June 8, 2026Courtesy of Nidel & Nace P.L.L.C.Meat plant spreads 1000s of gallons of blood on fields, fouling Pa. town's waterby Maddy Lauria of GristA recent verdict doesn’t require Nicholas Meat to change how it operates despite the history of environmental violations revealed during the trial.
June 5, 2026Courtesy of PA Turnpike CommissionPennsylvania Turnpike wants to turn roadside land into pollinator habitatby Carolyn Beans of Chesapeake Bay JournalThe commission is adding wildflowers, EV charging stations, solar panels, and more to make America’s first sustainable superhighway.
June 3, 2026Courtesy of Eric AltonRiver otters flourish in former toxic hot spots across Chesapeake Bay watershedby Karl Blankenship of Chesapeake Bay JournalBiologists once thought such urban areas were mostly off-limits to the semi-aquatic mammals, which are often associated with more pristine conditions
June 2, 2026Commonwealth Media ServicesShapiro pitches incentives for data centers to be environmentally friendlier as budget deadline approachesby Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PAGOP leaders, unions say they’re open to the plan. But some environmental groups argue it’s too deferential to developers.
May 18, 2026Ted Shaffrey / APWhat’s next for data centers in Pa.? State lawmakers are split on how to regulate them.by Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PAThe state House recently passed bills to mandate energy use disclosure, require data centers to contribute to state programs, and more.
May 18, 2026Carolyn Kaster / APAs electric bills rise, some states are focusing on the growing profits of utilitiesby Marc Levy of the Associated PressThe push comes during a midterm election year in which affordability is the leading theme in Democrats’ attempts to loosen Republicans' control of Washington.
May 4, 2026Ted Shaffrey / APData center demand is making bedfellows of construction unions, tech industryby Associated PressConstruction workers, employed on many data center projects, are scrambling to recruit new apprentices to feed the demand. They’ve become allies of tech giants and sympathetic government officials.
April 22, 2026Matt Rourke / AP3 Pa. counties rank among nation’s worst for air pollution, study findsby Keerti Gopal of Inside Climate NewsAllegheny, Dauphin, and Philadelphia Counties received failing grades for three measures of pollution in a recent American Lung Association report surveying the nation’s air quality.
April 13, 2026Commonwealth Media ServicesNatural gas interests court Pa. Democrats, touting products as ‘clean energy’by Kiley Bense of Inside Climate NewsNatural Allies for a Clean Energy Future, an industry coalition formed in 2020, wants to redefine gas as an affordable and clean source.
April 6, 2026Rebecca Egan McCarthy / GristData centers are straining the grid. Can they be forced to pay for it?by Naveena Sadasivam of GristThe “Ratepayer Protection Pledge” signed by Microsoft, Meta, OpenAI, and Amazon lacks oversight mechanisms to ensure that they follow through on promises.
March 26, 2026Georgianna Sutherland / For Spotlight PAPa. is at the epicenter of an avian flu outbreak that has killed thousands of birdsby Kiley Bense of Inside Climate NewsPennsylvania and its densely clustered poultry farms are directly in the path of the Atlantic Flyway, a major migration route for wild birds.
March 19, 2026Evan Vucci / APPa., 22 other states sue EPA over Trump rollback of greenhouse gas health findingby Shifra Dayak of NOTUSThe Obama-era finding on greenhouse gas emissions underpinned almost all climate change mitigation measures by the federal government.
March 19, 2026Rebecca Egan McCarthy / GristSix data center campuses are planned for just one Pa. borough. Residents are fighting back.by Rebecca Egan McCarthy of GristFive developers are planning to build six data center campuses in Archbald, which will cover a full 14% of the town, evict a trailer park, and border many residential properties.
March 13, 2026Commonwealth Media ServicesPennsylvania’s data center boom, by the numbersby Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PADozens of new data centers are proposed in the commonwealth, big companies are pledging to spend billions, and many Pennsylvanians are skeptical.
March 9, 2026Ted Shaffrey / APShapiro wants to incentivize data centers to be better neighbors. Will that work?by Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PAThe governor plans to allow faster permitting for data centers built with consideration for water, energy, and local jobs.
Jan. 28, 2026Feixu Chen / Pittsburgh Media Partnership NewsroomMajor power grid operator for Pa., East Coast predicts energy shortfall by mid-2027by Hannah Frances Johansson of Pittsburgh Media Partnership NewsroomThe shortfall is driven by a slow replacement of retiring power plants and rising demand from electrification and data centers, PJM officials have said.
