EnviroPolitics Blog

Dwindling in numbers, Purple Martins find refuge at this LV hospital

A purple martin perches on one of a series of birdhouses Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, at St. Luke’s-Anderson Campus in Bethlehem Township. Purple martins, a type of swallow, were once commonplace in the Lehigh Valley. (Monica Cabrera/The Morning Call)

By Daniel Patrick Sheehan | dsheehan@mcall.com | The Morning Call

A hawk or an eagle had been circling overhead earlier, so Tom Fiorini wasn’t sure the purple martins would be hanging around Thursday morning as he led a couple of visitors to the birds’ new dwelling place, a cluster of gourd-shaped plastic houses atop a tall metal pole.

The white houses are set among the acres of sunflowers and patches of bright wildflowers at St. Luke’s Hospital-Anderson Campus in Bethlehem Township, where a vast swath of the 500-acre property is given over to nature and overseen by Fiorini, the health network’s director of landscape services.

As luck had it, a martin was perched atop one of the houses, albeit briefly. There were, presumably, bugs to catch — martins eat them practically by the pound — so it flitted off into the late-morning sun as the visitors drew near.

It was a heartening sight. Purple martins, a type of swallow and the largest of the North American varieties, were once common in the Lehigh Valley, but their numbers have fallen over the years. Farmers attracted them by erecting houses, because they eat crop-damaging insects, but as farmland vanished, so did the birds.

Read the full story here

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Ford ditches the assembly line to counter EV sales slump

From Morning Brew

Sorry, Henry Ford, your company thinks it’s time to overhaul the invention that turned you into a household name. Ford announced yesterday that it’s taking a $5 billion gamble to revamp its iconic assembly line so that it can make cheap EVs and compete with Tesla and Chinese EV rivals.

Instead of relying on a single conveyor, the Detroit automaker will construct EVs on a three-pronged “assembly tree”—an innovation the company likened to the Model T, aka the world’s first mass-produced automobile. Workers on each of the three lines will assemble the back, middle, and front of the vehicle separately, after which they will be bolted together.

Ford will also invest $2 billion to retool a Kentucky plant that currently makes gas-powered cars, where it’ll use the manufacturing method to produce midsize EV pickup trucks priced at around $30,000 starting in 2027. The designed-from-scratch EV is a major pivot from Ford’s current strategy of electrifying existing models, which has fallen flat with customers.

Potential game changerFord is betting the new production process—which was developed by a small Silicon Valley-based team led by Tesla veteran Alan Clarke—will save it time and money: The company says it’ll be 15% faster than its current assembly process, and will involve 20% fewer parts, as well as reduce physical strain for workers.

The vehicles will be powered by the lithium-iron phosphate prismatic battery favored by Chinese EV-makers, which are 30% cheaper than the lithium batteries Ford currently uses. They’ll be produced at a $3 billion Michigan battery plant that Ford is building.

Ford needs something new…because so far, its efforts to create cars that don’t burn gas have been incinerating cash. The automaker lost $5.1 billion on EVs in 2024 and expects to lose more this year as its EV sales have been declining.

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NJ State enviro committees set joint hearing at the shore

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.

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Explosion at PA steel plant leaves one dead, another trapped

By Raquel Ciampi, Pittsburgh’s Action News 4

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.

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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.”

Reporter Yazmin Rodriguez spoke with Zachary Buday, who was working close to the scene during the explosion.

“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.

Follow the full story here

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Federal and California Proposals Target Microplastics

By Peter N. Coneski, Natalie E. Rainer, Elisabeth M. Lewis of K&L Gates LLP

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.

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Cyclists: Get off busy roads and onto scenic regional rail trails

*The Delaware and Lehigh rail trail is one of several in Pennsylvania that are perfect for biking. Cindy Ross photo*

By Cindy Ross, Special to PennLive

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.

Read the full story here

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