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The Allegheny Front
3rd Sunday of every month, 4pm - 5pm

The Allegheny Front podcast from 90.5 WESA brings you all the environmental news and stories to keep you in the know in Pennsylvania.

  • It's our end-of-year membership drive! Become a member today. Our nonprofit newsroom is powered by our members. Now through December 31st, every donation up to $1,000 will be matched. One-time donations will be doubled and monthly donations matched 12 times. Another $1,000 will be unlocked if we gain 50 new members at any amount. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! On this week's show: An Allegheny County borough plans to vote next month on a plan to build a massive data center on the site of a former power plant. The U.S. has the largest collection of apples in the world – about 5,000 varieties. How cuttings from old apple tree varieties could have rare genes that fight off new threats to our food supply. A festival in central Pennsylvania celebrates the American chestnut while educating about its conservation struggles. Considering the sticker price of eggs, some in Pennsylvania are substituting other foods for eggs at breakfast. We head to a cabin in the woods to unplug. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.
  • It's our end-of-year membership drive! Become a member today. Our nonprofit newsroom is powered by our members. Now through December 31st, every donation up to $1,000 will be matched. One-time donations will be doubled and monthly donations matched 12 times. Another $1,000 will be unlocked if we gain 50 new members at any amount. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! On this week's show: The Ohio River Basin is poised for a multi-year ecological restoration after decades of industrial pollution, but only if Congress decides to fund it. Constellation Energy's project to restart a nuclear reactor at the former Three Mile Island plant in Dauphin County is getting a one billion dollar loan from the federal government. Allegheny County Council voted unanimously to approve a series of fee increases for facilities that produce air pollution. Ohio's Great Black Swamp might hold the key to reducing pollution in the Great Lakes. The first leg of a new trail system in Centre County, Pennsylvania, is ready for visitors. A percussionist from Brazil turns discarded objects into musical instruments. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.
  • It's our end-of-year membership drive! Become a member today. Our nonprofit newsroom is powered by our members. Now through December 31st, every donation up to $1,000 will be matched. One-time donations will be doubled and monthly donations matched 12 times. Another $1,000 will be unlocked if we gain 50 new members at any amount. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! On this week's show: The Trump administration is looking to boost coal production, and one company is planning to expand its coal mine in Western Pennsylvania. But some neighbors aren't on board. Energy efficiency tax credits that help the climate and people's budgets are expiring. But there's still a little time for consumers to act. The Pennsylvania budget deal meant getting rid of a major climate initiative. Environmentalists have filed a lawsuit to stop the expansion of a major natural gas pipeline system in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Fifty years ago, the pride of the Great Lakes, the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, sank with its crew. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.
  • It's our end-of-year membership drive! Become a member today. Our nonprofit newsroom is powered by our members. Now through December 31st, every donation up to $1,000 will be matched. One-time donations will be doubled and monthly donations matched 12 times. Another $1,000 will be unlocked if we gain 50 new members at any amount. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! The Pennsylvania natural gas company CNX is suing a California-based news outlet for defamation in federal court over an article the news site published about the company's voluntary air monitoring initiative. A fungal disease has been killing hibernating bats in Pennsylvania. We'll hear from some of the people trying to save bats in the state. A group of seniors is using their retirement to track microplastics in streams and in the lab. A writer contemplates the legacy of the trash she finds on her Westmoreland County farm. A natural gas driller, Senceca Resources, is facing criminal charges over its fracking operations in North Central Pennsylvania. A new, animated map shows how pollution spreads from more than 9,500 industrial sources worldwide. A new study shows America's "founding fish," the migratory American shad, is declining in the Delaware River. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.
  • We're asking our listeners to become members with a donation of any size. Your membership will help us keep the lights on and the environmental news flowing. We're independent and non-profit, and we don't get money from WESA, WPSU or any other radio station. So we must turn to you, our listeners, for support. Take action today so we can continue to keep you informed. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! On this week's episode: The round goby is a little fish causing big problems in Lake Erie. Pennsylvania is looking to anglers to help stop the invasive fish from spreading to inland waterways. In 1960, a diplomatic gift of 18 bluegill fish from the U.S. would change the underwater world of Japan forever. East Palestine, Ohio, residents got some results recently from research on the ongoing impact of the 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment. The DEP has issued a draft Clean Air Act permit to a natural gas-fired power plant in Westmoreland County, but the state has so far declined to host a public hearing. A zero-waste saw mill has opened in Allegheny County for fallen urban trees that would otherwise go to a landfill. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.
