Research
The Ohio River Valley Institute examines some of the region’s most pressing challenges. We provide policy analysis and practical tools for building a stronger Appalachia. All of our research is available for you to cite, use, and share, per our free use policy.
ORVI Insider #5: LNG-by-Rail Transport Poses Threat of Catastrophic Explosions
The latest news and research findings from the Ohio River Valley Institute.
Good Jobs: A Robust Labor Movement, Strong Labor Laws
The key to stronger communities is not trying to turn the clock back to an industrial past but to learn the lesson of how we got those “good jobs” of yesterday: a robust labor movement protected by strong labor laws.
New Rule Allows Explosive Liquefied Natural Gas on Rail Lines Near You
October 22, 1944 was an ordinary Friday in Cleveland until 2:40 in the afternoon. That’s when liquefied natural gas (LNG) that had quietly seeped...
Renewable Energy: The New Texas Tea
Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia should try it instead of throwing up barriers In 2009, Texas was the nation’s biggest consumer of coal for the...
ORVI Insider #4: Quality of Life Investments Could Drive Prosperity in Small Cities and Towns
A Message From Our Executive Director The Ohio River Valley, like much of the country, is currently living under the nation’s microscope - we are...
West Virginia’s Oil & Gas Industry Pushing for Millions in Property Tax Cuts
While West Virginians are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and trying to figure out if their kids can attend school, the oil and gas industry is...
Quality of Life-driven prosperity for small cities and towns
Earlier this year, the Belomar Regional Council, an economic planning and development council comprised of governments in Belmont County Ohio, and...
The Fracking Boom in Appalachia: Big GDP Growth, Small Amount of Jobs and Local Income
"If our economy seems to be growing but that growth is not sustainable because we are destroying the environment and using up scarce natural...
ORVI Insider #3: Inequality is Robbing Workers of Pay in the Ohio River Valley
The Ohio River Valley Institute aims to circulate our findings as widely as possible, making our research and messaging strategies available to all – starting with this newsletter.
Inequality is Robbing Workers of Pay in the Ohio River Valley
Workers in West Virginia should be making $117,000 a year on average -- and they would be too, if only we had pursued the same economic strategies...
Pennsylvania Prevails on Absentee Voting Access
Pennsylvanians will now have more time for their ballots to make it to election clerks’ hands and be allowed to offer drop boxes, after separate rulings from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Thursday.
Pennsylvania’s Tight Deadlines Threaten Thousands of Absentee Votes
For years, Pennsylvania’s election officials have been raising the alarm: The state’s absentee ballot deadlines are too tight—there just aren’t enough days between deadlines to request and return mail-in ballots to turn them around. Too many votes cast properly go needlessly uncounted. And if they don’t solve this now, the problem will only get worse.
Three new barriers to Appalachian petrochemical expansion
How Saudi Arabia may cripple the US fracking boom and the Appalachian petrochemical buildout along with it It’s hard to conceive of a worse scenario...
Pennsylvania Families Pay More for Natural Gas Than Most Americans
A decade-long fracking boom in the Keystone State, but local families pay more for electricity and more to heat their homes with gas than the national average.
Energy Independent? Not even close
The fate of Appalachia’s natural gas and petrochemical boom depends on despotic regimes, foreign companies we’ve never heard of, and OPEC In a...