May 24 Environment EPA Hears Testimony on New Carbon Pollution Rule The Environmental Protection Agency is in the midst of day-long hearings in Washington, D.C. and Chicago on proposed new standards from carbon pollution from power plants. The speaking lists for both hearings were already near full before they began. The slots were first come, first served, and environmental groups snagged many of them. Representatives from […] By Erica Peterson May 24 Environment EPA Hears Testimony on New Carbon Pollution Rule Erica Peterson
Oct 10 Environment Carbon Capture Technology Is Catching On Globally, but not as Quickly in the U.S. Carbon capture and sequestration projects are picking up around the world, according to a new report, even as some in the United States have recently been shuttered. According to the Global Institute for Carbon Capture and Sequestration, the technology’s future is bright. CCS, as it’s known, is a process by which carbon dioxide is removed […] By Erica Peterson Oct 10 Environment Carbon Capture Technology Is Catching On Globally, but not as Quickly in the U.S. Erica Peterson
Sep 26 Environment Study Indicates Switch to Natural Gas May Not Slow Climate Change As federal policies make burning coal more expensive, many utilities—including Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities—are transitioning their older coal plants to natural gas. But a new study cautions that natural gas may not be a panacea to stop the effects of climate change. Natural gas is cleaner than coal. When you burn it, […] By Erica Peterson Sep 26 Environment Study Indicates Switch to Natural Gas May Not Slow Climate Change Erica Peterson
Nov 3 Environment Carbon Capture Tech Makes Progress, But Enough? Today (TUESDAY), the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a mark-up session on the Senate climate change bill. Its passage is still uncertain at the moment, but one provision aims to establish widespread, commercial-scale carbon dioxide capture and storage from coal-fired power plants. The technology isn’t entirely out of the laboratory yet, but researchers and industry partners in the Ohio River Valley are working to get it there—regardless of what happens on Capitol Hill. WFPL’s Kristin Espeland Gourlay has the second of our two-part series. By Kristin Espeland Nov 3 Environment Carbon Capture Tech Makes Progress, But Enough? Kristin Espeland
Nov 2 Environment World's First Carbon Capture & Storage, On the Ohio The U.S. Senate has begun hearings on its version of a climate change bill, the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act. If passed, it could require a 65 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions—namely carbon dioxide--from the nation’s existing coal-fired power plants by the year 2020. Some high profile lobbying groups are fighting the bill, but some of the biggest emitters aren’t. In the first of this two-part series on carbon capture and storage, we visit an Ohio River Valley power plant that's flipped the switch on a world first. By Kristin Espeland Nov 2 Environment World's First Carbon Capture & Storage, On the Ohio Kristin Espeland
May 22 Environment A Good Week for the Atmosphere Well, mostly. We did have air quality alerts here on Thursday and today (Friday), caused essentially by too many cars on the roads and high temperatures. But on Capitol Hill, administrators and legislators alike made progress on curbing the kinds of emissions that can lead to those alerts. By Kristin Espeland May 22 Environment A Good Week for the Atmosphere Kristin Espeland
May 15 Environment Green in the Spotlight on Capitol Hill This Week The U.S. House of Representatives is shining its legislative spotlight on the environment this week. House Democrats have been hashing out the details of the American Clean Energy and Security Act, a bill sponsored by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Subcommittee Chairman Edward Markey (D-Mass.). The bill is the first climate change legislation to get environmentalists pretty excited. By Kristin Espeland May 15 Environment Green in the Spotlight on Capitol Hill This Week Kristin Espeland
Mar 12 Environment FutureGen…Again? Carbon Capture Could be Back Plans to build an experimental, near-zero carbon dioxide emissions power plant in Illinois could be back in play. The U.S. Department of Energy cancelled the FutureGen project a little more than a year ago when it determined the project’s cost had doubled. But a new report finds the DOE miscalculated. By Kristin Espeland Mar 12 Environment FutureGen…Again? Carbon Capture Could be Back Kristin Espeland
Feb 17 Environment Sniffing Out Carbon Dioxide from Space NASA has launched a new satellite that will help identify, in unprecedented detail, where carbon dioxide is being emitted and where it's being sucked up. The idea is to provide a clearer picture of what has happened, what is happening, and what might happen to all of the CO2 humans have produced since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in 1750. By Kristin Espeland Feb 17 Environment Sniffing Out Carbon Dioxide from Space Kristin Espeland
Jan 27 Environment Effects of Global Warming Will Last 1000 Years The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has released a study showing that even if carbon dioxide emissions were completely halted right now, the world will still feel the effects of global warming for a millenium. And there's no going back. By Kristin Espeland Jan 27 Environment Effects of Global Warming Will Last 1000 Years Kristin Espeland
Dec 18 Environment Engineering Global "Cooling?" Researchers in the journal Nature argued this week that one of the most effective ways to tackle global warming will be to take carbon dioxide right out of the atmosphere. By Kristin Espeland Dec 18 Environment Engineering Global "Cooling?" Kristin Espeland
Sep 19 Environment Powered by…Goo? A start-up called Sapphire Energy has taken what might be the farthest reaching step yet to turn algae into the kind of fuel you could pump into your gas tank. By Kristin Espeland Sep 19 Environment Powered by…Goo? Kristin Espeland
Aug 1 Local News KY Farmers Earn Thousands for Carbon Credits This past year, farmers enrolled nearly 3 million acres in the National Farmers Union carbon credit program, keeping enough carbon dioxide stored in the soil to offset the yearly emissions of 320,000 automobiles. By Kristin Espeland Aug 1 Local News KY Farmers Earn Thousands for Carbon Credits Kristin Espeland
Jul 25 Local News Bigger Market for IN Coal Seen in New Plant Proponents say IGCC plants are cleaner than traditional plants because they don’t emit harmful pollutants during combustion. And that means the plant could make more use of Indiana coal, which is higher in sulfur than coal from western states. By Kristin Espeland Jul 25 Local News Bigger Market for IN Coal Seen in New Plant Kristin Espeland