The Assembly Environment, Natural Resources, and Solid Waste Committee and the Senate Environment and Energy Committee will meet jointly on Thursday, August 14, 2025 at 10:00 AM in the LMH Room, Toms River Municipal Complex, 33 Washington Street, Toms River, New Jersey.
The committees will meet to take testimony from invited speakers on the topics of:
Tidal and wave energy,
Geothermal energy,
Demand-side management,
Advanced nuclear technologies, and
Progress of the Board of Public Utilities in exploring energy technologies.
If you like this post, you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics.It’s packed daily with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Please do not take our word for it; try it free for a full month
CLAIRTON, Pa. — Pittsburgh Action News 4 has confirmed at least one person has died in the explosion at the U.S. Clairton Coke Works plant in Pennsylvania.
In addition to the person who has died, dozens of others have been injured, with at least two unaccounted for after the blast.
Video from Sky 4, Pittsburgh’s only news helicopter, captured fire crews battling flames as ambulances rushed to the scene.
Dispatchers confirmed multiple people have been injured. The extent of those injuries is unknown.
A timelapse from the Breathe Project captured the moment the explosion happened and the black smoke that followed.
The explosion rocked the U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works plant in Pennsylvania on Aug. 11, 2025. (Reuters)
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said his administration is in touch with local officials in the area as they respond to the explosion.
This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information at their website.
Lt. Governor Austin Davis, who grew up in McKeesport, also released a statement: “The Commonwealth is providing whatever resources and manpower are needed to help with emergency response. Please stay away from the area at this time to allow emergency crews to do their job and follow all future guidance from officials for those that live nearby.”
“Felt like thunder. Shook the scaffold, shook my chest, then shook the building. Then we saw the smoke coming up from the steel mill,” Zachary Buday said.
If you like this post, you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics.It’s packed daily with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Please do not take our word for it; try it free for a full month
On 17 July 2025, a bipartisan bill aimed at uncovering the potential human health implications of exposure to microplastics in the food and water supply was introduced into Congress.
Sponsored by Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-OR), Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Rick Scott (R-FL), and Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL), the aptly named Microplastics Safety Act would direct the US Food and Drug Administration to compile information about the impacts of microplastics exposure on human health and submit a report to Congress that outlines risks to children’s health, the endocrine system, and reproductive health along with detailing any associations between microplastics exposures and cancer and other chronic illnesses.
Although the FDA has recently stated that “current scientific evidence does not demonstrate that levels of microplastics and nanoplastics detected in food pose a risk to human health,” lawmakers are demanding more concrete answers about the impacts of microplastic exposures on health and recommendations for legislative and administration actions to address the same. However, the lack of standardized definitions, reference materials, sample collection and preparation procedures, and appropriate quality controls may present significant obstacles to satisfying the bill’s objectives and truly understanding any risks associated with microplastics exposures.
The Microplastics Safety Act follows closely on the heels of California’s Department of Toxic Substances’ proposal to add microplastics to the candidate chemicals list of California’s Safer Consumer Products Program. Priority products, or those containing at least one chemical from the candidate list, may face additional regulation in California to limit impacts and exposures.
If you like this post, you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics.It’s packed daily with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Please do not take our word for it; try it free for a full month
Enjoy cycling but scared of vehicular traffic? Consider rail trails, a great alternative to biking along busy roads.
Rail trails are converted railroad corridors that have been converted to multi-purpose trails. Pennsylvania is blessed with over 200 of them, covering more than 2,200 miles. Some of the best in the entire country lie in the Commonwealth.
These trails are usually well graded, and you can often pick a gradual, downhill-sloping direction to travel. They are a perfect fit for parents pulling a trailer or for riders who cannot physically handle hills.
The easiest way to experience a rail trail (if one isn’t close to home) is to find a hotel or other lodging located right along the trail. Most trails have websites that list places to stay. However, some of the more established and longer trails do offer an associated shuttle service.
Here are some Pennsylvania rail trails worth checking out.
If you like this post, you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics.It’s packed daily with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Please do not take our word for it; try it free for a full month
Lyme disease has been reported in every county in New Jersey, according to the state Department of Health, which is urging residents to take tick prevention seriously during the height of summer hiking and gardening season.
Adult Deer Tick Photo Credit: Scott Bauer, Wikipedia
If you like this post, you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics.It’s packed daily with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Please do not take our word, try it free for a full month
Farmers and composting companies say allowing plastic to be considered compost will undermine the purpose of composting, which is to improve soil and crop health. Plastics manufacturers say loosening the rules will encourage more people to compost
By Susanne Rust, Staff Writer, LA Times, July 4, 2025
Greg Pryor began composting yard and food waste for San Francisco in 1996, and today he oversees nine industrial-sized composting sites in California and Oregon that turn discarded banana peels, coffee grounds, chicken bones, and more into a dark, nutrient-rich soil that farmers covet for their fields and crops.
His company, Recology, processes organic waste from cities and municipalities across the Bay Area, Central Valley, Northern California, Oregon, and Washington — part of a growing movement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by minimizing food waste in landfills.
But, said Pryor, if bioplastic and compostable food packaging manufacturers get their way, the whole system could collapse.
At issue is a 2021 California law, known as Assembly Bill 1201, which requires that products labeled “compostable” must actually break down into compost, not contaminate soil or crops with toxic chemicals, and be readily identifiable to both consumers and solid waste facilities.
The law also stipulates that products carrying a “compostable” label must meet the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program requirements, which only allow for plant and animal material in compost feedstock, and bar all synthetic substances and materials — plastics, bioplastics and most packaging materials — except for newspaper or other recycled paper without glossy or colored ink.
Close-up of text on plastic cup reading Made From Corn, referring to plant-derived bioplastics. (Getty Images)1
The USDA is reviewing those requirements at the request of a compostable plastics and packaging industry trade group. Its ruling, expected this fall, could open the door for materials such as bioplastic cups, coffee pods, and compostable plastic bags to be admitted into the organic compost waste stream.
Amid pressure from the industry, the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery said it will hold off on implementing its own rules on AB 1201 — originally set for Jan. 1, 2026 — until June 30, 2027, to incorporate the USDA guidelines, should there be a change.
Pryor is concerned that a USDA ruling to allow certain plastic to be considered compost will contaminate his product, make it unsaleable to farmers, and undermine the purpose of composting, which is to improve soil and crop health.
If you like this post, you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics.It’s packed daily with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Please do not take our word, try it free for a full month
