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PennFuture Commends Pocono Municipalities for Preparing for Data Centers
Categories: Community / Energy /
This summer has brought a flurry of activity from municipalities across the Poconos as they adopt new zoning ordina…
Blogs
Here Comes the Sun: PennFuture's Guide to Planning for Grid-Scale Solar Development
Categories: Community / Energy /
Grid-scale solar (large, ground-mounted solar arrays, often referred to as solar farms) is the fastest-growing and le…
Shifting the Paradigm for a Sustainable Pennsylvania Economy
Categories: Community / Energy /
Climate change is the greatest existential threat and the worst market failure of our time. Fossil industries have cr…
Pennsylvania Needs PRESS Now More Than Ever
Categories: Environment / Energy /
Pennsylvania’s fracked gas industry should be worried. House Bill 2277, the Pennsylvania Reliable Energy Sustai…
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The Unspoken Truth: Economic Policy is Environmental Policy
Categories: Community / Environment / Energy /
Economic development projects shape the landscape and everyday life, influencing air quality, traffic, stormwater flo…
Pennsylvania as a Hydrogen Hub
Categories: Climate / Community / Energy /
It was recently announced that fossil fuel industry leader Perry Babb will launch a $410 million project called KeySt…
Let the Failed DNA Hydrogen Hub Go and Turn the Page to a Cleaner Future
Categories: Climate / Energy /
The proposed DNA hydrogen hub, which would have produced hydrogen from natural gas, has failed to secure federal fund…
Climate Disruption on Trial: A Major Victory for Environmental Rights in Montana
Categories: Climate / Environment / Energy /
On August 14, 2023, a Montana state trial court decided that the legislature violated the people’s constitution…
How RGGI Can Help PA Meet EPAs New Carbon Emission Reduction Standards
Categories: Climate / Energy /
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) solicited comments on a proposed rule that will limit the greenhouse gas (G…
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The State of Solar Development in PA: Solar Energy Benefits Remain Unrealized
Categories: Energy /
According to the PA Department of Environmental Protection, solar energy currently contributes less than 1 percent of…
The Carbon Rule
Categories: Climate / Energy /
When the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik satellite, President Dwight D. Eisenhower created a committee of notable s…
Misguided Homeowner Association Restrictions Block Pennsylvanias Solar Potential
Categories: Climate / Community / Energy /
By Caroline Weiss, Legal Intern Lately, homeowners are coming across unlikely opponents to their solar ambitions. In…
Introducing PennFutures New Legal & Policy Interns!
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
Since its inception in 1998, PennFuture has emphasized the importance of using the law to protect Pennsylvania's envi…
What We Learned from the December 2022 Deep Freeze: Dont Rely on Natural Gas When Its Fracking Cold Part 2
Categories: Energy /
In our previous article, we explained how Pennsylvania's energy grid became perilously close to a brownout event duri…
What We Learned from the December 2022 Deep Freeze: Dont Rely on Natural Gas When Its Fracking Cold Part 1
Categories: Energy /
Thisarticle is the first in a two-part series. Read Part 2: How Fracked Gas Failed Pennsylvania. As the 2022 holiday…
Delaware River Basin Commission's New Fracking Regulations Mark Incremental Progress
Categories: Environment / Energy /
This month, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) finalized regulations banning the discharge of fracking wastew…
Solar-Powered PennFuture Walks the Walk, Doubles PV Capacity
Categories: Climate / Energy /
In June 2003, PennFuture installed our first set of solar panels. The 3.84-kW system was made up of 32 panels, each r…
How we helped create "A Shared Vision for Pennsylvania's Environment and Communities" and where we go next
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
Our mission at PennFuture is to protect the air, water, and land for the benefit of all Pennsylvanians. We act on thi…
Pennsylvania Began Participation in RGGI on July 1. What Happens Next?
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
(This piece has been updated on July 11, 2022 to reflect recent action at the Commonwealth Court) On July 8, 2022 the…
We Must Continue to Work for Change
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
Standing on the doorstep to my retirement, announced in February, the last few months have included a lot of reminisc…
Turning PA into a "Hydrogen Hub" is not a Sustainable Energy Solution
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
Discussions around beginning a massive-scale Blue Hydrogen project in Pennsylvania began hitting the media around Aug…
Subsurface Storage is a Promising Addition to our Renewable Energy Arsenal
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
Batteries, storage, renewables: you've probably heard these terms a lot alongside each other when the topic of clean…
Introducing PennFuture's New Legal Interns!
