Irina Zhorov

Coal Hill, a pile of coal on the outskirts of Trevorton, in Central Pennsylvania, is a testament to the old industry here and a reminder that companies didn't clean up when they finished mining. (Irina Zhorov/WHYY)

A bill aims to address abandoned mine lands with a focus on economic development. Proponents see it as a way to imagine a more sustainable future for old coal country.

6 years ago

Listen 8:06

An ambulance pulls out of the emergency entrance at Temple University Hospital.

Politics & Policy

U.S. could cut payments to hospitals treating uninsured patients

Hospitals treating poor populations could be seeing cuts to subsidies in 2017.

6 years ago

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. (Cliff Owen/AP Photo)

Politics & Policy

Cuts contained in latest ACA repeal effort would hurt region

Senate Republicans are trying to push through a last-ditch Obamacare repeal — something that will be harder to do now that Republic ...

6 years ago

A flare stack puts out a flame at a refinery near an area hit by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey in Port Arthur, Texas, Friday, Sept. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Money

Summer gas requirements waived in face of Harvey damage

The Environmental Protection Agency has ended summer fuel requirements early for states affected by fuel disruptions due to Hurricane Har ...

6 years ago

Science

Summer gas requirements waived in face of Harvey damage

The Environmental Protection Agency has ended summer fuel requirements early for states affected by fuel disruptions due to Hurricane Har ...

6 years ago

The Pulse

Science

Returning restaurants’ oyster shells back to the water

Shell recycling keeps them out of landfills and improves ecosystem health. About 120 miles east of Washington, D.C., Delaware’s ...

6 years ago

Listen 6:44

Catfish that are part of the Tulane fish collection are stored in jars full of alcohol. Tulane is about to receive a large share of the University of Louisiana Monroe fish collection because ULM no longer wants to support it. (Irina Zhorov/The Pulse)

The Pulse

Science

When natural history collections bow to other priorities

In 1962, Neil Douglas accepted a position in the brand new biology department of what is now the University of Louisiana Monroe. The scho ...

6 years ago

Listen

Monday's eclipse will cut solar panel's power-generating ability. Regional transmission company PJM is getting ready for interruption.(Lilac Mountain Photography/Bigstock)

Urban Planning

Eclipse to dim regional grid’s solar energy supply

When the total solar eclipse darkens skies in the Philadelphia region Monday, it will interrupt the power-generating capacity of solar pa ...

6 years ago

The BoRit Superfund site in Ambler, Pennsylvania, is nearing completion. (Jessica McDonald/WHYY, file)

EPA finishes cleaning up Ambler Superfund site, outlines what comes next

A federal effort to clean up a Superfund site in a Montgomery County borough is finished, and regulators are looking ahead to the final s ...

6 years ago

EPA finishes cleaning up Ambler Superfund site, outlines what comes next

A federal effort to clean up a Superfund site in a Montgomery County borough is finished, and regulators are looking ahead to the final s ...

6 years ago

Teresa Wall uses vanilla in about 75 percent of her recipes at her Philadelphia bakery, Tartes. But not everyone is willing to pay for real vanilla. (Irina Zhorov/The Pulse)

Natural vanilla shortages lead to not so natural solutions

There’s a shortage of real vanilla and natural vanilla flavor. What’s the difference? In a tiny pink Philadelphia bake ...

6 years ago

Listen

In 2012, Superstorm Sandy flooded the New Jersey shoreline. (AP Photo/U.S. Air Force, Master Sgt. Mark C. Olsen, File)

Study: Climate change will increase inequality in U.S.

Higher temperatures, rising seas, and changing weather and storm patterns are expected to increase inequality across the U.S. That ...

6 years ago

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