Kiley Bense

Scientists Find Evidence that a Pennsylvania Town’s Water Was Contaminated by Fracking - Inside Climate News Three years after noticing discoloration and odors in their wells, residents in New Freeport are still fighting for clean water.

The results of a new study on how fracking can contaminate drinking water found that 71 percent of tested wells contained methane. Two registered “explosive levels of methane.” insideclimatenews.org/news/0710202...

Fracking’s Broken Promise to Pennsylvania - Inside Climate News Fracking was supposed to lower Pennsylvanians’ electric bills. Instead, they’re higher than ever—and they’re about to get worse.

Fracking’s Broken Promise to Pennsylvania.
#Fracking was supposed to lower Pennsylvanians’ electric bills. Instead, they’re higher than ever—and they’re about to get worse.
@kiley.bsky.social
@dangearino.bsky.social
insideclimatenews.org/news/2109202...

Pennsylvania Was Once a National Leader in Renewable Energy. What Happened? - Inside Climate News Natural gas was pitched as a stopgap between fossil fuels and renewables. Instead, it has derailed Pennsylvania’s energy transition.

Twenty years ago, Pennsylvania was a renewable energy leader. Now it lags far behind its peers.

This is how we got here: insideclimatenews.org/news/2209202...

Residents Living in the Shadow of the Steel Industry Ask the EPA to Reconsider Delay of Hazardous Air Pollution Rule - Inside Climate News In July the agency delayed the implementation of stronger emissions standards and fenceline monitoring at steel and iron facilities for two more years.

EPA is using an unusual loophole to delay iron and steel industry safeguards. “It’s a fake emergency. It’s just an excuse to push back the deadlines because industry doesn’t want to comply," said Jim Pew, an attorney at @earthjustice.org.

by @kiley.bsky.social via @insideclimatenews.org

Without Well-Funded Public Transit, Philadelphia’s Climate Future Looks Bleak - Inside Climate News SEPTA riders aren’t the only ones hurt by service cuts, which could jeopardize the region’s long-term ability to meet climate goals.

SEPTA’s cuts will lead to more greenhouse gas emissions. But they also threaten the Philadelphia region’s ability to meet its long-term climate goals. insideclimatenews.org/news/0309202...

20 years ago, when I was just 11 years old, my family hunkered down for Hurricane Katrina in a trailer in south Mobile County, just a few miles from the Gulf. Read my latest, a #HurricaneKatrina remembrance, in @insideclimatenews.org. insideclimatenews.org/news/2808202...

Pennsylvania Lured Shell to the State With a $1.65 Billion Tax Break. Now the Company Wants to Sell Its Plant - Inside Climate News Looking back, “this was a terrible investment of taxpayer money,” one analyst said.

Thirteen years after Pennsylvania gifted Shell a record-breaking tax break, the company wants to sell its Monaca plant. insideclimatenews.org/news/2208202...

Pennsylvania Lured Shell to the State With a $1.65 Billion Tax Break. Now the Company Wants to Sell Its Plant - Inside Climate News Looking back, “this was a terrible investment of taxpayer money,” one analyst said.

insideclimatenews.org/news/2208202...

‘It Didn’t Have to Be This Way’: After Another Explosion at Clairton Coke Works, Advocates Call for Accountability - Inside Climate News The deadly blast at the U.S. Steel facility outside Pittsburgh was just the latest in a series of recent workplace accidents.

After years of environmental and safety problems at Clairton Coke Works, residents who live nearby feel like they’re living in a “sacrifice zone.” insideclimatenews.org/news/1508202...

Moving on From the Heartbreak Hotel - Inside Climate News A year after a devastating flood, a small town in Vermont is working to rebuild.

The loss of the Heartbreak Hotel in Plainfield is an example of how Vermont river towns are finding themselves at the forefront of the climate crisis, as new weather patterns make homes unlivable.

URGENT from @alleghenycounty.bsky.social:

Out of an abundance of caution, residents within 1 mile of the plant are advised to remain indoors, close windows/doors, set HVAC systems to recirculate & avoid activities that draw in outside air, like using exhaust fans."

www.gasp-pgh.org/explosion-at...

Last year, I wrote about the history of Clairton and its Coke Works, which first opened in 1901.

Read more here: insideclimatenews.org/news/2801202...

Kids in Pennsylvania Are Breathing (Much) Easier After a Coal Plant Shuttered - Inside Climate News Pediatric asthma ER visits dropped 40 percent after a coal processing plant near Pittsburgh closed down, researchers found.

From @kiley.bsky.social at @insideclimatenews.org: "We’re all exposed to [fossil fuel pollution] every single day. We’re bathed in it." insideclimatenews.org/news/0508202...

As Trump Shrinks FEMA, State and Local Emergency Managers Say They’re Barely Getting By - Inside Climate News In a government survey, state and local officials said they were overworked, underpaid and underappreciated.

Thrilled to see @insideclimatenews.org reporting on the findings of the new Argonne survey of local and state emergency management capacity. This is a great summary.

insideclimatenews.org/news/2807202...

Thanks to @samlmontano.bsky.social for sharing her perspective on this important report.