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
Since its inception in 1998, PennFuture has emphasized the importance of using the law to protect Pennsylvania's envi…
PA Environmental Leaders, State Senators Discuss the Failure of Shale Gas Policies and Negative Public Health Impacts of Industry
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
On June 2nd, State Senator Katie Muth, chair of the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee, joined Senator J…
DEP's Revised Environmental Justice Policy: A Good Start but More Needs to Be Done to Protect PA's Environmental Justice Communities
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
Earlier this year, the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) released its revised Environmental Justice Pub…
Pennsylvania Finally Caps Carbon Pollution From Power Plants: Now What?
Categories: Climate / Environment / Energy /
Pennsylvania's plans to cut carbon pollution from fossil fuel power plants took a big step forward on April 23. After…
Celebrating 52 Years of Earth Day
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
On this Earth Day 2022, PennFuture joins with all of you in this day of work and commemoration. We hope you'll be mar…
PennFuture Celebrates Lake Erie and Introduces New Erie Campaign Manager During PA Clean Water Education Week
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
PennFuture is celebrating its sixth annual PA Clean Water Education Week, dedicated to showcasing the Commonwealth's…
Chasing the Rainbow: Carbon Capture is Magic Thinking
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
There's been a lot of discussion and excitement about the idea of carbon capture and storage technology. Unfortunatel…
Pennsylvania House Asks: Could We Live Without Fossil Fuels? We Say: We Must.
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
The only thing more destructive than the fumes from fossil fuels extracted in PA is the fumes of the trillions of tax…
Fallacy, Fiction, and Falsehoods: Debunking the Fossil Fuel Industry's Stance on Russia's War in Ukraine
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
On Feb. 24, Russia commenced its unprovoked and atrocious invasion of its neighbor Ukraine. It didn't take long for f…
This year, Pennsylvania must properly fund efforts to clean up our waterways
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
On Feb. 8, Gov. Tom Wolf delivered his eighth and final budget address in which he spelled out the top priorities and…
Russia-Ukraine Crisis: War, Fossil Fuels, and What it Means for Pennsylvanians
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
Russia's war with Ukraine is underlining the economic and national security costs of relying on fossil fuels. Global…
During Black History Month, State Legislators Fighting Against Jim Crow 2.0 in Pennsylvania
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
A generation ago my mother was born in "Jim Crow-era" North Carolina. A generation before that, my grandmother was pr…
Pipeline Problems Persist in Pennsylvania
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
The fracked gas industry in Pennsylvania will never stop trying to convince us that pipelines are safe, efficient and…
Terrible Excuses to Mine Bitcoin
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
A person using the pen name "Satoshi Nakamoto" released a paper in2008introducing Bitcoin in an attempt to solve a pr…
Introducing PennFuture's New Legal Interns
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
Since its inception in 1998, PennFuture has emphasized the importance of using the law to protect Pennsylvania's envi…
Looking Ahead to the Best and Worst of 2022s Legislative Proposals
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
At a time of unprecedented environmental, economic and public health concerns, now is a time when Pennsylvania's legi…
Goodbye 2021, Hello 2022
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
When I was a kid, my gang of cousins and I did this thing we called Goodbye School, Hello Summer. An uncle supervised…
PennFuture Meets with State Agencies About Asphalt-Plastic Mixture
Categories: Community / Environment / Energy /
On Thursday, December 9, 2021, PennFuture met with representatives from the Departments of Transportation (PennDOT),…
Renewable Natural Gas: Hope or Hype?
