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

Awards/Recognition

-- PA Conservation Heritage Project Profile: Paul O. Swartz - From Photojournalist To Susquehanna River Basin Commission - By Wayne W. Kober   [PaEN] 

- WITF StateImpartPA - Rachel McDevitt: Jimmy Carter Offered Calm To Pennsylvanians After Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant Partial Meltdown  

-- Post-Gazette: These Photographers Turned Their Cameras On Litter And Won Awards In PA Resources Council Lens On Litter Contest

Help Wanted

-- Brodhead Watershed Association Water At Risk - Counting Our Blessings - By Carol Hillestad for Brodhead Watershed Association, Monroe County  [PaEN]

-- ​​Stroud Water Research Center ‘Cut The Salt’ Citizen Science Project Invites You To Test Your Nearby Stream For Salt  [PaEN]

-- Post-Gazette/The Daily Item: This PA Man Is Bringing Up Next Generation Of Volunteer Firefighters

-- TribLive: Bird Count Helps Mark The Impact Of A Changing Climate 

-- Scranton Times: Northeast PA Birders Keep Their Eyes On The Skies

Upcoming Events

-- PA Firefly Camping Events Lottery Now Open In Forest County!

-- DEP Publishes Examination Schedule For Sewage Enforcement Officers

-- The Center Square: PA Farm Show Says Agriculture ‘Powering Pennsylvania’ [Jan. 4 - 11]

-- Pike Conservation District: From Source To Sink - Groundwater Education Workshop Series Starts Jan. 13

-- Protect PT/Three Rivers Waterkeepers Jan. 16 Plum Boro Community Meeting On Pennaco Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Wells,  Plum Borough Community Center, Allegheny County 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.

-- Physicians For Social Responsibility- PA: Jan. 22 Webinar On How To Talk To Your Doctor About Environmental Threats To Your Health  [PaEN] 

-- Protect PT: Jan. 22 How To Run For Local Public Office Training Webinar, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

-- Penn State Extension Hosts Jan. 29 Webinar On Ice Melter Impacts And Reduction Strategy  [PaEN] 

-- Horn Farm Center Ecological Gardening 16-Week Training Program Starts Feb. 9, York County.

-- Pike Conservation District: Pike/Wayne Counties Contractor’s Workshop Feb. 11

-- Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professionals: Level 1 Certification Training Registration Now Open  [PaEN]

Public Participation

-- DEP Invites Comments On Draft Guidance For Land Application Of Excess Water From Shale Gas Well Development Impoundments  [PaEN] 

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - January 4 [PaEN] 

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - December 28 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 103 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In January 4 PA Bulletin  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Posted 81 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In December 28 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]

-- DEP To Hold Jan. 29 Hearing On Title V-RACT 3 Air Quality Permit For Wheatland Tube LLC Plant In Hermitage, Mercer County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP To Hold Jan. 30 Hearing [Not Jan. 28] On Title V RACT 3 Air Quality Permit For Monroe Energy LLC Trainer Refinery In Delaware County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Sets Feb. 6 Hearing On Title V-RACT 3 Air Quality Permit For Pixelle Specialty Solutions Spring Grove, York County Facility  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Sets Feb. 11 Hearing On Renewal Of Title V Air Quality Permit For Energy Transfer Marketing’s Marcus Hook Terminal, Delaware County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Invites Groups To Submit Data Related To Stream Redesignation Evaluations Of 66 Wild Trout Streams In Berks, Blair, Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Columbia, Crawford, Cumberland, Elk, Erie, Franklin, Indiana, Jefferson, Lebanon, McKean, Potter, Schuylkill, Snyder, Tioga, Venango Counties

-- DEP Extends Comment Deadline On Draft Guidance On Community Water Systems Design Standards To March 3

-- WHYY - Zoe Read: Eastern Hellbender May Get Federal Protections 

-- PennLive/AP: Oh, Hellbender: PA’s Official Amphibian Could Be Deemed Endangered

