By James Bruggers

Jane Williams read the announcement with dismay.

By Kiley Bense

On Wednesday, the natural gas company CNX Resources released the initial results from its environmental monitoring collaboration with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, a partnership predicated on “radical transparency” around fracking operations that Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration announced in November. 

By Kiley Bense

Vice President Kamala Harris has been the official Democratic nominee for president for less than a week, but her presence is already changing the dynamic in critical races down the ballot. On July 26, Pennsylvania’s Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, Dave McCormick, visited a fracking rig in Warren County. One reason for his trip? To link Harris with his opponent in the race, Democratic Sen. Bob Casey. 

By Kiley Bense

It was supposed to be a triumphant moment. Five months ago, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro traveled to a union hall in Scranton to announce a new energy plan his administration touted as a “bold vision for Pennsylvania’s energy future.” 

By Kiley Bense

In a 2018 photograph taken by the Philadelphia artist Andrea Walls, a ghost floats toward the viewer. Draped in a white shroud and framed by power lines and splintered tree branches, the faceless figure is following train tracks that fall off the edge of the page.

By Kristoffer Tigue, Marianne Lavelle

The Biden administration on Monday announced that it’s awarding $4.3 billion in federal grants to projects in 30 states aimed at boosting clean energy development and other efforts to reduce the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. 

By Kiley Bense

The chair of the National Transportation Safety Board called Norfolk Southern’s conduct during the board’s investigation of the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine “unconscionable” at a meeting this week to finalize the NTSB’s findings.

By Kiley Bense

Every year in late June, Peggy Butler and her husband, Ken, welcome visitors to rural northwestern Pennsylvania for the chance to glimpse the rare and beguiling Photinus carolinus. This firefly species flashes synchronously, creating dazzling spectacles of light. The abundance of fireflies on their property in Forest County—there are at least 17 species in addition to the synchronous firefly—led the Butlers to found the Pennsylvania Firefly Festival. 

By Kiley Bense

Residents of East Palestine, Ohio, and nearby areas in Pennsylvania harmed by the Norfolk Southern train disaster say a new $310 million settlement announced by the Biden administration on May 23 will not meet their communities’ most urgent needs, like access to health care for chronic conditions that emerged after the derailment.  

By Kiley Bense

In 2007, a geoscientist at Penn State named Terry Engelder calculated that Pennsylvania could be sitting on more than 50 trillion cubic feet of accessible natural gas deposits. Engelder later revised his calculation upward, to 489 trillion cubic feet, enough to meet U.S. natural gas demand for 18 years. These massive numbers set off the fracking boom in Pennsylvania, leading to drilling across the state. Since the rush began, there have been 13,000 unconventional wells drilled in Pennsylvania.