Categories: Climate / Environment / Energy /
"Renewable natural gas" (RNG) sounds good, but does it live up to the hype as a green alternative to fracked gas or i…
Civilian Conservation Corps Gaining Momentum in Pennsylvania
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
Momentum is growing for a 21st-century version of the New Deal-era Civilian Conservation Corps. The CCC's legacy can…
Living in the Blast Zone: Fracking's Bomb Trains
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
In March of this year, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) banned the process of hydraulic fracturing, or frac…
During Press Conference, State Senators Openly Choose Profits Over Pennsylvanians, Our Environment
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
They're getting nervous. On October 20, 2021, State Senators Camera Bartolotta, Gene Yaw, and Independent John Yudich…
Breaking Down the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
The federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) will truly transform Pennsylvania. Historic for its size, b…
Philadelphia Energy Solutions Hearing Brings Environmental Justice to Forefront
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
The case for environmental justice stood centerstage this week during a hearing on the ongoing remediation efforts at…
Nigerian Princes: How the Fracked Gas Industry Killed Pennsylvania Coal and Raised Electricity Prices While Swimming in Taxpayer Subsidies
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
At one point or another we all likely received one of those emails. A Nigerian prince, or some attorney, bank officer…
PennFuture, Partners Appeal Air Installation Permit for Proposed Gas-Burning Plant in Elizabeth Township
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
The Allegheny County Health Department ("ACHD") recently issued an air installation permit for a proposed Invenergy A…
The Basics of Hydrogen
Categories: Climate / Environment / Energy /
Back in the 1970s and 1980s, the comedian Don Novello performed in character as Father Guido Sarducci.One of his famo…
Connecting Pennsylvania with COP26
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
The eyes of the world are turned to my adopted home away from home, Glasgow, now the beating heart of the planet for…
DRBC Proposed Regulations Ban Discharge of Fracking Wastewater, Discourages Fracking-Related Interbasin Water Transfers
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
Earlier this year, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) released final regulations that banned fracking in the…
Plastics Could Soon Overtake Coal as a Climate Killer, and Pennsylvania is Right in the Middle of It
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
A report released on Oct. 21 by Beyond Plastics predicted dire consequences as a result of our inability to stop cons…
DEP Should Revoke Permits for Troubled Mariner East Pipeline
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
On October 5, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced 48 criminal charges related to construction of the…
Pittsburgh Embraces Stormwater Fee
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
It's Past Time for Pennsylvania to Invest in Renewable Energy
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
On October 4, 2021, the Pennsylvania State Senate Environmental Resources & Energy Committee and the Senate Commu…
PennEast Pipeline is Cancelled!
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
Earlier this week it was announced that the PennEast Pipeline company will cease development of its proposed fracked…
Climate Goals Remain Elusive and Will Require Bold Action
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
It is fitting that Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection on Wednesday released an updated version of…
PennFuture, Partners Appeal Air Permit Extension for Proposed Liquefied Natural Gas Plant in Wyalusing Township
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
The Department of Environmental Protection ("DEP") recently issued a second extension of the air pollution permit for…
So What Comes Next for Pennsylvania's Efforts to Join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative?
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
On September 1st, 2021, a majority of Pennsylvania's Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) voted to approve…
Climate Denial and Pennsylvania Politics: The Ultimate Alternative Universe
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
Last week, on September 1, 2021, individuals on "both sides" of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) travele…
Civilian Conservation Corps: Then and Now
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
Earlier this month, Promised Land State Park celebrated its annual Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Day in which the…
Chasing Bitcoin is a Bad Investment for Pennsylvania
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
On August 9th, 2021, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its Sixth Assessment report, clear…
PennFuture, Partners Challenge DEP's Approval of Renovo Energy Center
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
If we are truly committed to moving to a renewable energy economy, rather than a fossil-fuel based economy, the first…
What You Won't Hear During the Aug. 17 Public Hearing on Pipelines in Pennsylvania
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives' Environmental Resources & Energy Committee has announced a "Public Hea…
It's Time to Reimagine America's Infrastructure
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
As Congress continues to push towards a potential infrastructure package, residents of the Queen Village neighborhood…
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules that Drilling Revenues from State Forests Must be Used for Conservation
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
Last week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional under the Environmental Rights Amendment…
Maines Innovative Response to Plastics Pollution and What the Rest of Us Can Learn From it
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
China remains the world's largest producer of plastic, butresearch has shown that the United States was the world's n…
The Problem with Carbon Capture and Sequestration
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
Leaders around the world, including PA Governor, Tom Wolf have been pushing for investments in Carbon Capture and Seq…
What comes next for plastic bags in Pennsylvania?