As Trump Shrinks FEMA, State and Local Emergency Managers Say They’re Barely Getting By - Inside Climate News In a government survey, state and local officials said they were overworked, underpaid and underappreciated.

The Trump administration wants state and local emergency managers to do a lot more. But a new government study shows they’re struggling to meet current needs.

insideclimatenews.org/news/2807202...

As Trump Shrinks FEMA, State and Local Emergency Managers Say They’re Barely Getting By - Inside Climate News In a government survey, state and local officials said they were overworked, underpaid and underappreciated.

In a new government survey of more than 1,600 state and local emergency managers, employees reported being overworked, underpaid, underappreciated and understaffed.

Yesterday, I reported on the protest happening down the street from Sen. McCormick’s PA energy & innovation summit. Read more about the summit and protest here: insideclimatenews.org/news/1507202...

Why Calling the Texas Flooding ‘An Act of God’ Is a Dangerous Form of Political Denial - Inside Climate News In the aftermath of the catastrophic flooding in Texas last week, government officials from President Donald Trump to the governor of Texas to county representatives have sought to deflect blame and s...

Why Calling the Texas Flooding ‘An Act of God’ Is a Dangerous Form of Political Denial insideclimatenews.org/news/1107202...

FEMA Didn’t Answer Thousands of Calls From Flood Survivors, Documents Show

Scoop: Two days after floods hit Texas, FEMA did not answer nearly two-thirds of calls to its disaster assistance line, according to documents reviewed by @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/c...

Why Calling the Texas Flooding ‘An Act of God’ Is a Dangerous Form of Political Denial - Inside Climate News In the aftermath of the catastrophic flooding in Texas last week, government officials from President Donald Trump to the governor of Texas to county representatives have sought to deflect blame and s...

I spoke to @ericklinenberg.bsky.social about the rhetoric politicians are deploying to avoid accountability in the aftermath of the flooding in Texas. insideclimatenews.org/news/1107202...

“The River House Broke. We Rushed in the River.” The July 4 Texas flooding ripped our Kerr County home from its pillars, pulling us into the water and into the night. Then morning came.

“I don’t know how long it took—ten seconds, maybe fifteen—for the house to come apart."

During the early-morning hours of July 4, the Guadalupe River pulled senior editor Aaron Parsley and six members of his family into its waters. Read his firsthand account:

Will the lightning bug show go on? • Kentucky Lantern Climate change poses a more serious threat to firefly populations than previously thought, researchers have found.

July 4th, 2024 article by @kiley.bsky.social (Photo from Pennsylvania Firefly Festival.)

Manage your property in ways that benefit fireflies, by leaving leaf litter on lawns over the winter, for example.

kentuckylantern.com/2024/07/04/w...

EPA Employees Called on the Agency to Stop Undermining Public Health. The Trump Administration Put Them on Leave - Inside Climate News The 139 employees signed a petition dissenting with recent EPA actions, saying they endanger the public.

One EPA employee told me they signed the petition vs the Trump admin's anti-science agenda. On a Sunday, using their own computer, not on work time or using govt devices.
That person and 138 others are now on "investigative leave"
insideclimatenews.org/news/0307202... @insideclimatenews.org

Trump Administration Acts to ‘Severely Weaken’ a Key Environmental Law - Inside Climate News The White House said changes issued under the National Environmental Policy Act would simplify an “overly burdensome process.” Critics accused agencies of gutting the law.

Federal agencies like Interior Department are rolling back NEPA regulations, which experts warn will cut public participation and gut environmental reviews of projects.

@kiley.bsky.social‬ and I have the details on what’s happening and why it matters:

insideclimatenews.org/news/0207202...

Truckers Say Oil and Gas Companies Are Violating Hazardous Materials Transport Regulations - Inside Climate News The fracking industry says its operators strictly adhere to regulations, and it has “no greater priority” than ensuring worker and community safety.

Truckers are calling on the Department of Transportation to investigate the way oil and gas waste is transported and labeled. insideclimatenews.org/news/2906202...

Truckers Say Oil and Gas Companies Are Violating Hazardous Materials Transport Regulations - Inside Climate News The fracking industry says its operators strictly adhere to regulations, and it has “no greater priority” than ensuring worker and community safety.

I'm quoted in this @insideclimatenews.org piece by @kiley.bsky.social.

@kleinmanenergy.bsky.social
insideclimatenews.org/news/2906202...

Air Pollution Is ‘Keeping Kids Out of School’ in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County, Study Shows - Inside Climate News Researchers found that students with asthma in the Mon Valley were more likely to miss school on days with higher air pollution.

A new study found increased rates of missed school days for students with asthma living near U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works.

I've spent the last few months examining the +1,450 grants terminated at the NIH, including reading hundreds of abstracts.

Many were studying how to solve or improve health disparities – not just identify or explain them.

Some of the terminated grants (h/t to @scott-delaney.bsky.social + team)

DEP: Shell Petrochemical Plant Fire Resulted In Possible Release Of An Unknown Quantity Of 1,3-Butadiene And Benzene Into The Atmosphere In Beaver County [PaEN] tinyurl.com/myc2bc6p