Environment & Science

The box tree moth, a highly destructive, invasive insect, was discovered for the first time in Pennsylvania, in two cemeteries in Erie County. A quarantine has been issued.

The “Stanley Jr. Kids Wheelbarrow and 7-piece Garden Set" has been recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission after the paint on the hoe and rake were found to contain lead levels exceeding the federal content ban.

Brad Klein reviews the week’s astronomical highlights with Bethlehem’s ‘Backyard Astronomy Guy,’ Marty McGuire. This week, they look ahead to the Autumnal Equinox.

SpaceX’s capsule Polaris Dawn splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico in the predawn darkness early Sunday. Returning to Earth were two SpaceX engineers, a former Air Force Thunderbird pilot and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman of the Lehigh Valley. Isaacman became only the 264th person to perform a spacewalk.

A Lehigh University graduate last year recorded a new species of mushroom at Wildlands Conservancy's South Mountain Preserve.

Monarch butterflies are starting to migrate through the Lehigh Valley. An annual tagging program, held at Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center, helps conservation efforts.

Testimony that will help a Northampton County judge decide if a lawsuit against the Bethlehem Landfill and Lower Saucon Twp. can move forward continued Friday, and will stretch into a third day.

Called the Recovery in Nature initiative, two state departments have joined forces to create regional-specific partnerships to bolster substance use recovery efforts while strengthening all residents’ connection to nature.

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America released its report of the most challenging places to live with asthma. The release coincides with peak asthma season in September.

Early Tuesday, Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur who has a home in the Lehigh Valley, launched into space for a second time as part of a mission dubbed Polaris Dawn. The launch was visible in the area.

Easton planners recommended against the zoning hearing board granting a special exception that would see a tributary on the grounds of the Easton Commerce Park project relocated.

“The Hidden Language of Trees: How Forests Secretly Communicate” will play at 8 p.m. Aug. 22 at The Neighborhood Center, 902 Philadelphia Road.

Six entrepreneurs pitched their projects to judges during StartUp Lehigh Valley event at Musikfest Cafe on Tuesday night.

Community members gathered at Penn Pump Park in Palmer Township Tuesday morning to celebrate the recent ADA accessibility improvements funding via county grant programs.

Hundreds of active wildfires across Canada – with a significant portion burning out of control – have sent smoke drifting into the U.S. again, including the Lehigh Valley.

Event will involve panelists and keynote speakers who will provide examples and information on climate mitigation.

This week, a look at a new discovery about one of the brightest stars in the night sky, the red supergiant, Betelgeuse.

The tract, spread across Penn Forest and Kidder townships, includes Mud Run, a key tributary of the Lehigh River. It was purchased through a $1 million grant from the Open Space Institute.

Allentown students took part in STEM activities, including stepping into an airplane cockpit, when Captain Barrington Irving flew into town with some hands-on critical thinking activities from his Flying Classroom.

On Thursday, Lehigh Valley Zoo broke ground on a $10 million multi-phase project, with initial work on a new barn area and accessible playground set to be finished in the fall.

The Lehigh Valley has a history of flooding, and climate change could be increasing the risk. With federal funding cut or on the chopping block, officials warn the Valley could be left unprepared.

While the risk area covers a significant portion of the region, the greatest flash flood threat will depend on a number of factors, the National Weather Service said early Thursday.