On Friday, February 3, a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous petrochemicals derailed near East Palestine, Ohio, sparking what may be one of the worst environmental disasters in US history. Thousands of fish have turned up dead in nearby waterways; a plume...
Ben Hunkler
All research:
2022 in Review
The close of 2022 marks the second year of the Ohio River Valley Institute’s research on clean energy, shared prosperity, and equitable civic structures in the greater Ohio River Valley and Appalachia. Two years ago, our organization launched as an independent,...
Industry is Misleading the Public on Carbon Capture, Internal Documents Show
Fossil fuel companies are misleading the public about carbon capture technology, according to internal documents unearthed as part of an ongoing federal investigation into fossil fuel company misinformation. Private conversations between top employees of major...
ORVI Makes Waves at the 2022 Global Clean Energy Action Forum
Last week marked the close of the Clean Energy Ministerial’s inaugural Global Clean Energy Action Forum, a three-day conference on accelerating the transition to a clean energy economy. Billed as the “biggest energy event of the year,” the forum welcomed more than...
Race to the Bottom: Carbon Injection Wells & Hydrogen Development in the Ohio River Valley and the Gulf Coast
West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania are independently racing to secure federal funding for a blue hydrogen and carbon capture hub, an industry boondoggle that stands to prolong the failing fracking economy, further ravage frontline communities, and cost...
Here’s How Appalachian States Can Create “Good-Paying, Union Jobs” Cleaning Up Mines.
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Pennsylvanians Strongly Support a Crackdown on Fracking. Will Allegheny County Deliver?
Update: In a resounding victory for Pennsylvanians and a vindication of public will, Allegheny County Council voted 12-3 to override County Executive Rich Fitzgerald's veto, codifying the ban on fracking and other industrial activities in county parks. The override...
Why Worry About the Future of the Plastics Industry?
Charting a Course for Appalachia’s Economic Transition
For generations, Appalachia has powered the nation’s industrial growth with our region’s bountiful reserves of coal, gas, and oil. Today, our communities are suffering the effects of that legacy of extraction—air and water pollution, rampant greenhouse gas emissions,...