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
July began with the expiration of a statewide restriction on banning the use of plastic bags. The development is welc…
Economic Impact Report Commissioned by Shell Doesnt Tell the Whole Story. Far From It.
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
A report released by researchers at Robert Morris University last week grabbed headlines across western Pennsylvania:…
New Report Details the Use of Forever Chemicals in Fracking Operations Despite Serious Concerns to Public Health
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
The Physicians for Social Responsibility recently released a report titled "Fracking with Forever Chemicals" which di…
Supreme Court Ruled Natural Gas Companies Can Condemn State-Owned Land
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
The U.S. Supreme Court recently dealt a severe blow in an ongoing fight to prevent PennEast, a private natural gas co…
More than Skin-Deep: Environmental Racism, Justice, and Pennsylvania
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
We are a year out from the wave of protests, marches, sit-ins, phone and text banking, and multifaceted advocacy that…
Introducing PennFuture's Legal Interns
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
Since its inception in 1998, PennFuture has emphasized the importance of using the law to protect Pennsylvania's envi…
Will Pennsylvania's Environment Ever Be a Priority for the Legislature?
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
Probably no profession requires taking the long view as does that of the environmental advocate. That's probably why…
The Chesapeake Bay is Improving, but Still a Long Road to 2025
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
This week, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) gave the Chesapeake Bay a C in their l…
Federal Court Dismissed Lawsuit Challenging DRBC's Ban on Fracking
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
We continue to bring you good news on the fracking front in the Delaware River Basin. In February 2021, the Delaware…
Introduction: An Intersectional Approach to Fighting the Petrochemical Buildout in Pennsylvania
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
Modern-day Pennsylvania was molded by the rapid technological advancements of the Industrial Revolution. The result o…
The Plastics Problem: More False Strategies: Statewide Preemption
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with the Pennsylvania Legislature's attempts to stymie advances in envi…
Coal-Fired Power Plant to Close Because of Market Conditions, Not Environmental Regulations
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
On June 9, the owner of the Cheswick coal-fired power plant in Allegheny County, Houston-based GenOn Holdings LLC, an…
Instead of Taxing Electric Vehicles, Pennsylvania Should Focus on Growing the Industry
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
Pennsylvania has a reputation for the poor condition of our roads and bridges.In fact, when the American Society of C…
The Plastics Problem: Identifying False Solutions, Part 1
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
The scope of our plastic pollution problem is well known. Plastic escapes into the environment at all stages of its l…
What Comes Next in Pennsylvania's Efforts to Join RGGI?
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
In October of 2019, Governor Wolf issued an executive order to begin the process of joining the Regional Greenhouse G…
Regulatory Reforms Would Roll Back Environmental and Health Protections
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
Pennsylvania's legislators appear eager to overhaul how the Commonwealth reviews and implements state law. Don't be d…
Electric Mobility Legislation Could Supercharge EV Infrastructure
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) may have slowed during the coronavirus pandemic. But market forces clearly signal th…
Legislators Continue to Stand in the Way of Climate Action
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
Leaders in the General Assembly are offering more unproductive proposals that would undermine Pennsylvania's entry in…
Pennsylvania vs. the Future
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
In other parts of our nation, it is the spring of 2021.We have a president who understands that climate change is a c…
PennFuture Releases New Report to Save Chesapeake Bay
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
We are at an inflection point for Pennsylvania's efforts to save the Chesapeake Bay. What policymakers in the Keyston…
The Time to Hesitate is Through
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
President Joe Biden's American Jobs Planannouncement in Pittsburgh elicits great pride in being a Pennsylvanian. It f…
Net Metering Works for Pennsylvania
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
In the early days of distributed generation, utilities would sell power to consumers at the retail rate but, if custo…
A Banner Week for the Delaware River Watershed
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
It was a banner week for Pennsylvania's portion of the Delaware River Watershed, as three events unfolded here that…
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Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
PennFuture has published the third edition of a Fossil Fuel Subsidy report that first appeared in 2011. The 2021 vers…
A Breath of Fresh Air: How Will the Biden Administration Fight Carbon Pollution?
