Environment & Science

Sen. Bob Casey toured Infinera's Upper Macungie Township packaging facility while urging for CHIPS Act investment in Pennsylvania.

The Lehigh Valley is no longer under a winter weather advisory Friday except in parts of Northampton County, as the precipitation in the area will mostly be rain. But heavy snow is expected in the Poconos.

Northampton County is approved to join other municipalities and residents who have a legal standing in opposing the proposed landfill in Lower Saucon Township.

Local high schools are participating in the Central East Pennsylvania Science Olympiad on March 16 at Kutztown University.

The North Whitehall Planning Commission tabled one waiver for the Strawberry Acres 55-plus residential development plan and recommended denial for another.

“The long-term period looks to be defined as a more active and unsettled timeframe compared to the middle of this week,” the National Weather Service said in its latest forecast discussion, noting confidence has increased for a system that will impact the region late Friday through early Saturday morning.

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The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory between 7 tonight and 7 a.m. Tuesday.

Bald eagle populations in Pennsylvania and the United States have rebounded over the years, but they’re still dying from lead poisoning, including an eagle Centre Wildlife Care in central Pennsylvania had tried to treat.

Fifty-seven residents and entities in and around Lower Saucon Township received status this week to join a legal battle against the proposed expansion of the Bethlehem Landfill.

The box tree moth, a highly destructive, invasive insect, was discovered for the first time in Pennsylvania, in two cemeteries in Erie County. A quarantine has been issued.

The “Stanley Jr. Kids Wheelbarrow and 7-piece Garden Set" has been recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission after the paint on the hoe and rake were found to contain lead levels exceeding the federal content ban.

Brad Klein reviews the week’s astronomical highlights with Bethlehem’s ‘Backyard Astronomy Guy,’ Marty McGuire. This week, they look ahead to the Autumnal Equinox.

SpaceX’s capsule Polaris Dawn splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico in the predawn darkness early Sunday. Returning to Earth were two SpaceX engineers, a former Air Force Thunderbird pilot and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman of the Lehigh Valley. Isaacman became only the 264th person to perform a spacewalk.

A Lehigh University graduate last year recorded a new species of mushroom at Wildlands Conservancy's South Mountain Preserve.

Monarch butterflies are starting to migrate through the Lehigh Valley. An annual tagging program, held at Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center, helps conservation efforts.

Called the Recovery in Nature initiative, two state departments have joined forces to create regional-specific partnerships to bolster substance use recovery efforts while strengthening all residents’ connection to nature.

While Tropical Storm Francine and its remnants will not be moving this way, it will play a role in the Lehigh Valley’s weather pattern for the next few days.

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America released its report of the most challenging places to live with asthma. The release coincides with peak asthma season in September.

Early Tuesday, Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur who has a home in the Lehigh Valley, launched into space for a second time as part of a mission dubbed Polaris Dawn. The launch was visible in the area.

Awardees of the state Department of Education’s Environmental Repairs Grant program were announced Monday. It focuses on eliminating lead, mold, asbestos and other environmental hazards from school buildings.

Brad Klein reviews the week’s astronomical highlights with Bethlehem’s ‘Backyard Astronomy Guy,’ Marty McGuire. This week should be a good one for viewing the planet Saturn.