Environment & Science

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.

On Dec. 21 at approximately 10:27 p.m. EST, we’ll begin the winter solstice north of the equator. Will the change of season finally bring snow?

It might seem counterintuitive, but harvesting holiday trees year after year is better for the environment than using an artificial one, experts said, especially amid the proliferation of plastic piling up in landfills.

Officials on Wednesday reviewed several preliminary transportation policy strategies for the Valley's priority climate action plan. The plan’s focus is to reduce carbon emissions from transportation, a significant driver of greenhouse gas emissions across the region.

More than three dozen projects in the Valley were awarded grants, receiving about 7% of the total funding awarded. Statewide, $335 million in grants were announced Wednesday.

"Turn around, don't drown", warned a spokesperson for PennDOT. More than once today, people in the Valley have had to be rescued from their cars after driving into water that shut their engines off, trapping the drivers.

Some parts of the Lehigh Valley saw more than four inches of rain from Sunday into Monday, with precipitation still falling.

Schools are closing early and a large swath of the region is under a flood warning until at least 3:15 p.m. as the storm system that inundated the area overnight moves north.

The winter, or December, solstice takes place this year between sundown on Dec. 21 and sunrise Dec. 22

The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission at 11 a.m. on Wednesday is holding a meeting at its Allentown office to brainstorm and prioritize ways to decarbonize transportation across the region. Decarbonization is the process of reducing or eliminating carbon dioxide emissions.

Carbon and Schuylkill are among the 43 counties that will benefit from the federal funding.

The plan uses the sale of credits for solar projects to plug oil and gas wells.

Drillers are expected to pay about $234M -- $90 million more than the year before.

Grants will go toward replacing gasoline- or diesel-fueled vehicles.

The 3-state panel is tasked with protecting resources of the Chesapeake Bay.

They don't bite or contain toxins, but they still don't have many friends in Pennsylvania.

Meeko is on a mission to save the planet from single-use plastic.

Opponents say joining RGGI will be an economic hardship on the state's energy sector.

Rep. Daryl Metcalfe has boosted fossil fuels and denied climate change.

The program is back for the start of 2022 after being canceled last year due to the pandemic.

After all but vanishing by the 1960s, the species is now self-sustaining in Pennsylvania.

Game Commission biologist Art McMorris has spent 18 years working on behalf of the winged predators.