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
The beginning of 2021 has been busy for clean energy advocates. On January 14th, the Pennsylvania Department of Envir…
Fracking Banned in Delaware River Basin
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
After a decade of consideration and study, the Delaware River Basin Commission has finally banned hydraulic fracturin…
A Breath of Fresh Air: Relationship-Building Under a New Administration
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
The United States has transitioned to the new Biden Administration that offers a stark departure on national environm…
A Breath of Fresh Air
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
The United States has transitioned to the new Biden Administration that offers a stark departure on national environm…
In the Midst of a Democracy Emergency
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
The United States, and by extension Pennsylvania, is in the midst of a democracy emergency. Our public institutions a…
The Growing Danger of Pipelines Our Safety Regulations Overlook
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
In a November 2019 presentation, John Gale, Director of Standards and Rulemaking at the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous M…
Recycling is Exacerbating the Plastic Waste Crisis
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
On November 25th, 2020, Pennsylvania became the ninth state in the nation to pass so-called "advanced recycling" legi…
2019-2020 Legislative Wrap-Up & 2021 Preview: Where Does the PA General Assembly Stand on Our Environment?
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
With the close of the legislative session in Harrisburg at the end of Novembercame significant victories for Pennsylv…
More Challenges Knocking on Dimocks Door
Categories: Community / Environment / Energy /
Dimock has long played the unwelcomed role of ground zero in the fracking crisis in Pennsylvania. Early on during the…
Building the United States' Green Economy Future through Appalachia
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
When I returned to environmental work in Pennsylvania in 2015, after five years working in Maryland for the Audubon S…
Confronting Reality: Pennsylvania Leaders Refuse to Acknowledge State of Petrochemical Industry
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
In the United States-the biggest fossil fuel producer in the world-Pennsylvania is second in shale gas production onl…
Setting the Record Straight About Fracking in Pennsylvania
Categories: Climate / Environment / Energy /
The issue of fracking in Pennsylvania has taken center stage this election season, with dozens of television news seg…
Fossil Fuel Polluters and Friends Ramp Up New Attack on Solar Energy in Pa.
Categories: Climate / Energy /
Fossil fuel polluters and their enablers in the legislature have been ramping up a new attack on solar energy in Penn…
Trump's Energy Secretary Denies Human-Made Climate Change, Promotes Petrochemicals During Beaver County Visit
Categories: Climate / Environment / Energy /
As the election approaches, it seems national politics have converged on Southwestern Pennsylvania, each visiting pol…
LNG in PA Blog #5: Public opposition grows to proposed LNG shipping terminals
Categories: Community / Environment / Energy /
Before New Fortress Energy announced their risky plan to ship millions of gallons of liquified natural gas across the…
Despite roadblocks from Legislature, RGGI rulemaking process advances
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
In February, PennFuturewrote a blog post debunking a number of myths surrounding Pennsylvania's future participation…
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LNG in PA Blog #4: Liquified Natural Gas Should Not Become the New Bomb Trains to Threaten Our Communities
Categories: Community / Energy /
Communities across Eastern Pennsylvania are at the center of a new debate over whether fracked gas and its byproducts…
Pennsylvania's Unions Must Look to the Future
Categories: Climate / Energy /
My maternal and paternal grandfathers were immigrants from Italy.Both worked in coal breakers in the anthracite regio…
REFUTED: CNX's Eight Irrefutable Energy Truths Expose Industry Desperation
Categories: Climate / Environment / Energy /
Recently, CNX published a blog post called "Nine Irrefutable Energy Truths and a Critical Call to Action."Reading the…
Senate Bill 15: A New Direction for Pennsylvania
Categories: Climate / Environment / Energy /
The energy industry across the nation is in transition, a fact that is particularly obvious in Pennsylvania. People o…
A New Coalition for a Better Future
Categories: Climate / Environment / Energy /
As of July 23, 2020, it's official-Pennsylvania has a law that will award four lucky petrochemical or fertilizer manu…
PennFuture releases A Green Stimulus and Recovery Platform for Pennsylvania Report
Categories: Environment / Energy /
A rampant global health pandemic. A deep and rapid decline in Pennsylvania's economy that is nearly double that of th…
LNG in PA Blog #2: Bomb Trains Through Pennsylvania
Categories: Community / Environment / Energy /
A New Voice in the Fight Against Petrochemicals
Categories: Climate / Environment / Energy /
As the petrochemical industry rears its ugly head in Pennsylvania, PennFuture is building organizational capacity to…
LNG in PA Blog Series #1: What is Liquefied Natural Gas?
