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...
Ben Hunkler
All research:
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...
Hydrogen 101
ORVI Insider #21: New Poll Shows PA Voters Want a Crackdown on Fracking
The latest news, research, and analysis from the Ohio River Valley Institute. July 29, 2021 By wide margins, Pennsylvania voters support a major crackdown on fracking. That's according to a striking new poll...
New Reports Sketch a Blueprint for Job Growth and Economic Development in Distressed Appalachian Communities
There are many parallels between economically struggling communities in Appalachia and Centralia, Washington, a chronically depressed coal town that lost its coal mine and is now losing its coal-fired power plant. But in Centralia, the economy, jobs and population are...
ORVI Insider #20: A Model for Economic Development in Appalachia
The latest news, research, and analysis from the Ohio River Valley Institute. July 20, 2021 A groundbreaking set of new reports from the Ohio River Valley Institute explain why natural gas development failed to...