Environment & Outdoors
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This Spider Was Discovered in Delco. Now, It Just Wants to Be Left Alone
A small team of volunteers is studying a spider unique to Delaware County and parts of nearby Philadelphia: the Pennsylvania purseweb spider, or Atypus snetsingeri, writes Sebastian Echeverri for The Philadelphia Inquirer. The spiders are built like inch-long tarantulas painted in earth tones. “They are very secretive. … They live their entire lives in their…
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Townships May Receive $10,000 for Open Space Projects Through Green Region Grant Program
Applications are being accepted for PECO’s Green Region Open Space grant program, which Natural Lands administers. The program, now in its 15th year, awards grants of up to $10,000 to eligible municipalities and recreation authorities within PECO’s service area. The deadline for applications is Oct. 31. Over the years, numerous municipalities, regional recreational authorities, and…
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American Eels Making a Comeback in Pickering Creek
American eels have been released into Pickering Creek at Historic Yellow Springs to help control populations of an invasive species of crayfish, writes Justin Heinze for the Phoenixville Patch. The Delaware Riverkeeper Network recently released more than 1,000 of the native fish into the creek in an attempt to improve the ecological health of the…
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Twelve-Year-Old from Coatesville Organizing ‘Climate Strike’ in Philadelphia
Coatesville resident Isaac Harte, 12, a student at Delaware Valley Friends School in Paoli, is heading the organizing efforts in Philadelphia for a global “climate strike” on Sept. 20, writes Will Bunch for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Harte and a growing cadre of teen protesters in the country are hoping that the strike that is planned…
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West Chester-Based Moody’s Analytics Warns of Massive Potential Cost of Climate Change
West Chester-based Moody’s Analytics has warned that climate change could potentially cost the global economy $69 trillion by 2100, if the predicted warming threshold of two degrees Celsius is reached, writes Steven Mufson for The Washington Post. Two degrees is the widely accepted limit for holding back climate change’s most dire effects. In its new…
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Local Environmental Consulting Firm Awarded $22 Million Contract by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Weston Solutions has been awarded a $22.1 million contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District for initial breach repairs to a levee system of the Missouri River. Based in West Chester, Weston Solutions is a provider of environmental and infrastructure support services to federal, state, and local governments and industrial, utility, and…
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Time for a Philly Swim in the Delaware? Not Yet, but River’s a Lot Cleaner Than It Used to Be
The Delaware River watershed was once so toxic it killed fish and could be smelled by pilots from 5,000 feet up, writes Michaela Winberg for the Philadelphia Inquirer. But it’s been 50 years since the Clean Water Act was implemented. Today, experts note the river is the cleanest it’s been in decades, but not enough…
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Pennsylvania Failing to Reduce Pollution Going into Chesapeake Bay, Risks Action from Feds
Pennsylvania is lagging behind in its efforts to reduce pollution going into the Chesapeake Bay from the Susquehanna River, risking action from federal regulators if it does not clean up its act soon, writes Elizabeth Hardison for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star. In western Chester County, the Octoraro Creek is a tributary of the Susquehanna River, which…
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Forbes: Initiatives Like Chester County’s Open Space Program Increase Property Values
Proximity to open space has long given a boost to the value of homes in big cities, but the same is also true for not-so-densely-developed areas, writes Barnet Sherman for Forbes. In fact, the Open Space Preservation Program in Chester County has had a significant positive effect on the value of local homes near green…
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Bad Habits Put Chester County’s Recycling Program in Jeopardy
According to officials with the Southeastern Chester County Refuse Authority, the recycling operation in Chester County is in jeopardy due to bad recycling habits of local residents, writes Fran Maye for the Daily Local News. Once a batch arrives to the recycling processing facility at SECCRA off Route 926 in West Grove, it usually contains…
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Money May Grow on Trees After All as County Releases Report on Economic Impact of Open Space
Surrounded by the rolling fields and wildlife of ChesLen Preserve, Chester County officials — along with the region’s leading land conservation and economic development partners — unveiled the first study on the economic benefits of Chester County’s preserved open space during the 30th anniversary celebration of open space preservation efforts. More than 300 of the…
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Here’s How Dirty the Air Is in Chester County
Chester County residents are among the more than 40 percent of Americans living in areas with unhealthy air, according to a new report by the American Lung Association. After a period when air quality improved nationwide, there is now clear evidence that air quality is worsening again due to several factors being fueled by climate…
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U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan: Climate Change Poses Grave Threats to Pennsylvania. Here’s What We’re Doing About It
By U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan and PennEnvironment Last week, as local residents celebrated Earth Day, 2019, we used it as a crucial opportunity to put a bright and necessary spotlight on one of the most critical issues affecting Pennsylvania, our country, and our world – climate change. Let us be frank: Climate change is happening.…
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Glenn ‘Hurricane’ Schwartz: These Numbers Tell the Story of Climate Change in Philadelphia
Weather records from past decades show that the climate in the Philadelphia area has changed in a variety of ways over the years, writes Glenn “Hurricane” Schwartz for NBC Philadelphia. Schwartz has been studying weather in the area since the 1950s and co-authored The Philadelphia Area Weather Book in 2003 with Dr. Jon Nese. According…
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Reusable Containers Coming to Pennsylvania, Courtesy of Trenton-Based Recycling Business
Reusable Haagen Dazs and Procter & Gamble containers will soon hit the shelves in some Pennsylvania stores thanks to TerraCycle, a recycling business based in Trenton, and its Loop platform, writes Alan Yu for WHYY. TerraCycle founder Tom Szaky has the ambitious goal of reducing waste. He has already made some progress with recycled diapers…
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Schuylkill River Heritage Center to Honor Marian and David Moskowitz at Award Celebration
This year, the Schuylkill River Heritage Center is honoring Marian and David Moskowitz at its Ninth Heritage Award Celebration on Thursday, Oct. 18 from 6-9 PM at The Foundry, located at 2 North Main Street in Phoenixville. Admission is $75 per person. Marian and David Moskowitz are being recognized for their amazing transformation of a…
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One Building Offers Solution for Bird Deaths Caused by Philadelphia’s Glass Skyline
Philadelphia’s glass skyline is a death trap for many migrating birds, but one building in Fairmount Park offers a solution, writes Inga Saffron for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Birds often mistake the reflections of trees in windows for the real thing, causing them to fly into them at full speed. This is far from a problem…
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All Welcome to North America’s Biggest Gathering of Birders and Outdoor Enthusiasts
In case you didn’t know, 2018 has been named the Year of the Bird by the National Geographic Society and the National Audubon Society, among others. It commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act which protects thousands of species of migratory birds and their migration corridors. With that in mind, there has…
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