Kiley Bense

With Waters Rising, Pennsylvania’s Historical Treasures Must ‘Adapt or Collapse’ - Inside Climate News PHILADELPHIA—Karen Young stood in a cavernous room perched on the edge of the Schuylkill River that was once a public swimming pool.  Abandoned in 1972 after a hurricane, the old natatorium is part of...

When Hurricane Ida hit the 200-year-old Fairmount Water Works in 2021, it forced a reckoning about what this iconic landmark must do if it wants to survive another century.

insideclimatenews.org/news/0102202...

High impact winter storm looks increasingly likely for parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast this weekend, while major impacts linger from ice storm Arctic cold and high winds will add to the issues through the weekend

The pace of our news cycle makes it easy for stories to fall off the screen - but the disaster in parts of the South from the ice storm is still very much ongoing. Some important observations from the ground there - and more about the next major storm for the East. tinyurl.com/43987xnn

A Winter Storm Fueled by Global Warming Tests U.S. Disaster Response - Inside Climate News A sprawling winter storm that left hundreds of thousands without power, grounded thousands of flights and disrupted travel across the eastern half of the U.S. could be the first real test of the secon...

"A Winter Storm Fueled by Global Warming Tests U.S. Disaster Response" by @kiley.bsky.social, @bberwyn.bsky.social, @keertigopal.bsky.social, Lee Hedgepeth & Lisa Sorg for @insideclimatenews.org: insideclimatenews.org/news/2601202...

Coal Communities Accuse Congress of Breaking Its Promise to Clean Up Abandoned Mine Lands - Inside Climate News The House passed a bill last week that would “repurpose” $500 million meant for cleaning up environmental and safety hazards caused by decades of coal mining.

The money set aside to remediate abandoned mine lands is a “drop in the bucket” compared to the federal budget. But it’s a lifeline for coal country communities dealing with the aftermath of decades of mining. insideclimatenews.org/news/1301202...

And thank you to the many people—scientists, activists, experts, residents—who spoke with me and met with me for this series.

Thank you to everyone at ICN and beyond who contributed to this project: @jsmithhopkins.bsky.social @vernonloeb.bsky.social @derekh.bsky.social Andrew Lehren, Julie Grant, Kathy Knauer, and photographer Scott Goldsmith

The ‘Toxic Cocktail’ Brewing in Pennsylvania’s Waterways - Inside Climate News Pennsylvania is still cleaning up decades’ worth of coal mining pollution. Now it must also contend with millions of tons of fracking waste, some of it radioactive.

For years, scientists and advocates have worried that fracking waste is getting into the environment in PA. A closer look at the waterways near landfills that accept this waste revealed a mixture of harmful contaminants: insideclimatenews.org/news/2112202...

Twenty Years Into Fracking, Pennsylvania Has Yet to Reckon With Its Radioactive Waste - Inside Climate News Former government officials say the state isn’t doing enough to regulate fracking waste, even as new research shows it’s far more radioactive than previously known.

Though the state had promised it would begin testing leachate for radium in 2021, we found that it never implemented this policy. At the same time, new research shows that fracking wastewater from PA is far more radioactive than was previously known: insideclimatenews.org/news/2012202...

Tracking Oil and Gas Waste in Pennsylvania Is Still a ‘Logistical Mess’ - Inside Climate News More than a decade after regulators promised to improve reporting standards for this waste, an Inside Climate News investigation found huge discrepancies in state records.

In analyzing state records for this waste, @peteraldhous.com and I found huge discrepancies, errors and a lot of troubling questions about oversight. Almost 1.4 million tons of waste was unaccounted for: insideclimatenews.org/news/1912202...

For the past year, I've been working on an investigation into Pennsylvania's oil and gas waste--a toxic and often radioactive byproduct of the state's fracking industry. How much of it is produced every year? Where does it end up? What's in it? And what happens when regulators lose track of it?

A Messy Trail of Toxic Oil and Gas Waste - Inside Climate News Go behind the scenes with managing editor Jamie Smith Hopkins and reporter Kiley Bense as they discuss how Pennsylvania is failing to track toxic oil and gas waste, while the amount sitting in landfil...

Here's @kiley.bsky.social talking to editor @jsmithhopkins.bsky.social about our @insideclimatenews.org reporting on oil and gas waste going to landfills in Pennsylvania
insideclimatenews.org/news/2112202...

