Christy Plumer News Today

Car prices are dropping, both for gas-powered and electric vehicles. So, are more Pennsylvanians planning to buy EVs? A report by iSeeCars found that by last June, prices for used electric vehicles had fallen by almost 30%, and new EV prices by 20%. The Keystone State has seen an influx in EV purchases. ...

A new report found Pennsylvania communities could be negatively affected by the increasing financial risk in the nations largest electricity market. The PJM Interconnection includes Pennsylvania and a dozen other states. According to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, private equity and private capital-owned power plants in the PJM face financial struggles including lower revenue generating capacity. ...

Just like electric vehicles and solar farms, the bare bones of a large building can be environmentally friendly if constructed with certain supplies, and supporters of a new Minnesota law hope it spurs more use of cleaner materials for big projects. This year, Minnesota adopted the Buy Clean Buy Fair Act. It initiates a process for requiring certain state construction projects, such as a government building larger than 50,000 square feet, to be built or renovated with steel, aluminum and concre...

Fish passage is set to improve in the Northwest with an investment from Congresss bipartisan infrastructure law. The Biden administration has announced its first round of grants totaling $196 million to fix or remove culverts across the country. Culverts channel water under structures like roadways, but can be barriers to fish who use streams and rivers. ...

Congress is considering three bills that would sidestep the Endangered Species Act to de-list the Northern Continental Divide and Yellowstone grizzly bears, and all gray wolf populations. Erik Molvar, executive director of the Western Watersheds Project said the measures would undermine the Endangered Species Act, which requires the federal government to make listing decisions solely based on the best available science. "And what Congress is doing here is, its trying to take away tha...

The Mexican Gray Wolf population in Arizona is on the rise. For the first time since reintroduction into the wild, the population of wolves across Arizona and New Mexico sits at more than 240, with 105 of them in the Grand Canyon State. According to the U.S. ...

As part of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Interior Department has announced it is investing $120 million to restore and rebuild key segments of Americas wildlife management systems, especially in key areas of the Midwest. The money will be used to address species climate adaptation and invasive species threats, and provide additional data collection needed to support successful natural resource resilience. The money will be especially important in high-priority areas of the Midwest known as P...