Programs/Information

-- PA Interfaith Power & Light Accepting Requests For Free Native Trees From Anywhere In PA  [PaEN]  

-- DCNR State Parks Environmental Ed Newsletter: Embrace The New Year, Winter Activities  [PaEN] 

-- Penn State Master Gardeners/BackwoodsMama: How To Decorate An Outdoor Tree With Treats For Wildlife

-- Williamsport Sun - Bill Bower: Winterberry Holly Has Been A Staple Of Christmas

Background On Issues

-- Environmental Hearing Board Denies Supersedeas, Allows Operation Of Catalyst Energy, Inc. Oil & Gas Wastewater Injection Well In McKean County During Appeal  [PaEN]

-- DeSmog - Justin Nobel: PA Needs To Set Construction, Operating Standards For Hundreds Of Miles Of Unregulated Fracking Wastewater Pipelines 

-- Inside Climate News: Elevated Levels Of Radium Found In Western PA Freshwater Mussels Downstream Of Oil & Gas Wastewater Discharge Points

-- The Energy Age Blog: EQT Reveals Latest Shale Gas Drilling Plans In Southwest PA 

-- The Energy Age Blog: EQT Executes New Shale Gas Drilling Plan In Union Twp., Washington County 

-- PublicSource.org: Scrutiny Of EQT Fracking Likely To Shift In 2025 With Gas-Friendly Washington  

-- PublicSource.org: Protect PT Challenges Fracking Permits In Westmoreland County 

-- The Allegheny Front: Ohio Investigating Shale Gas Well Pad Fire That Led To Evacuation Of Residents  

-- WSJ: America’s Big Natural Gas Footprint Is About To Get Even Bigger: ‘Build Baby Build’  [PDF of Article]

-- “World-Class Standards” Of Shale Gas Production In PA 

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: 2024 In Review: EQT, Consol Highlight Energy Industry Upswing

-- WTAJ: 200,000+ PA Residents Could See 18% Increase In National Fuel Gas Natural Gas Bills In 2025 

-- WFMJ: National Fuel Gas Customers Could See 17% Increase In Gas Costs Starting Aug. 1 

-- Altoona Mirror: Peoples Gas Natural Gas Rates To Increase Jan. 1

-- DEP: Oil & Gas Wells Plugged In Last 6 Years: 2,941 Conventional Wells, 325 Paid By Taxpayers; 460 Shale Gas Wells Were Plugged By Well Owners   [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approved 18 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use General Permits In November; 292 General Permits So Far In 2024  [PaEN]

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: Gov. Shapiro Files Complaint With FERC Against PJM Interconnection Pointing To Flaws In Capacity Auction Costing PA Consumers Over $20 Billion In Unnecessary Costs   [Copy Of Complaint]

-- Reuters: PA Governor Complains To FERC About PJM Power Market Rules

-- Utility Dive: Pennsylvania Asks FERC To Lower PJM Capacity Price Cap To Prevent ‘Runaway’ Costs

-- The Center Square: Shapiro Files FERC Complaints About Higher Energy Prices 

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Shapiro Files Complaint With FERC Against Power Grid Operator Alleging Flaws In Capacity Auction Rules

-- Reuters: PJM Responds To Gov. Shapiro’s FERC Complaint On Power Auction Rules: ‘We Have Been Warning For Over 2 Years Of The Prospect That Parts Of Our Country Could Run Short Of Power’

-- Post-Gazette: PA Senate Republicans Says Shapiro’s FERC Complaint Against PJM Rings Hollow

-- PA Senate Republicans: Shapiro’s FERC Complaint On PJM Power Auction Rules Rings Hollow [RGGI}

-- ChesterCounty.com: Environmental Group Partners With Penn State On Kennet Township’s Greenhouse Gas Emission Report 

-- The Energy Age Blog: How A TESLA Powerwall Battery Kept The Lights On During An Electric Grid Outage  

