Pennsylvania Legacies

Chuck Flink wrote the book on greenways -- literally. 1993's "Greenways: A Guide To Planning Design And Development," co-authored with Robert Searns and addressed to the planning community, helped launch a global movement in landscape architecture. Now he's making the case for greenways to a broader audience in his new book, "The Greenway Imperative: Connecting Communities & Landscapes for a Sustainable Future."

The five finalists for 2020 River of the Year represent everything that’s right – and everything that’s wrong – with Pennsylvania’s 86,000 miles of rivers and streams. With online voting set to close in a matter of days, we hear campaign pitches from the sponsoring organizations that nominated them.

Back in January, PEC published a list of legislative and regulatory recommendations for cutting greenhouse gas emissions from Pennsylvania's electricity sector. Since then, the governor and legislative leaders have embraced one of the report's key ideas: putting a price on carbon and investing the proceeds in clean energy innovation. Where is the decarbonization agenda headed in 2020? Senior VP for Legal and Government Affairs John Walliser returns for a review of the year's biggest policy developments for the environment and outdoor recreation in Pennsylvania.

Trails beautify neighborhoods and make communities more livable -- but that's only the beginning. A 2019 report from the East Coast Greenway Alliance shows how every dollar spent developing the ECG corridor through the Delaware River Watershed comes back almost twofold in benefits to public health, local economies, transportation safety and efficiency, and the environment. ECG Mid-Atlantic Coordinator Daniel Paschall talks about how communities can reap those rewards -- while ensuring that everyone benefits.

In a state that's nearly 60 percent tree-covered, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Bureau of Forestry has a lot of ground to cover. But thanks to Penn State's Pennsylvania Forest Stewardship training program, DCNR has boots on the ground in every county, connecting Pennsylvanians with vital forest management resources. PEC's Laura England, a newly-minted volunteer Forest Steward, shares what she learned in the program. Plus: a primer on Conservation Landscape mini-grants, and why you -- or someone you know -- should apply.

This year's GAP Relay -- a 150-mile team footrace along the Great Allegheny Passage -- was the first carbon neutral trail relay in the nation. Troy Schooley of race organizer p3r talks about the movement toward sustainability in endurance sports, and Allegheny Trail Alliance director Bryan Perry explains why the partnership is good for the GAP and the trails community.

An executive order signed by Governor Tom Wolf last week initiates the rulemaking process whereby Pennsylvania will join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a multi-state effort to cut carbon emissions using market-based mechanisms. Policy expert Franz Litz, one of RGGI's original architects, explains how it works and what the transition will mean for Pennsylvania.

You've heard of the Industrial Heartland Trails Coalition (IHTC) and its vision for 1,500 miles of interconnected trails across the Rust Belt. But did you know that more than half of those miles are already open, and packed with things to see and do? The recently updated and expanded Trail Trips collection has everything you need to plan an unforgettable IHTC adventure. Its creator, Amy Camp, offers a taste of what's out there.

Allegheny College's "Creek Connections" program gets students out of the classroom and into local waterways for a hands-on learning experience. Watershed educator Laura Branby explains how Creek Connections is sparking kids' interest in the sciences and building their relationship with the natural world.

In honor of Ohiopyle, PA’s bid for Top Adventure Town honors in the “Tiny Towns” division, a tiny podcast episode to tide you through the holiday weekend. Anna Weltz of the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau drops in to ask for your vote in the competition sponsored by Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine. The first round closes Monday, so vote now to keep Pennsylvania in the running! Top Adventure Town voting: http://contests.blueridgeoutdoors.com/

The end goal of any trail project is to create a public asset that's accessible, welcoming, and beneficial to everyone in the community. But to succeed, inclusivity has to be baked into every project from its inception. Julia Raskin, trail planner and author of PEC's new Inclusionary Trail Planning Toolkit, explains how.

The governors of five Great Lakes states, including Pennsylvania's Tom Wolf, are banding together in an effort to make the health of the lakes a campaign issue in the 2020 presidential election. We dive into the Great Lakes 2020 Platform in conversation with Gov. Wolf's Deputy Chief of Staff, Sam Robinson.

Though Pennsylvania enjoys an abundance of world-class opportunities for outdoor recreation, access is often limited by racial, socioeconomic, and other disparities. For Pennsylvanians with disabilities, adventure sports like kayaking can be especially difficult to break into. But proponents of "adaptive paddling" – like Larry Gioia of Pittsburgh-based Dynamic Paddlers – are working to knock down barriers and get people out on the water, regardless of ability.

Pennsylvania Legacies is on summer break through mid July. We leave you with an audio postcard from the recent unveiling of two exciting new improvements along Bucks County's Delaware & Lehigh Trail.

It's not just Pennsylvania -- trails and greenways are becoming must-have amenities for communities throughout the U.S. and around the world. But the trend isn't universal, and the scarcity of trails in many areas is reflected in lower public health, wellness, and quality-of-life ratings. We assess the global trails landscape in conversation with Mike Passo of American Trails, the national nonprofit behind the International Trails Symposium. Plus: a forthcoming state Senate bill would cap greenhouse-gas emissions from Pennsylvania's electricity sector and create a new market for zero-carbon energy produced in the commonwealth. We kick off this week's episode with details and analysis from the PEC Policy program.