A Messy Trail of Toxic Oil and Gas Waste - Inside Climate News Go behind the scenes with managing editor Jamie Smith Hopkins and reporter Kiley Bense as they discuss how Pennsylvania is failing to track toxic oil and gas waste, while the amount sitting in landfil...

Inside Climate News Video: Reporter Kiley Bense Talks About Her 3 Part Series On Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Waste [Video] tinyurl.com/45wmjfm4

Gas Exports Are Driving Up Americans’ Energy Bills, Report Says - Inside Climate News Higher exports of liquefied natural gas in 2025 played a significant role in rising utility bills, an analysis of federal data found.

LNG exports from US up 22% over a year ago, when US was already largest exporter in the world. This is a significant cause of energy inflation costs in US.
insideclimatenews.org/news/17122025/liquefied-natural-gas-exports-driving-up-energy-bills/?utm_source=InsideClimate+News&utm_campaign=8b44c2acfb

Twenty Years Into Fracking, Pennsylvania Has Yet to Reckon With Its Radioactive Waste - Inside Climate News Former government officials say the state isn’t doing enough to regulate fracking waste, even as new research shows it’s far more radioactive than previously known.

NEW from @kiley.bsky.social and I for @insideclimatenews.org:
Twenty Years Into Fracking, Pennsylvania Has Yet to Reckon With Its Radioactive Waste
insideclimatenews.org/news/2012202...

Twenty Years Into Fracking, Pennsylvania Has Yet to Reckon With Its Radioactive Waste - Inside Climate News Former government officials say the state isn’t doing enough to regulate fracking waste, even as new research shows it’s far more radioactive than previously known.

I'm quoted in this second installment of an important 3-part @insideclimatenews.org series by @kiley.bsky.social and @peteraldhous.com.

@kleinmanenergy.bsky.social

insideclimatenews.org/news/2012202...

Tracking Oil and Gas Waste in Pennsylvania Is Still a ‘Logistical Mess’ - Inside Climate News More than a decade after regulators promised to improve reporting standards for this waste, an Inside Climate News investigation found huge discrepancies in state records.

NEW @insideclimatenews.org from @kiley.bsky.social and I:
Tracking Oil and Gas Waste in Pennsylvania Is Still a ‘Logistical Mess’
insideclimatenews.org/news/1912202...

Tracking Oil and Gas Waste in Pennsylvania Is Still a ‘Logistical Mess’ - Inside Climate News More than a decade after regulators promised to improve reporting standards for this waste, an Inside Climate News investigation found huge discrepancies in state records.

A new investigation into PA’s tracking of toxic and often radioactive oil and gas waste revealed huge discrepancies in the records. (With @peteraldhous.com) insideclimatenews.org/news/1912202...

Gas Exports Are Driving Up Americans’ Energy Bills, Report Says - Inside Climate News Higher exports of liquefied natural gas in 2025 played a significant role in rising utility bills, an analysis of federal data found.

"The analysis, based on data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, found that Americans paid $12 billion more for natural gas between January and September 2025 than they did over the same period last year." insideclimatenews.org/news/1712202... via @kiley.bsky.social 🔌💡

Texas has no regulations to protect workers from the state’s blistering heat and overturned city ordinances that required rest breaks. What does that mean for workers in one of the hottest parts of the country? @keertigopal.bsky.social and I spent months investigating for @insideclimatenews.org (1)

The Trump Administration Is Cutting Billions in Clean Energy Investments—But the Savings Are Overstated - Inside Climate News Just days after announcing sweeping cuts to clean energy programs across the country, the Trump administration appears to be upping the ante—potentially clawing back billions more in federal funding. ...

NEW from me w/ Aidan Hughes @kiley.bsky.social for @insideclimatenews.org:
The Trump Administration Is Cutting Billions in Clean Energy Investments—But the Savings Are Overstated
insideclimatenews.org/news/1010202...

Fracking companies promised low utility bills to Pennsylvanians, but they're higher than ever The picture in Pennsylvania may be a preview of what’s coming to the rest of the country.

Yesterday I appeared on NPR’s Here & Now to talk about why electricity prices keep going up in Pennsylvania (and in the rest of the country). www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2...

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...