Environment
Across the country, a big backlash to new renewables is mounting?
BUCYRUS, Ohio — In four terms as a county elected official in northern Ohio, it was the most contentious issue Doug Weisenauer had ever seen. The state legislature had newly empowered county governments to drastically restrict wind and solar power development, a process formerly overseen by the Ohio Power Siting Board, and the meetings of […]
KFTC seeks investigation of surface mining’s role in deadly Kentucky floods
A Kentucky advocacy group is calling on the federal government to launch an investigation into whether a legacy of surface coal mining in Eastern Kentucky exacerbated the catastrophic, deadly flooding the region faced last July. Kentuckians For The Commonwealth (KFTC), a progressive, grassroots organization known for lobbying on environmental issues, made public Monday a letter […]
Kentucky agriculture group named to address large animal vet shortage
Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles has named a working group of agriculture industry stakeholders to search for “solutions to the state’s large animal vet shortage,” the Agriculture Department said Friday.? A shortage of large animal veterinarians across the country has created “a negative impact as farmers search to find the veterinary care they need […]
Beshear, oil and gas leaders pitch using fossil fuels to make hydrogen fuel in Kentucky
LOUISVILLE — Gov. Andy Beshear joined the lobbying organization for?Kentucky’s oil and gas industries Wednesday to pitch a new energy future for the commonwealth: creating hydrogen fuel?for generating electricity, transportation and more?through the use of natural gas. The Democratic governor speaking before the inaugural Kentucky Hydrogen Summit in downtown Louisville, organized by the Kentucky Oil […]
Conservation officers investigating death of bull elk in McCreary County, reward offered
Frankfort — The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is seeking information about the poaching of a bull elk in McCreary County. A news release from the agency last week said conservation officers began investigating after a?department employee found the bull elk carcass on Jan. 13 near Middle Ridge Trail on Beaver Creek Wildlife […]
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 […]