August 3, 2023

Take A Deep Breath! Now Think What You Just Inhaled. If You Live Along A Dirt Road You Could Be Inhaling Oil & Gas Wastewater.

Guest essay by Siri Lawson, who lives along a dirt road in northwest PA.
By Siri Lawson, PA Environment Digest Blog, August 2, 2023

We have dodged this particular bullet here in the Delaware River Basin, thanks in part to

December 2, 2022

As Evidence Mounts, New Concerns About Fracking and Health

A growing number of studies are pointing to a link between hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and health problems.
By Jon Hurdle, Yale Environment 360, November 17, 2022

This bears out what DCS has been saying since our inception in 2008: Fracking

November 18, 2022

The EPA Must Act to Protect Us from Chemical Pollutants

In September, a coalition of Scientists, Activists, and Families, called SAFE, traveled to DC to call out the EPA:

STOP working for corporations and start working for people!
CHEMICALS are polluting our water, air, and soil, and making us sick.…

May 6, 2022

Drillers Dispose of Drill Cuttings by “Dusting” – Blowing Them on the Ground, and in the Air

“Dusting” allows oil and gas drillers to avoid the cost of disposing of drill cuttings at landfills, and thus avoid the regulations that apply to landfills.
By David E. Hess, PA Environment Digest Blog, May 2, 2022

PA DEP allows

October 30, 2021

The New Coal: Plastics and Climate Change

As of 2020, the U.S. plastics industry is responsible for at least 232 million tons of CO2e gas emissions per year.
By Beyond Plastics, October 2021

The New Coal: Plastics and Climate Change is a comprehensive account of the United …

October 12, 2020

Poll shows broad support for Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in PA

70% of those polled said they supported regulations to reduce CO2 pollution from power plants in PA
By Richard W. Jones, Centre Daily Times, October 11, 2020

The bill to block PA from regulating carbon – and thus block PA

September 11, 2020

Poll Says Pennsylvanians Support More Regulations on Fracking

Poll was commissioned by Climate Power 2020 and the League of Conservation Voters
By Ryan Deto, Pittsburgh City Paper, September 2, 2020

Download the poll results as a pdf.


Politically speaking, the discussion around fracking in Pennsylvania lacks nuance. Fracking …

December 3, 2019

Proposed Battery Recycling Facility in Endicott, NY a Hazard

Bill Huston, an independent researcher and environmental activist, has done extensive research on the proposed Battery Recycling Facility, planned for the old IBM site in Endicott, NY. The NY DEC is asking for comments on the facility until December 5.

July 1, 2019

Tell PA DEP: Deny Elcon’s Hazardous Waste Permit Application

DCS Director Barbara Arrindell’s Comments to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection:


I am writing for an environmental organization, Damascus Citizens for Sustainability (DCS). As the Director, I have overseen many explorations of the negative effects of both water and …

March 27, 2019

A Fracking-Driven Industrial Boom Renews Pollution Concerns in Pittsburgh

Once known as the Steel City, Pittsburgh is shedding its polluted past and embracing a rebirth built on health care, education, and technology. But the region’s surging fracking industry is attracting a $6 billion ethane plant and other petrochemical facilities,
January 25, 2019

Climate Benefits of Natural Gas May Be Overstated

by Abrahm Lustgarten ProPublica

The United States is poised to bet its energy future on natural gas as a clean, plentiful fuel that can supplant coal and oil. But new research by the Environmental Protection Agency2014and a growing understanding of …

December 19, 2018

New Study: Greenhouse Gas is More Dangerous than Regulators Thought

New evidence not only strengthens the EPA’s 2009 endangerment finding, it shows that greenhouse gas impacts could be much worse than expected
Climate & Capitalism, December 14, 2018

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is legally required to regulate air pollutants

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