Jan. 22, 2026Ted Shaffrey / APUtility and AI interests are spending millions lobbying Congress, Trump to support data center boomby Samuel Larreal, Shifra Dayak, and Jade Lozada of NOTUSLobbying disclosures show tech, utility, and other companies spent big last year to score favorable treatment from federal lawmakers and regulators.
Jan. 16, 2026Alex Brandon / APShapiro backs plan with Trump admin to slow rising electricity prices amid data center surgeby Anna Kramer of NOTUSShapiro traveled to Washington to sign a document with Trump administration officials urging significant changes to the way that the grid is managed for 13 mid-Atlantic and Midwestern states.
Jan. 15, 2026Commonwealth Media ServicesMany Pa. residents don’t want data centers in their communities. State leaders are welcoming them.by Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PAPennsylvania residents across the state, from Allegheny to Lackawanna, have expressed concerns about the onslaught of data centers.
Jan. 6, 2026Commonwealth Media ServicesAs Pa. energy prices rise, advocates skeptical that lawmakers will put aside partisan differencesby Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PAConsumers could feel an even greater squeeze in the years ahead, as utility companies predict that efforts to build data centers across the state to meet the AI demand will make the energy crunch worse.
Dec. 31, 2025Photo providedMap shows growing number of data centers planned across Pennsylvaniaby Hannah Frances Johansson of Pittsburgh Media Partnership NewsroomA programmer from the Scranton area built a public map showing where data centers are planned in Pennsylvania.
Dec. 26, 2025Alexandra Wimley / Pittsburgh Media Partnership NewsroomThe battle for the heart — and health — of the Allegheny National Forestby Abigail Hakas of Pittsburgh Media Partnership NewsroomProponents and critics of logging rarely agree on the impacts of timber harvesting on wildfire risk, biological diversity, and pests and disease.
Dec. 26, 2025Alexandra Wimley / Pittsburgh Media Partnership NewsroomWhat’s at stake for Pa.’s only national forest as Trump admin considers rescinding anti-logging ruleby Abigail Hakas of Pittsburgh Media Partnership NewsroomA spokesperson for the Allegheny National Forest said the impact would not be felt locally, but some advocates remain skeptical.
Dec. 19, 2025Scott Goldsmith / Inside Climate NewsOutdated, disconnected systems leave Pa. unable to comprehensively track toxic oil and gas wasteby Kiley Bense and Peter Aldhous of Inside Climate NewsMore than a decade after regulators promised to improve reporting standards for this waste, an investigation found huge discrepancies in state records.
Nov. 14, 2025Commonwealth Media ServicesSolar rooftop program for Pa. schools survives budget deal that cut major climate policyby Kyle Bagenstose of Inside Climate NewsSolar for School remains one of the few policy bright spots for clean energy advocates following Pennsylvania’s newly negotiated exit from a carbon cap-and-trade program.
Nov. 12, 2025Commonwealth Media ServicesDemocrats sacrifice climate program for $50.1B budget agreementby Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PAThe Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative would have capped the amount of carbon that companies in Pennsylvania are allowed to emit.
Nov. 10, 2025Keith Srakocic / Associated PressDemocrats may sacrifice climate program to break Pennsylvania's budget impasseby Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PAPennsylvania’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a key climate change program, has been tied up in litigation for years.
Oct. 17, 2025Feixu Chen / Next Generation NewsroomAI boom sparks battle over giant data centers in Pennsylvania townsby Jon Hurdle of Inside Climate NewsBoosters say these complexes are big taxpayers and bring jobs. Critics cite constant low-frequency noise to spiking electric bills and major water usage.
Oct. 14, 2025Commonwealth Media ServicesHow Josh Shapiro wants to reshape the region’s power grid operator as prices riseby Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PAShapiro thinks Pennsylvania’s electric grid operator, PJM, moves too slowly. He wants states to have more control.
Sept. 22, 2025Keith Srakocic / APPa. once pioneered the renewable energy transition. What happened?by Kiley Bense and Dan Gearino of Inside Climate NewsNatural gas was pitched as a bridge from coal to renewables. Fifteen years later, the bridge seems to extend endlessly into Pennsylvania’s future.