Penn's Woods, Stream Buffers, Nature's Water Purifier. Next time you walk through a forest, imagine that the trees are affixed to the end of your kitchen faucet like a large green purifier, cleaning the water before it splashes, crystal-clear and cool, into your drinking glass. Watch this video and see from The Nature Conservancy-Pennsylvania.

A sampler of Pennsylvania birdwatching is presented in this unique video by Pennsylvania Audubon. Learn more about John James Audubon's home at Mill Grove, Pa, the Audubon at Home program, Important Bird Areas of PA and more.

Penn State: Biofilters Could Clean Dirty Water. Biofilters, using plants to clean dirty water from washing machines and other sources, can make that water fit for growing vegetables and flushing toilets, according to Penn State horticulturists.
"Our global fresh water supplies are fast depleting," said Robert D. Cameron, doctoral student in horticulture. "So it is critical that we begin to look at alternatives on how we can take wastewater and turn it into a resource."
"We have shown that with this system we can take wastewater from a washing machine and remove more than 90 percent of the pollutants within three days," said Cameron. "The treated water had very low levels of suspended solids and no detectable levels of e.coli." Click here for more information.

Concerns expressed on Marcellus Shale natural gas development by Olivia Thorne, President PA League of Women Voters. The League just completed a year-long study of the benefits and costs of extraction and looks at the cumulative, long-term consequences. The study is available online.