Erica Peterson

Louisville's string of forecasted bad air days continues tomorrow with another Air Quality Alert--for the third consecutive day this week.

Elevated levels of ozone were also predicted yesterday (even though there was no actual ozone exceedence) and there's an Air Quality Alert in effect today. Tomorrow, the Air Quality Index is forecast to be 101, which is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Mammoth Cave National Park has named a new superintendent, and she is the first woman to serve in that capacity in the park’s history.

Sarah Craighead will replace Patrick Reed, who retired at the end of June. She’s currently the superintendent at Death Valley National Park, which straddles parts of California and Nevada. She’s also worked at national parks in Arizona, Oklahoma and Maine, among others.

Last week, there was huge news for the coal industry. Kentucky coal producers signed a deal to export up to nine million tons of coal a year for the next 25 years, to the reported tune of $7 billion.

I’ve already covered why the deal is good news for struggling Appalachian coal producers (but not good enough news to turn the industry around), the extent of Rep. Keith Hall’s involvement, and what the increased coal exports could mean for the environment. But now I’m hearing conflicting opinions about why this deal actually happened in the first place, and whether or not it makes sense.

The members of Louisville rock band My Morning Jacket appear in a new campaign by non-profit Earthjustice that opposes mountaintop removal coal mining.

There's an Air Quality Alert in effect today, and the Air Pollution Control District has already predicted that ozone levels will also be high tomorrow.

The Air Quality Index is forecast to be 106, which is unhealthy for sensitive groups, like the elderly, the young and those with heart and lung conditions.

For air quality updates, call (502) 574-3319.

A three-judge panel has voted two to one to strike down a new rule from the Environmental Protection Agency that would require some states to reduce pollution that travels across state lines. This puts the EPA in a difficult position.

The Louisville Air Pollution Control District is forecasting an unhealthy air day tomorrow, and has put an Air Quality Alert for ozone in effect.

The Air Quality Index is expected to be 104, which is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

For air quality updates, call (502) 574-3319.

Something that may be of interest to those who have had trouble breathing on some of Louisville's unhealthy air days this summer: increase your vitamin C intake.

The Louisville Free Public Library is launching a new series called "What's Next" to look at important issues coming up in the future. The first lecture in the series? A discussion about climate change.

From the news release:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated another 68 Kentucky counties, including Jefferson, as drought disaster areas.

With the new drought declaration, Bell, Harlan, Leslie and Perry counties are the only Kentucky counties not officially in a drought. These counties are all clustered in the southeast part of the state.

University of Kentucky meteorologist Matt Dixon says the drought has been months in the making.