The Allegheny Front for the week of
March 30, 2013
Shale To Solar: Farmers Use Gas Money to Build Solar Arrays
Dwayne Bauknight and Duane Miller have almost nothing in common—except for a row of gleaming new solar panels on their farms. For very different reasons, they're using gas money to invest in renewables.
EPA Water Study: 55% Streams, Rivers in Poor Condition
The Environmental Protection Agency’s first comprehensive survey of river health found that 55 percent of streams and rivers in the U.S. are in poor condition. What’s worse, for our area, is that a greater percentage of waterways east of the Mississippi were in poorer health than those to the west.
Ticked Off: Fragmentation, Invasives, Warm Temps Invite Lyme-Bearing Ticks
If you’re walking through the woods this time of year, you might not think to take precautions against deer ticks, normally associated with summer. But nature writer Marcia Bonta finds that ticks are popping up in unexpected places, at unexpected times.
Is Coal Mining Bad for Your Health?
A new study finds people are dying at a higher rate in coal-mining counties in West Virginia. Last summer, Jeanine Buchanich—a biostatistician at the University of Pittsburgh—began looking at the problem. Was living in a coal-mining town bad for you?
Hellbender Salamanders: Giant Indicators of Clean Water
Most people will never see an Eastern Hellbender salamander. They live almost exclusively under large rocks. But even if they’re a little shy, the amphibians have an important function. They reveal the health of our streams.