Environment

Louisville's Solid Waste Management division will hold a public hearing tonight on its five-year plan for the city's garbage and recycling programs.

The plan includes a proposal to ban the use of plastic bags for yard waste and expand composting. As I reported last month, at least one member of the solid waste advisory committee is skeptical.

A pilot project to capture and store carbon dioxide has begun at a power plant in Alabama. The effort at the Barry Electric Generating Station began in full at the end of last month.

The plant is big, and the carbon-capture apparatus is small, so only about one percent of the flue gas is actually being captured. But the fact that the carbon dioxide is also being transported about 12 miles through a pipeline and sequestered deep in the earth is an important step for the technology.

A new lecture series begins this week at the main branch of the Louisville Free Public Library. The “What’s Next” series offers a forum for local researchers to discuss emerging developments in their areas of expertise.

“We’re talking with a lot of folks here in Louisville that are really doing some amazing things,” Library Head of Community Relations Paul Burns said. “That’s one of the things we wanted to tap into, is some of these great resources we have in the community and some exciting stuff that’s happening that people don’t even know about.”

The drought that’s been plaguing areas of Kentucky and Indiana for much of the summer could end up having an effect on honeybee colonies, too.

Sean Burgess is Kentucky’s state apiarist. He says this time of year is critical for bee colonies, because it’s when they harvest nectar to make the honey that nourishes them through the winter.