Allegheny Front

How do you know if owning an electric vehicle could save you some money in the long run?

Coltura, a nonprofit focused on the transition from gasoline to electric vehicles, has a new online tool that calculates the difference between the money spent driving a gas-powered car and an EV based on car type, mileage and fuel costs.

In Pennsylvania, for example, if you drive 25,000 miles a year, you could save $3,378 per year on fuel and maintenance driving any sort of electric vehicle..

https://www.alleghenyfront.org/electric-vehicle-savings/

An Ohio commission is considering proposals to lease thousands of acres of a state-owned wildlife area for fracking. Some people who live near the Egypt Valley Wildlife Area and hunting conservation groups think the leases make sense for the revenue it will bring in for conservation, while others are concerned about truck traffic that has plagued other Ohio communities near fracking sites.

Research shows that bird communities shift in areas where fracking is happening: more sensitive, forest-dependent species like blue-headed vireo and Canada warblers move out, while more generalist species, like cowbirds, a native species that can take over habitat, move in. Cowbirds are often considered a threat to vulnerable songbird species.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has placed conditions on potential fracking leases to help minimize noise and impacts to hunting.

Read more at https://www.alleghenyfront.org/trucks-habitat-loss-fracking-ohio-egypt-valley-wildlife-area/

Gov. Josh Shapiro announced he was moving to extend the lives of two Western Pennsylvania coal-fired power plants for through 2032. The decision means that Keystone Generating Station in Armstrong and Indiana counties, and Conemaugh Generating Station in Indiana County will have more time to meet new federal rules on toxic wastewater discharged from coal plants. The company cited growing energy demand for data centers are a reason to keep them open.

The local union president cheered the move, while environmentalists say it's a way for the company to delay compliance with water pollution rules and another negative consequence of AI.

Gov. Shapiro moves to keep 2 coal-fired power plants open in Western Pa., as energy demand from data centers grows As energy demand from data centers grows, the plants will remain open through 2032, and have more time to meet water pollution standards.

The Pennsylvania state House has approved two bills related to data center construction. One bill would produce a model ordinance that municipalities could adopt with recommendations on concerns such as building height and size campuses. Another would require centers to report yearly water and electricity use and estimate future use. Facilities that fail to submit such a report would face a $10,000-per-day penalty. Read more for WESA's Tom Riese.

Pa. state House passes 2 measures on data center regulation The Pennsylvania state House has approved two bills related to data center construction. The votes are the latest moves by Harrisburg lawmakers to regulate a fast-growing industry that some communities and environmental groups have opposed.

Residents in southwestern Pennsylvania fear they could lose their homes and properties if the PUC grants eminent domain for the project that will power data centers in Virginia.

NextEra Energy Transmission MidAtlantic Inc. is planning the 107-mile MidAtlantic Resiliency Link Project from Dunkard Township, Greene County, Pa., to an endpoint in Northern Virginia.

The 10-mile Pennsylvania portion of the line runs along the southern border with West Virginia, through portions of Greene and Fayette counties.

The 500-kilovolt line would be able to send electricity from the mostly coal-fired grid in West Virginia and the natural gas-fired grid in southwestern Pennsylvania to power-hungry northern Virginia, the data center capital of the world.

https://buff.ly/HoZFY9Z

Energy company wants eminent domain for power lines in SW Pa. for data centers in Virginia Residents fear they could lose their homes and properties if the PUC grants eminent domain for the project that will power data centers in Virginia.

Researchers wanted to know: “What if no one smoked 20 years ago, what would cancer rates look like today?" They found that lung cancer rates would plunge in areas with cleaner air, but not for areas with higher levels of air pollution, like benzene, a pollutant found in the Mon Valley.

Study finds link between air pollution and lung cancer rates When researchers took smoking out of the equation, lung cancer rates dropped much more than in counties with cleaner air.

Nippon Steel, U.S. Steel's new owner, ranked second from the bottom in a survey that looked at how well steel companies are transitioning away from coal.
see more

Stories are being told across our region. Today we’re being highlighted by the Pittsburgh Media Partnership for reporting on environmental issues in the region! We're one of 40+ newsrooms at work across Southwestern Pennsylvania. At work. Every day. For you. Learn more: https://www.pghmediapartnership.org/40-newsrooms-at-work-every-day-in-pittsburgh-for-you

Gov. Josh Shapiro joined 38 plaintiffs petitioning a federal appeals court to review the EPA's decision to drop the 'endangerment finding' that found greenhouse gases harm human health by warming the planet. This finding gave the agency the scientific rationale to regulate these gases like carbon dioxide and methane under the Clean Air Act.

Rules that limit emissions from cars and trucks, power plants and oil and gas facilities created under the Biden administration will be repealed as a result. No new regulations on greenhouse gases can be passed.

Read more about the lawsuit, the endangerment finding and why it matters for climate change at alleghenyfront.org

As DEP considers a new air permit for Shell’s ethane cracker that would increase pollution limits, some residents say the plant has made their air worse. “Sometimes [odors are] like a briny nail polish remover scent. Sometimes it smells like plastic,” Lindsay Schultz said. “There are some times where I feel when I walk outside, it’s hard to breathe. My throat begins to itch and my eyes begin to water from that.”
https://buff.ly/fNnXhJT

A study by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection found the liquid runoff from Pennsylvania landfills that take solid oil and gas fracking waste poses no “significant” threat to the public from radioactive materials found in that waste. Scientists are skeptical.
https://www.alleghenyfront.org/pa-dep-fracking-waste-landfills-radioactive-materials-study/