Episode for April 11, 2025: From coal power plant to data center

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The site of a recently retired coal plant in Indiana County is getting a new life as a data center. Plans have been scrapped for a controversial plastic recycling plant in Erie. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to boost coal production, but it may not do much to reverse the industry’s fortunes. A new book highlights the natural beauty of the Youghiogheny River.

Nearly 2,000 top scientists, engineers and medical researchers signed a letter saying that the Trump administration is decimating the nation’s scientific enterprise. Federal funding for the Mid-Atlantic Clean Hydrogen Hub could be on the chopping block according to reporting by Politico. A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked a rule to limit silica dust exposure for coal miners. Federal energy labs in Southwestern Pennsylvania and West Virginia could become the sites for data centers to support artificial intelligence. The EPA announced it will finalize water quality standards to protect fish in a portion of the Delaware River. 

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