Ben Hunkler
Ben comes to ORVI from community advocacy work in the Ohio River Valley. He offers communications and design support for report releases, social media content, and the ORVI Insider.
All research:
Mapping the Cost of Widespread CCUS Adoption
New Ohio River Valley Institute research finds that the broad-scale adoption of carbon capture, use, and sequestration (CCUS) would come with a price tag upwards of $100 billion dollars per year. A bevy of proposed legislation in Congress would hoist that bill on...
ORVI Insider #24: A New Civilian Conservation Corps Could Employ Thousands
The latest news, research, and analysis from the Ohio River Valley Institute. September 28, 2021 The New Deal-era Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was an economic boon for its participants and for local...
ORVI Insider #23: Appalachian Petrochemical Dreams Are Running Out of Steam
The latest news, research, and analysis from the Ohio River Valley Institute. September 14, 2021 The dream of an Appalachian petrochemical hub, complete with a network of plastic-producing ethane cracker plants, cavernous natural gas storage facilities,...
Year in Review
The Ohio River Valley Institute (ORVI) launched one year ago, in August 2020, as an independent, nonprofit think tank designed to equip the region’s residents and decision-makers with the policy research and practical tools they need to advance long-term solutions to...
ORVI Insider #22: Our First Year in Review
ORVI Insider: Our First Year in Review The Ohio River Valley Institute (ORVI) launched one year ago, in August 2020, as an independent, nonprofit think tank designed to equip the region’s residents and decision-makers with the policy research and...
Community groups urge U.S. Department of Energy to halt gas, ethane development
More than one hundred environmental and community advocates described the devastating threats to public health and safety posed by petrochemical development in Appalachia and the Gulf South during a public hearing organized by the Department of Energy’s Office of...
How the Department of Energy Can Help Mitigate Economic and Environmental Damage from Petrochemical Development and Fracking
Senior Researcher Sean O’Leary explained the damaging effects of shale gas activity and prospective petrochemical development on the environment, residents’ wellbeing, and local economic growth in a public-facing presentation for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office...
Finding Opportunity in the Ohio Valley
Last week, Senior Researcher Sean O’Leary and I traveled across the Ohio Valley to discuss Ohio River Valley Institute research with county commissioners and local organizations. The trip laid bare the aftermath of fracking’s grip on the regional economy. Boarded...