  • We're asking our listeners to become members with a donation of any size. Your membership will help us keep the lights on and the environmental news flowing. We're independent and non-profit, and we don't get money from WESA, WPSU or any other radio station. So we must turn to you, our listeners, for support. Take action today so we can continue to keep you informed. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! On this week's episode: Conservationists used fire to manage habitat in an Allegheny County meadow. The practice goes back centuries to Indigenous peoples. High-pressure water used in a maintenance procedure on a valve led to a fatal explosion in August at U.S. Steel's Clairton Coke Works. A Pittsburgh-area manufacturer of next-generation batteries will expand operations next year. State lawmakers are considering how to prepare for an increase in data centers, looking to build in Pennsylvania. And potato chips are getting pricey. Is growing potatoes amid a climate crisis part of the reason? A native growing group trying to convince the neighbors to tackle yard work more naturally. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.
  • We're asking our listeners to become members with a donation of any size. Your membership will help us keep the lights on and the environmental news flowing. We're independent and non-profit, and we don't get money from WESA, WPSU or any other radio station. So we must turn to you, our listeners, for support. Take action today so we can continue to keep you informed. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! On this week's episode: Our series about the Monongahela River continues with a look at pollution from a chemical plant along its banks. There is reporting that the hydrogen hubs planned for Pennsylvania might be scrapped under the Trump administration. We talk with the editor of a new magazine about recreation and the outdoors in our region. Three Pennsylvania cities were named among the worst places in the country for people living with asthma. Pennsylvania is rolling out the opportunity to glamp in eight state parks. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.
  • We're asking our listeners to become members with a donation of any size. Your membership will help us keep the lights on and the environmental news flowing. We're independent and non-profit, and we don't get money from WESA, WPSU or any other radio station. So we must turn to you, our listeners, for support. Take action today so we can continue to keep you informed. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! On this week's episode: The Monongahela River is still an industrial river. That doesn't stop people from using it for recreation, like open swimming. A new study looks at how climate change has impacted streams that native trout rely on. Water quality in Pennsylvania streams is being hindered by aging dams, many of which are dangerous and obsolete. The Trump administration has reversed course and decided not to delay Biden-era rules limiting air pollution from the steel industry. Train derailments in the Pittsburgh region are more likely to happen in disadvantaged communities and near waterways. Pennsylvania lawmakers have passed a flood disclosure bill to help prospective home buyers recognize the risks of property located in flood-prone areas. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.
  • We're asking our listeners to become members with a donation of any size. Your membership will help us keep the lights on and the environmental news flowing. We're independent and non-profit, and we don't get money from WESA, WPSU or any other radio station. So we must turn to you, our listeners, for support. Take action today so we can continue to keep you informed. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! On this week's episode: Drilling for shale gas creates tons of potentially toxic solid waste. Much of it now goes to landfills, making it harder to keep fracking waste out of Pennsylvania's rivers and streams. As our series about the Mon continues, a project mapping the river hopes it will bring more people into advocacy for its health and future. As the Trump administration dismantles environmental justice initiatives, we hear from a leader in the movement. And, the board investigating the August explosion at the Clairton Coke Works says the incident happened when a crew performed maintenance on a cracked gas valve. Pennsylvania's state House voted to create a state-backed insurance program to cover andslides and sinkholes. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.
  • We're in the midst of our Fall Member Drive. We're asking our listeners to become members with a donation of any size. Your membership will help us keep the lights on and the environmental news flowing. We're independent and non-profit, and we don't get money from WESA, WPSU or any other radio station. So we must turn to you, our listeners, for support. Take action today so we can continue to keep you informed. Donate today. Or send us a check to: The Allegheny Front, 67 Bedford Square, Pittsburgh, 15203. And thanks! On this week's episode: This week on The Allegheny Front, our series about the Monongahela River continues, as we look back at its industrial heyday from a pair of blast furnaces still standing along its banks. All of that heavy industry along the Mon has taken a toll. What's happening in the Mon's waters today? We take a tour of an unlikely attraction: a wastewater treatment plant. Plans for a new data center in Springdale in Allegheny County, were delayed by the borough's planning commission. Governor Josh Shapiro weighs pulling Pennsylvania from the regional grid. Sign up for our newsletter! Get our newsletter every Tuesday morning so you'll never miss an environmental story.