Eire Times French Creek Watershed Profile. A four-part series of articles and related videos profile the environmental, historial and cultural significance of the French Creek Watershed in Erie and Crawford counties. Highlighted are efforts by the PA Environmental Council and other groups to protect and restore the watershed. Follow these links for each part:
Part I - French Creek Overview
Part II - Creek Once Carried Young Washington
Part III - French Creek Goes With The Flow
Part IV - French Creek Copes With City Life
For more information, visit the French Creek Project webpage.

Hear From Ohio River Watershed Celebration Participants. Wil Taylor, Jennings Environmental Education Center, provides an overview of the "Imagination Cruise" portion of the Celebration where 300 students benefit from educational activities put on by 18 participating environmental organizations during the 2008 Ohio River Watershed Celebration.
Watch these over stories from the Celebration:
Welcome to the Celebration!
Environmental Award Winners
Alex Petridis, The Awesome Spirit of Wildlife
Gary Stokum, Washington County Watershed Alliance
Luke Elser, Appalachian Coal Country Watershed Team
Kathleen Porter, Water Resources Education Network
Dres Banas & Susan Huba, Loyalhanna Watershed Association
Diane Salvaggio, Turtle Creek Watershed Association
Andy McAllister, Western Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation

Welcome to the 2008 Ohio River Watershed Celebration! Margaret Hall, DEP, and Margaret Dunn, Stream Restoration, Inc., and Jane Nugent, Jane Nugent's Garden Talk, welcome all to the 2008 Ohio River Watershed Celebration!
Watch these other stories from the Celebration:
Environmental Award Winners
Wil Taylor, Jennings Environmental Education Center
Alex Petridis, The Awesome Spirit of Wildlife
Gary Stokum, Washington County Watershed Alliance
Luke Elzer, Appalachian Coal County Watershed Team
Kathleen Porter, Water Resources Education Network
Drew Banas & Susan Huba, Loyalhanna Watershed Association
Diane Salvaggio, Turtle Creek Watershed Association
Andy McAllister, Western PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation

Environmental Awards from the 2008 Ohio River Watershed Celebration. Margaret Hall presents the 2008 Environmental Awards to: Joseph Catanese, Allegheny County Council- Government Award; Artemis Environmental Building Materials, Janice Donatelli- Business/Industry Award; Greg Phillips, Westmoreland County Conservation District- Individual Award; Marty McKinney, Cranberry Township- Energy Conservation Award.
Watch these over stories from the Celebration:
Welcome to the Celebration!
Wil Taylor, Jennings Environmental Education Center
Alex Petridis, The Awesome Spirit of Wildlife
Gary Stokum, Washington County Watershed Alliance
Luke Elzer, Appalachian Coal County Watershed Team
Kathleen Porter, Water Resources Education Network
Drew Banas & Susan Huba, Loyalhanna Watershed Association
Diane Salvaggio, Turtle Creek Watershed Association
Andy McAllister, Western PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation

John Brosious, PA Municipal Authorities Assn., Urges Support for Nov. 4 Clean Water Referendum. He made the comments as part of an PA Infrastructure Group press conference to support the $400 million bond issue referendum and funding for transportation, telecommunications and electric infrastructure improvements.
The Group is sponsoring a Vote Yes For Clean Water initiative to let citizens express their support for the initiative.
The bond issue referendum is part of the water funding proposal supported by 45+ groups in the PA Fair Share for Clean Water Coalition.
Also presenting at the event were--
Kelly Lewis, Founder of the PA Infrastructure Group
Rep. Joseph Preston, Majority Chair, House Consumer Affairs Committee
J.Terrance Fitzpatrick, General Counsel, PA Energy Generation Assn.
Michael Love, President, PA Energy Association

U.S.G.S./DEP On Emerging Water Pollutants. Dr. J. Kent Crawford, Water Quality Specialist for the PA Science Center for the U.S. Geological Survey, and Arianna Proctor, Department of Environmental Protection, give a presentation on emerging water pollutants, like pharmaceuticals, at the Joint Air and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee Environmental Issues Forum.
Links to Presentations:
Dr. J. Kent Crawford Part 2, Part 3
Link to Arianna Proctor Presentation - Part 1.
The presentation is an update of a 2006 presentation by Dr. Crawford.
Note: These presentations are in several parts because YouTube limits videos to 10 minutes.

John Hanger on Climate Change. Acting DEP Secretary John Hanger spoke about taking action on climate change at the annual members meeting of the PA Environmental Council - Part 1. View Part 2 and Part 3.
Note: YouTube limits videos to 10 minutes and his address is in 3 parts.

Opening Statements Senate Nutrient Credit Trading Hearing. The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy and Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committees held a joint hearing on the Nutrient Credit Trading Program. These are the opening statements from Sen. Mary Jo White (R-Venango), Sen. Pat Vance (R-Cumberland) and Sen. Mike Brubaker (R-Lancaster).
The hearing featured comments by four members of the PA Fair Share for Clean Water Coalition.
View the entire hearing online: Part 1 and Part 2.
Copies of the testimony are available from the Senate Environmental Committee webpage.

Schuylkill River Watershed Profile. The Reading Eagle this week published a three-part series on the Schuylkill River Watershed, including a State of the Watershed, Protecting the River and the Schuylkill's Future segments. It also included an online video and multi-media presentation.
For more information, visit the Schuylkill River Watershed Profile and Schuylkill Action Network webpages.

Susquehanna University Green Science Center. On August 26 Susquehanna University broke ground for a state-of-the-art green science building that will transform teaching and learning in ways that will have critical impact on academic quality. Watch the Video.
The 75,000-square-foot, LEED-certified science building will be prominently situated on the site of the North Hall parking lot across University Avenue from Seibert Hall. It will be the largest academic building on campus after its planned completion in August 2010. Susquehanna University received a $4 million state grant earlier in August to help finance the construction.

Lehigh Valley Green Buildings. WLVT television magazine program Tempo recently profiled green building projects in the Lehigh Valley, including those by PNC bank and PPL’s headquarters building in Allentown. The program reviews provides examples of green building features and techniques.

Tom Richard, Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment, talks about the status of biofuels technology at the Chesapeake Bay Biofuels Summit.
Watch these other participants in the Summit--
James Hubbard, MD House of Delegates
Ann Pesiri Swanson, Executive Director, Chesapeake Bay Commission
John Hanger, Acting DEP Secretary
Visit the Chesapeake Bay Biofuels Summit website for more information.

John Hanger, Acting DEP Secretary, talks about the opportunities presented by biofuels at the Chesapeake Bay Biofuels Summit.
Watch these other participants in the Summit--
James Hubbard, MD House of Delegates
Ann Pesiri Swanson, Executive Director, Chesapeake Bay Commission
Tom Richard, Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment
Visit the Chesapeake Bay Biofuels Summit website for more information.

Ann Pesiri Swanson, Executive Director, Chesapeake Bay Commission, talks about the Chesapeake Bay Watershed being a leader in the production of biofuels at the Chesapeake Bay Biofuels Summit.
Watch these other participants in the Summit--
James Hubbard, MD House of Delegates
John Hanger, Acting DEP Secretary
Tom Richard, Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment
Visit the Chesapeake Bay Biofuels Summit website for more information.

James Hubbard, MD House of Delegates, talks about the assignment given to the Chesapeake Bay Biofuels Summit.
Watch these other participants in the Summit--
Ann Pesiri Swanson, Executive Director, Chesapeake Bay Commission
John Hanger, Acting DEP Secretary
Tom Richard, Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment
Visit the Chesapeake Bay Biofuels Summit website for more information.