-- The Center Square: Pennsylvania’s Energy Policy In 2024 

-- TribLive: Solar Power Battle Brewing In North Huntingdon, Westmoreland County

-- Spotlight PA: How Republican Administration Could Make PA’s Clean Energy Projects Less Environmentally Friendly

-- Forbes: Republican Administration Must Learn Nation Needs Renewables - Backed Up By Natural Gas - By Ken Silverstein, Senior Contributor

-- NextPittsburgh: Appalachian Regional Commission ARISE Grants Could Help Appalachia Be More Green

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Eos Starts 2025 With More Utility-Scale Zinc-Battery Orders 

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Shale Gas Industry Consent Agreements Set Groundwork For Future Methane Regulations

-- Inside Climate News - Jon Hurdle: 5 Years After Philadelphia Refinery’s Closure, Pollution Concerns Persist 

-- The Allegheny Front/WPSU: Worried About Gas Stoves? An Induction Cooking Class Explores An Alternative

-- WHYY: Radon Could Be An Invisible Lung Cancer Risk Inside Your PA Home

-- York Dispatch: Group Petitions FERC To Reconsider Permit For Susquehanna River Pump Storage Hydroelectric Facility In York County 

-- WHYY - Sophia Schmidt: US Army Corps Wants To Elevate 6,000 NJ Homes To Protect Them From Storms 

-- HiddenCityPhiladelphia: Watershed Restoration Efforts Aim To Manage Stormwater

-- PittsburghUnionProgress.com: Arconic Foundation, Commonplace Coffee, Donors Step Up To Help Cover Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Vehicle Fleet’s Vandalism Costs 

-- Chesapeake Bay Foundation: Bipartisan Bill Signed Into Law To Extend Federal Chesapeake Bay Restoration Programs

-- Chesapeake Bay Watershed: Bay State Lawmakers Tackle Wide Range Of Green Bills

-- Brodhead Watershed Association Water At Risk - Counting Our Blessings - By Carol Hillestad for Brodhead Watershed Association, Monroe County  [PaEN] 

-- Brodhead Watershed Association: Protecting Clean Water Together - Become A Master Watershed Steward - By Carol Hillestad for Brodhead Watershed Association, Monroe County   [PaEN[]  

-- Herald-Standard: Independence Conservancy On A Mission To Improve The Environment In Western PA 

-- Pike Conservation District: Linking Nature And Leisure: Outdoor Play Is ‘In’

-- Middle Susquehanna RiverKeeper Blog: Podcast: Centre County Fly-Fishing Guide Talks About Impacts Of Development On Trout Habitat And How Groups Like Trout Unlimited Are Helping 

-- Erie Times - Brian Whipkey: Bald Eagles Official National Bird, What To Know About Them In PA

-- Beaver Times - Brian Whipkey: Bird Flu Believed Responsible For Deaths Of Hundreds Of Snow Geese In Allentown Area

-- Hawk Mountain Sanctuary: Autumn Migration 2024 Wrap Up 

-- Williamsport Sun: A Winter Finch Report For 2024-25 As The Year Closes

-- LancasterOnline - PJ Reilly: Here’s What’s On The Docket For Game Commission In 2025 

-- Inquirer: Invasive Flies Have Never Been Worse In Chester County’s Mushroom Capital, Homeowners Says Eliminating Them Is A Challenge

-- Post-Gazette: 2024 Was Pittsburgh’s Warmest Year On Record, Continuing Trend Of Unprecedented Weather

-- NPR: 2024 Will Be Hottest Year On Record, Even Hotter Than Expected

-- AP: Hurricane-Force Winds Bear Down On California, Latest In Stretch Of Extreme Weather 

-- Post-Gazette/AP: Climate Change Added 41 Days Of Dangerous Heat Around World In 2024

Visit the  DEP Calendar of Events;  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: January 6, 2025] PA Environment Digest