Environment & Science

January brought above-average snowfall to the Lehigh Valley, but long-range outlooks have flipped the script in a big way. Will February bring the big storms snow lovers are longing for?

Twenty-seven air quality monitors have so far been placed for Lehigh Valley Breathes, a Valley-wide, year-long effort to monitor air quality amid emissions from trucking and warehousing.

The four Galilean moons — Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto — that Galileo saw and named were discovered as he was looking through the very first telescope.

Take a look at stories that ran throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

After almost a decade with the same trash hauler, the city’s contract is expiring. Now, city trash is collected twice a week.

WLVR's Megan Frank talks with journalists Molly Bilinski and Jason Addy.

Applications open Monday for the 2024 Lehigh Valley Greenways Mini Grant Program and are accepted until 4 p.m. March 8. The grants are earmarked for conservation efforts in Lehigh and Northampton counties.

A 605-pound black bear harvested in the Lehigh Valley has ranked one of the largest in the state to be bagged during its most recent season, and was the sixth-heaviest bear in Pennsylvania for 2023.

Bethlehem City Council on Jan. 17 unanimously approved $88,802 to be put toward the designs of Phase II improvements along the Monocacy Way Trail.

There’s good news ahead for the Lehigh Valley, as temperatures are expected to get progressively warmer each day this week, with "no additional replenishment of arctic air from Canada."

Measures claiming to promote “energy choice” in Pennsylvania appear to be gaining momentum in the legislature.

The PAC with ties to the Bethlehem Landfill in the township pumped at least $75,000 into the race.

Some insects like mosquitos are thriving later in the season as temperatures reach well into the 70s.

More than 81,000 documented oil and gas wells across the U.S. have been left unplugged by former owners — far exceeding the previous estimate of 56,000, according to a new report by the Environmental Defense Fund.

Pennsylvania has a new, tech-savvy option for hunters and anglers: digital licenses. The Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission’s new web platform allows people to apply for and download licenses in PDF form.

Get Outside for Good is a monthly hike aimed at raising awareness — and money — about and for Lehigh Valley nonprofit organizations. The hike, held the first Sunday of each month at the South Mountain Preserve in Allentown, is bringing local women together.

A new report says Lehigh Valley residents breathed in heavily polluted air for more than 50 days last year.

Texas-based pipeline builder Energy Transfer faces 48 criminal charges related to construction of its Mariner East pipeline project, including a felony count of failing to report pollution.

Electric vehicles are having a moment at the state capitol.

This week, PennEast Pipeline said it would stop developing a proposed pipeline from Pennsylvania to New Jersey.

Allegheny County has a new rule on the books aimed at lowering air pollution levels during weather events that trap industrial fumes near the ground.

When the glaciers retreated 13,000 years ago from northwestern Pennsylvania, eight natural lakes were left in their wake. The ones that have become popular, like Conneaut and Edinboro lakes, have vacation homes, resorts, and farms nearby. But one lake stands out as a jewel of the region: Lake Pleasant.