Categories: Climate / Environment / Energy /
Pipeline's Cancellation Shows Importance of Renewables in Pennsylvania
Categories: Community / Environment / Energy /
In a major win for the environment, Dominion Energy Inc. and Duke Energy Corp. announced Sunday that they will not be…
Fracked Gas, Petrochemical Industries Continue to Overpromise and Underdeliver for Pennsylvanians
Categories: Climate / Environment / Energy /
A core tenant of our mission at PennFuture is working to secure a better and brighter future for all Pennsylvanians,…
Pennsylvanias House Environmental Committee Approves Bill Removing DEPs Authority to Enact Carbon Reduction Program
Categories: Climate / Environment / Energy /
On June 9, the House Environmental Resources & Energy Committee, chaired by Representative Daryl Metcalfe (Butler…
Trump Administration Rolls Back Air Protections from Fossil Fuel Plants
Categories: Climate / Environment / Energy /
Recently, the United States Environmental Protection Agency rolled back protections under the federal Mercury Air Tox…
Fracked Gas and Petrochemical Industries Jockeying for Stimulus Recovery Funds
Categories: Environment / Energy /
In mid-April, the fracked gas and petrochemical industries-with the help of a contingent in the U.S. House of Represe…
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Model shows participation in RGGI would reduce pollution by 180 million tons
Categories: Environment / Energy /
On April 24, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) held a joint web conference to present rec…
DEP is Asking Us to Pick Up the Bill for Waste Coal...Again
Categories: Climate / Energy /
Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is developing a CO2 trading program compatible with the R…
While We Wait on the Future to Happen
Categories: Community / Environment / Energy /
I'm struck by how, on the one hand, the COVID-19 emergency demands all of our focus and attention. Society's collecti…
Why Does Pennsylvania Insist on Offering Subsidies to Fracked Gas and Petrochemicals? The Industries Would Collapse Without Them
Categories: Climate / Environment / Energy /
Harrisburg policymakers are, again, debating whether to give more taxpayer-funded handouts to the fracking and petroc…
Fallacy, Fiction, and Falsehoods: Debunking RGGI Myths Part 1
Categories: Climate / Environment / Energy /
On January 31st, 2020 the Department of Environmental Protection released its proposal to advance a cap-and-invest pr…
First Glimpse: PennFuture analyzes draft of DEP's cap-and-invest program
Categories: Climate / Energy /
On February 13th, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will be presenting the first draft of…
The Dangers of Senate Bill 790, Part II
Categories: Community / Environment / Energy /
In December, PennFuture Director of Policy Ezra Thrushwrote a blog detailing the dangers of a new piece of legislatio…
New rule attempts to tackle pollution from oil and gas wells
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
On Jan. 19, 2016 Governor Tom Wolf announced a new strategy to reduce the emissions of methane-a dangerous greenhouse…
Facing the Frack: Gas is Not Enhancing our Environment
Categories: Climate / Environment / Energy /
The fracked gas industry and its proponents excel at spinning false narratives about the health and safety of its ope…
Fallacy, Fiction and Falsehoods: Debunking the Petrochemical Industry Part 2
Categories: Climate / Community / Environment / Energy /
This is the second in an ongoing series of blogs taking a deeper look at the comments, misinformation, hyperbole, and…
Making Sense of Pennsylvanias Growing Debate Around Petrochemicals
Categories: Climate / Environment / Energy /
When Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto announced his opposition late last month to any more petrochemical companies in wes…
Fallacy, Fiction and Falsehoods: Debunking the Petrochemical Industry Part 1
Categories: Environment / Energy /
Note: This is the first in an ongoing series of blogs taking a deeper look at the comments, misinformation, hyperbole…
So Pennsylvania Might Join RGGI. What Comes Next?
