Litigation, red tape prevent abandoned coal mine cleanup efforts

by Esther Frances | Nov 14, 2023 | Environment, Featured

Abandoned coal mines threaten community safety and the environment, but despite bipartisan support, remediation efforts are often stalled by litigation and red tape, senators said at a hearing last Thursday. States must undergo prolonged vetting processes before they...

Senators blast EPA for a backlog in approving carbon storage wells

by Esther Frances | Nov 2, 2023 | Environment, Featured

WASHINGTON – Senators criticized the Environmental Protection Agency for its slow going approval process for wells that store carbon dioxide captured from power plants, industrial facilities and other sources. The Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on Nov....

Early climate disaster warning systems can promote community resilience and reduce vulnerability, experts say

by Juliann Ventura | Oct 20, 2023 | Environment, Featured

WASHINGTON– Developing new systems to detect disasters before they strike can reduce the damage communities suffer as climate change increases the intensity and frequencies of landslides, floods and other disasters in the Himalayan region, experts said on October 19...

German Leaders Promise That New Liquefied Gas Terminals Have a Green Future, but Clean Energy Experts Are Skeptical

by Christina van Waasbergen | Jun 7, 2023 | Energy, Environment, Featured, Science + Technology

WILHELMSHAVEN, Germany—In the steel-gray North Sea waters of the port of Wilhelmshaven floats an impressively long tanker, the German government’s answer to the nation’s energy crisis. The Höegh Esperanza, sprawling the length of three football fields, is what’s known...

A Guardian of Federal Lands, Lambasted by Left and Right

by Grant Schwab | May 21, 2023 | Environment, Featured

WASHINGTON — Few people seem happy with Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and her department’s management of energy resources on federal lands and waters. To this day, a particular focus of indignation is her handling of a December lease auction for oil extraction...

Backers hope Inflation Reduction Act incentives spur business in Southwest Virginia

by Emma Ricketts and Grant Schwab | Apr 11, 2023 | Environment, Featured

WASHINGTON — As the Inflation Reduction Act ushers in generous new tax credits linked to renewables, backers are hopeful that regions once dependent on coal, like Southwest Virginia, could be among its beneficiaries. “If it’s not a watershed moment for a...