Revisiting Pennsylvania’s Bad Bet
The Shell Polymers Monaca petrochemicals complex shadowing the banks of the Ohio River in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, has become something of a symbol in Appalachia. To the many families nearby, it represents a constant, draconic threat, belching episodic flames, discharging headache-inducing smells, and triggering air quality warnings for dangerous particulate matter and volatile organic compounds. […]
Ohioans are on the fence about fracking. Why is the state pushing for more drilling on public lands?
Ohio’s state parks, forests, and wildlife areas are being queued for fracking development thanks to an opaque new law infamously dubbed the “poultry bill.” House Bill 507 started as an agricultural bill before it was amended behind closed doors—under the influence of the oil and gas industry—to require oil and gas leasing on state-owned land. […]
The East Palestine train derailment is petrochemical harm at its worst. For the industry, it’s a cost of doing business.
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 of toxins is flowing down the Ohio River, and officials are still releasing lists […]
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, nonprofit think tank designed to equip residents and decision-makers with the policy research and […]
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 oil and gas corporations reveal that the industry is pushing carbon capture as a climate solution, despite private acknowledgement that […]
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 6,000 energy leaders representing governments, industries, NGOs, and communities from around the world. […]
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 vote, which notably passed by an even greater margin than the council’s initial 11-4 vote in […]
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, and local economies hollowed out by an industry structurally incapable of generating job growth and prosperity. For […]
Listen: A Model for Economic and Clean Energy Transition
(Source: Yale Climate Connections) Senior Researcher Sean O’Leary joins Dr. Anthony Lieserowitz and Yale Climate Connections to discuss the remarkable economic turnaround taking place in Centralia, Washington. For years, Centralia and surrounding Lewis County relied heavily on jobs from a coal mine and a coal-fired power plant. But when the mine closed in […]
Hydrogen, Carbon Capture Hub is a Risky Gamble for the Ohio River Valley
The newly announced initiative to develop a carbon capture and hydrogen hub in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia is a gamble in the guise of opportunity.