Smokestack

White Nose Syndrome has been found in two Kentucky state parks. State officials announced today that infected bats have turned up in caves at Carter Cave State Resort Park in Carter County and the Kingdom Come State Park Nature Preserve in Letcher County.

Louisville Gas and Electric has been granted a permit to use coal ash from the company’s Cane Run power plant to begin closing a pond on the site.

Senators Barbara Boxer (D-California) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) are expected to unveil their version of a carbon tax today.

But the legislation won't be like anything that's been considered before.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Called "fee and dividend," the legislation is an unusual variant on a carbon tax. It would impose a fee on carbon emissions at their source, such as coal mines, raising the price of fossil fuel energy.

The Speed Art Museum has produced photos (see image) showing the supposedly 300-year-old tree that was removed last year to make way for the museum’s expansion. The first picture is from 1974, the second is more recent.

A new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance shows that the price of renewable energy in Australia is so low that it’s now cheaper to invest in wind and solar power than in a new coal-fired power plant.

According to Bloomberg, energy from a new wind farm costs about $83 per megawatt hour. Building a new coal plant would cost consumers $148 per megawatt hour, and a new baseload gas plant would cost $120 per megawatt hour.

The Air Pollution Control District and Momentive Specialty Chemicals have reached an agreement on alleged violations at the company's Rubbertown plant. The proposed settlement fines Momentive $13,500 for failing to report excess emissions. There will be a public hearing on the fine next Wednesday at 10am, and the Air Pollution Control Board will vote on the settlement.

WFPL takes a cue from film noir. Self-appointed tree detective Erica Peterson looks into the mystery of whether a recently-removed tree on the University of Louisville's campus was, in fact, more than 300 years old.

Lawmakers will wait a month before considering controversial changes to Kentucky’s water quality standard for a substance called selenium.

Selenium occurs naturally in small amounts, but is released in heavier doses by some coal mines and can cause deformities in fish. There are currently two standards for selenium in water: one based on short-term exposure and another for long-term exposure. The proposal from the Kentucky Division of Water would essentially get rid of the first standard, and change the way the second is measured.

A year ago, President Obama rejected a proposed pipeline to transport oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. The Keystone XL pipeline is touted by oil companies as a way to expand the amount of oil that’s produced from the tar sands in Alberta, but its construction raises concerns about the environmental effects and climate change.