Environment & Science

Northampton County's Return on Environment report won't come out until the fall, but early findings support the notion that local open spaces provide financial and health benefits for residents.

West Nile virus is endemic to Pennsylvania, including the Lehigh Valley. While human cases this year remain low, officials are still urging residents to avoid mosquito bites.

This week, although the Perseid meteor shower has passed its peak, it’s not too late to see a "shooting star."

Lehigh Gap Nature Center’s Bake Oven Knob Hawk Watch is back for another season. Officials are seeking volunteer observers and counters.

The Allentown Environmental Advisory Council on Monday discussed but did not vote on the draft letter, addressed to members of City Council.

Threatened due to habitat loss and other factors, purple martins in the Lehigh Valley depend on man-made bird houses. For the first time, they've taken up residence at St. Luke's Arboretum in Bethlehem Township.

This week, you may have noticed a second bright object joining the ‘morning star’ before dawn recently. It’s the giant planet Jupiter, and this week it will make its closest approach to Venus in the morning sky.

Farmers markets add to the local economy, driving tourism, officials said. Supporting them is also important for farmland preservation and strengthening community, advocates say.

Easton planners recommended against the zoning hearing board granting a special exception that would see a tributary on the grounds of the Easton Commerce Park project relocated.

“The Hidden Language of Trees: How Forests Secretly Communicate” will play at 8 p.m. Aug. 22 at The Neighborhood Center, 902 Philadelphia Road.

After days of updates, forecasters say the overall message is not how much snow or sleet could fall, but how difficult travel could become, especially Friday night.

There's a possible scenario emerging Friday in which parts of the Lehigh Valley could end up with 6 inches of snow, and some could end up with a lot more sleet or even freezing rain.

A new app developed by Moravian Academy students aimed at detecting and warning developers about waste runoff has secured over $10,000 in funding from successful pitch presentations.

Asked Santa for a white Christmas? Snow may arrive a day late in the Lehigh Valley, forecasters say.

This week marks the start of astronomical winter which began with the December solstice, Sunday morning just after 10 a.m. EST.

Already above its December snowfall average, the Lehigh Valley is expected to add a little more to that total this week.

While the penguins were taken off exhibit, barnyard birds and waterfowl at Lehigh Valley Zoo were shuffled to different enclosures so visitors could still view them.

Wind Gap will get a $130,000 state grant to help fund a new, larger pavilion at the borough's municipal park, officials announced Thursday.

Thousands were in the dark in Lehigh and Northampton counties as thunder rumbled and lighting flashed Friday afternoon in parts of the Lehigh Valley. Wind gusts reached more than 50 mph.

Strong winds sweeping through the Lehigh Valley early Friday already were knocking out power to thousands of residents, with outages expected to climb as a powerful cold front moves through the region.

In its review, the LVPC said the data center proposal lacks specificity needed to fully review the project in Upper Macungie Township.

The state Game Commission is coordinating a response, which includes "safe removal, testing and disposal" of the impacted birds.