Categories: Climate / Environment / Energy /
On Oct. 3rd, Governor Tom Wolf signed Executive Order 2019-07 instructing the Department of Environmental Protection…
A Sunnier Vision for Pennsylvania: An Alternative to Giving Tax Breaks to Fossil Fuels
Categories: Climate / Energy /
On Sept. 19th, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted to give yet another gift to the already heavily subsid…
Fracking Across Property Lines: Briggs v. Southwestern Energy Production Company
Categories: Energy /
Multiyear litigation over unconventional oil and gas development-specifically, hydraulic fracturing or 'fracking'-has…
Philadelphia Energy Solutions' Failures
Categories: Climate / Energy /
In late August, I traveled to South Philadelphia to testify before Philadelphias Refinery Advisory Group, which was f…
The Problem with Pipelines
Categories: Community / Energy /
The burgeoning petrochemical movement is in its infancy in western Pennsylvania, but we've already experienced signif…
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The Cost of Replacing Nuclear Power with Natural Gas
Categories: Energy /
A legislative report from Pennsylvania's Nuclear Energy Caucus advocates preserving the state's five nuclear power pl…
Op-Ed: Beaver County Pipeline Explosion: How to Prevent Future Catastrophes
Categories: Energy /
This op-ed, originally published in the Beaver County Times, reflects on the Beaver County pipeline explosion and wha…
Saving Energy on a Budget
Categories: Energy /
You can save energy without breaking the bank by making a few smart choices. Switch to LED light bulbs, unplug device…
Cloudy with a 100% Chance of Solar Power Generation
Categories: Energy /
Peters Township homeowners Bob and Susan Donnan decided to install solar panels on their house and quickly found that…
Fueling Pennsylvania's Clean Energy Jobs Engine
Categories: Energy /
More than 86,000 Pennsylvanians already work in clean energy jobs, according to a report from E2 and partner organiza…
State Level Implications of Pruitt's Vehicle Emissions Rollback
Categories: Energy /
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt’s attempt to roll back federal vehicle emissions and…
Shop for Clean Energy & Take the Power Back
Categories: Energy /
National data show renewable energy is outpacing fossil fuels. Non‑hydro renewables grew by more than 13 percent in 2…
False Choices: Why PA Doesn't Need to Sell Out Health for Dirty Energy Jobs
Categories: Energy /
For twenty years, PennFuture has held officials, agencies and corporate interests accountable to protect our environm…
Our Clean Energy Future Requires Leadership from All
Categories: Energy /
What will it take for Pennsylvania to break its reliance on dirty, unhealthy fuels like coal and gas and move boldly…
Time for Solar
Categories: Energy /
During an Oct. 14 bus tour hosted by PennFuture and sponsored by Levin Furniture, participants visited three homes in…
Meet the Donor: Joseph Morinville - EIS Solar
Categories: Energy /
To mark the 7th Annual Pittsburgh Solar Tour on Oct. 14, PennFuture spoke with long-time supporter Joe Morinville of…
Join PennFuture's 7th Annual Solar Tour!
Categories: Energy /
PennFuture invites you to explore how solar works in Pittsburgh by joining the seventh annual Pittsburgh Solar Tour o…
Experience the Aquaponics Project at Pittsburgh Solar Tour
Categories: Energy /
This blog invites readers to the upcoming Pittsburgh Solar Tour and introduces aquaponics, a sustainable agricultural…
Shifting Away from Coal Toward Renewable Energy
Categories: Energy /
Our energy system is rapidly shifting toward clean energy and away from coal. Misleading rhetoric has clouded the deb…
Defending Net Metering in Pennsylvania
Categories: Energy /
Net metering allows homeowners and businesses with solar panels or other small renewable energy systems to receive cr…
Waste Coal: Time to finish what we started.
Categories: Energy /
Alternatives to Waste Coal Plants – Waste coal piles continue to threaten our air and water, and burning them f…
Governor's budget and the solar saw-buck
Categories: Energy /
Wolf’s proposed budget aims to revive Pennsylvania’s lagging solar industry. The state has fallen from 5t…