Environment
States that limit business with banks that ‘boycott’ fossil fuels could pay high cost, study says
Republican state policymakers’ efforts to boost fossil fuels by prohibiting their governments from doing business with companies that take sustainability into consideration has the potential to cost states millions, according to a study released Thursday. Researchers looked specifically at the possible effects on Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and West Virginia if they passed Texas-like […]
Months after Eastern Kentucky floods, survivors weigh the future
JACKSON — When the 2021 Eastern Kentucky floods came, Nancy Herald’s basement filled to the rafters. She lost roughly 50 years of cherished Christmas decorations stored along the concrete wall, along with the washer, dryer and refrigerator. Because of that experience, the family thought they’d be ready when the 2022 floods came more than a […]
Gas-well cleanup opens 513 acres in Rockcastle River Wildlife Management Area to the public
Federal funding to plug abandoned oil and gas wells has opened 513 acres in Pulaski County to hunters, anglers, wildlife watchers and other nature lovers, according to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. The land, part of the Rockcastle River Wildlife Management Area (WMA), is newly accessible to the public thanks to an […]
Some Kentuckians push their power supplier to prioritize greener energy over coal
Bill Conn was thinking of his two children when he wrote an email in December to the Kentucky Public Service Commission, the state agency that regulates more than 1,000 utilities. The Whitley County teacher counts Eastern Kentucky coal miners among his ancestors, a history that’s near and dear to his heart. As recently as 1988, […]
In West Tennessee, Black farmers take on Tyson Foods
This article was first published by the Tennessee Lookout. Brenda Scott’s father came to west Tennessee as a sharecropper. By 1971 — as a result of hard work and government loans — he had 129 acres of his own, some of which his descendants occupy today. His adult children and grandchildren belong to an enclave […]
Environmental enforcement hits two-decade low under Biden
Federal environmental enforcement, as measured by Environmental Protection Agency civil cases closed against polluters, hit a two-decade low in 2022, per a report released last week by a national environmental group that blames budget cuts, staff shortages and the U.S. Senate’s failure to confirm key leaders. The Environmental Integrity Project said the 72 civil enforcement […]
Kentuckian David Sawyer helped found AmeriCorps, is remembered for a life of service
This article is reprinted with permission of The Rural Blog, published by the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky. David Sawyer, a Kentucky-grown back-to-the-lander who ran a student-service program at Berea College, helped start AmeriCorps and became an international consultant on the environment, civic engagement and a wide range […]
Criticism greets LG&E/KU plan to replace coal-fired power plants with natural gas, solar
Kentucky’s largest utility, providing power to more than 1.3 million customers, is proposing to build two natural gas plants along with new solar installations to help make up for an energy supply shortfall created by the retirement of coal-fired power plants. It’s a plan that advocates of both coal and renewable energy in Kentucky strongly […]
Scientists announce a fusion breakthrough with big implications for clean energy
Scientists at a U.S. national laboratory announced Tuesday that they achieved fusion ignition, a breakthrough decades in the making that could have major implications for clean energy. Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory near San Francisco said that on Dec. 5, for the first time anywhere in the world, they managed to produce more […]
Beshear: Sites for rebuilding flooded Eastern Kentucky communities being considered
FRANKFORT — The state is considering land in Knott, Letcher and Perry counties as sites for new housing for victims of last summer’s flooding in developments that could include schools, senior housing and medical clinics, Gov. Andy Beshear told media on Thursday. Beshear declined to go into specifics, saying he did not want to compromise […]
Kentucky plant top emitter of potent heat-trapping gases from aluminum production
This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. It was published in partnership with NBC News and is republished with permission. Sign up for the Inside Climate News newsletter here. ROBARDS, Ky.—As Mary and Ed Cupp drove down a country lane toward the front gate […]
Lack of bidders increasing costs to plug abandoned oil and gas wells in Kentucky
Contractors have started plugging some of the thousands of oil and gas wells abandoned by the fossil fuel industry across Kentucky, using new federal funding. But a lack of companies able or willing to bid on the work is increasing costs, a Kentucky official said recently. Kentucky received an initial $25 million grant through the […]