
Molly Bilinski
Environment & Science reporterI cover environment and science for LehighValleyNews.com. Originally from Schuylkill County, I got my start in journalism writing obituaries for the Reading Eagle in 2014 after graduating from Kutztown University. I’ve also reported for The Press of Atlantic City, covering municipalities, crime and courts, and The Morning Call, where I was part of the audience team. In 2022, I won first place in the diversity category of the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association’s Keystone Media Awards. Contact me at mollyb@lehighvalleynews.com or 610-984-8225.
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The heavy rains wreaked havoc on the region, already saturated by a round of storms last weekend. And more rain is expected this week.
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With the strong possibility of more smoke this summer, the Valley's residents and event organizers are looking to the region’s leaders for guidance — but there’s no continuity or clear thresholds being imposed.
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The disease, a relatively new and deadly threat to the American beech, has few treatment options and no known cure.
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The Community and The Arts Clean Up aims to combine community service and engagement through a tournament-style competition – with prizes for the team that fills the most trash bags – followed by a gathering with live music and food.
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Lafayette College in late May submitted a replanting plan to the city after officials threatened to stop work when 46 trees were cleared from the slope without approval. It's unclear whether the plans have been approved.
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While the Lehigh Valley is no stranger to the effects of climate change, the new record is a startling reminder about how how global warming has local impacts.
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State environmental officials, along with conservationists across the U.S., are partnering this summer for a firefly observation program called the Firefly Watch Community Science Project.
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The Schnecksville zoo's annual Independence Day Celebration included patriotic enrichment for the animals, free flags for guests, as well as live music from the Allentown Hobo “Almost” Marching Band.
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More people are clamoring for drone shows, which are quieter and safer than fireworks, but Chris Hopkins has the ability to deliver both, and more.
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Earlier this month, the state Senate approved Sen. Lisa Boscola's bill, which would increase the fine and direct any fees collected towards bald and golden eagle conservation efforts across the commonwealth.
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Pennsylvania’s maple sugaring season is well underway. At the Monroe County Conservation District’s Singing Hemlock Sugar Shack, educators guided visitors through the history of maple syrup production.
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Advocates and officials across Pennsylvania have signaled their support the new standards for fine particle pollution, also called soot or PM 2.5. However, federal officials don’t anticipate communities will meet the standard for almost a decade.
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More than 200 years after the sanctuary was built, church leaders are working to make its heating and cooling more sustainable. While work is already underway, the oldest Moravian Church in North America still needs funding.
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Warehouses, highways: More preliminary data released from $100K Lehigh Valley air monitoring projectLehigh Valley Breathes aims to monitor air quality amid emissions from trucking and warehousing. Here's the February update.
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With spring still weeks away, state forest officials are gearing up for this year’s spongy moth hatch. Here's what Lehigh Valley residents need to know.
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A half-dozen city leaders and environmental advocates highlighted the economic, environmental and public health benefits the implementation of clean truck standards could reap across the Valley.
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More than 100 businesses, officials, organizations and environmental advocates statewide — including two from the Lehigh Valley — signed a letter to Shapiro arguing his economic development plan, “Pennsylvania Gets It Done,” fails to prioritize sustainable industries and instead doubles down on fossil fuels.
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Memorial Library of Nazareth and Vicinity was one of 17 libraries in 14 counties statewide to receive Keystone Grants.
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The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission last week released a draft of its Priority Climate Action Plan, a document almost a year in the making aimed at tamping down the region’s carbon emissions and mitigating the effects of climate change.
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Five farms, three in Lehigh County and two in Northampton County, were the latest to be included in the commonwealth’s Farmland Preservation Program, along with more than a dozen others across the state.
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A Lehigh Valley resident was recognized as a “Volunteer of the Year” for 2023 by Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, a statewide nonprofit that focuses on litter cleanups and community improvements.
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One area of potential concern at the Allentown State Hospital had been the presence of dioxins in the soil. Dioxins are a group of toxic chemical compounds that take a long time to break down in the environment, and can cause health problems in people.