2023 in Review
Together, a more prosperous, sustainable, and equitable Appalachia is possible. That’s the vision that has geared our data-driven research, guided our outreach and campaigns, and grounded our work in the region’s community and culture ever since the Ohio River Valley Institute’s very beginning. It’s now been more than three years since we laid out our […]
For Decarbonization, Carrots May Be Popular, But They’re Far More Expensive Than Sticks
The Inflation Reduction Act relies far more heavily on carrots than it does on sticks to induce industries to mitigate their carbon emissions. Tax credits for technologies such as carbon capture and sequestration actually exceed the costs companies would incur to implement and operate them, making the tax credits potentially valuable revenue streams. In some […]
Job Opportunity: Operations Manager
The Ohio River Valley institute (ORVI), an independent nonprofit providing research and solutions for a more sustainable, equitable, democratic, and prosperous Appalachia, is hiring for the newly created position of Operations Manager. The Operations Manager will join a high-performing team committed to excellence and working to ensure that our communities throughout Appalachia can […]
Statement on Federal Funding for the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub
The Ohio River Valley Institute published the following statement in response to the Department of Energy’s announcement of up to $925 million in federal funding for the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2). ARCH2 Blue Hydrogen Hub Threatens Higher Costs with Few Jobs, Continued Emissions Alternative ‘Clean Energy Pathway’ Would Create 12,000 Jobs by […]
The Meaning of MVP
Tucked amid the Biden administration’s cornucopia of climate initiatives was a poison pill: the greenlighting of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) in Appalachia. When the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 essentially bulldozed the permitting review process for the pipeline, it accelerated a perilous feedback loop: gas extraction in Appalachia driving growth in gas-consuming infrastructure […]
Spotlight: Nadiatu Issaka, 2023 Summer Research Fellow
Nadiatu Issaka joined ORVI’s team in June 2023 as our inaugural Summer Research Fellow. We sat down with Nadiatu at the end of the summer to learn more about her research, her interests in weightlifting and coding, and her motivation for building a better future in Appalachia, in Ghana, and beyond. Where are […]
Getting Unions Connected to Orphaned Well Clean Up: A Second Bite at the Apple
Last month, the Department of Interior (DOI) released its application guidance for Phase 1 state formula grants for orphaned well clean up under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The formula grants are one of three grant programs included in the infrastructure law for orphaned wells site plugging, remediation and restoration. Altogether, 26 states are eligible […]
The Unemployment Gap in Appalachia
In late July, we co-released a report that proposed a targeted subsidized employment program aimed at finding jobs for those disconnected from the workforce in Appalachia. Specifically, the report explored the large number of prime-age workers – those between ages 25 and 54 – that are not included in the formal labor force and […]
Oil & Gas: Central to Pennsylvania politics but not its economy
I’ve gotten better at resisting the urge to respond to every inaccurate claim, every attempt to mislead, and every rhetorical flourish that issues forth from the region’s oil and gas industry executives who, when they’re not claiming that natural gas is “clean energy”, are telling us that it doesn’t matter whether it’s clean or […]
Ohioans are on the fence about fracking. Why is the state pushing for more drilling on public lands?
Ohio’s state parks, forests, and wildlife areas are being queued for fracking development thanks to an opaque new law infamously dubbed the “poultry bill.” House Bill 507 started as an agricultural bill before it was amended behind closed doors—under the influence of the oil and gas industry—to require oil and gas leasing on state-owned […]