The Allegheny Front for the week of
April 11-17, 2014
Ginseng TV Show Features Questionable Practices
A new TV show called "Appalachian Outlaws" focuses on people poaching valuable ginseng root. It was one of the most popular shows on cable channels, averaging over 2.7 million viewers per episode. There’s no word whether another season is in the works, but some conservationists are hoping the show will just go away.
Is Fracking Making Air Quality Better or Worse?
Pennsylvania is reporting some types of air pollution from natural gas drilling are on the decline. But a new study in Washington County, Pennsylvania finds those living near gas drilling may be experiencing high spikes in air pollution.
Bird Files: Baby Wood Ducks Drop Like Fuzzy Missiles
Newly hatched Wood Ducks make a daring dive from their nests, which can be as high as a 30-story building. These water foul with unusual child-rearing habits migrate north throughout March and April to return to their summer nesting grounds.
Birdsong's Her Name, Birding is Her Game
The Allegheny Front's new Bird Files segment features profiles of regional birds as described by area experts. One of those experts has the perfect name for the job—Mary Birdsong. She's with Erie’s Presque Isle Audubon Society.
Book Review: Pinchot and the Greatest Good
Pennsylvania's first environmentally aware governor was Gifford Pinchot. He was also the first chief of the National Forest Service, and a founding father of conservation. The Allegheny Front's commentator Ken Chiacchia recently read Seeking the Greatest Good: The Conservation Legacy of Gifford Pinchot.
Chevron Blocked Access to DEP After Fatal Well Fire in Southwest PA
When a Chevron natural gas well exploded in Greene County, Pa., killing a worker, the company blocked personnel with the state Department of Environmental Protection from accessing the site for nearly two days. The DEP acquiesced, despite its regulatory authority. Now, that issue is one of nine violations the DEP outlined in a letter to Chevron last month.
Years of Living Dangerously: Climate Change Gets the Hollywood Treatment
%20webf064.jpg?itok=noO4F3JA "Showtime presents Years of Living Dangerously, a groundbreaking documentary event series which provides first-hand reports on those affected by--and seeking solutions to--climate change. - Photo: The Years Project/SHOWTIME - Photo ID: YOLD_LastStand_506.R Pictured: Correspondent Harrison Ford from the segment \"Last Stand.\" Additional correspondents include Mark Bittman, Christopher Hayes, Lesley Stahl, Sanjayan Muttulingam, Thomas Friedman, Ian Somerhalder, Olivia Munn, America Ferrera, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Matt Damon, Michael C. Hall, Don Cheadle and Jessica Alba. The Executive Producers of the series are James Cameron, Jerry Weintraub, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Joel Bach, David Gelber and Daniel Abbasi.")
James Cameron made a big splash with the blockbuster film “Titanic.” His latest producing credit also includes an iceberg or two, and a lot of stars. But in the "Years of Living Dangerously" documentary series, Hollywood is teaming up with scientists to sell Americans on the realities of climate change.