Yet Another Reason Why The Plastics Industry Is in Trouble: Corporate Pledges
Sometime soon, Shell’s petrochemical plant in western Pennsylvania will finally begin operations, churning out millions of pounds of tiny resin pellets for plastic manufacturing. Despite a barrage of hype about a large-scale petrochemical buildout in Appalachia that was supposed to produce an economic “renaissance,” it was the only project ever to break ground in the […]
NEW REPORT: Future Appalachian Shale Gas Drilling Unprofitable and Petrochemical Buildout Unlikely
JOHNSTOWN, Pennsylvania, March 23, 2021 – New gas field developments in Appalachia are unlikely to be profitable as the US energy system undergoes rapid decarbonization, according to a new report from the Stockholm Environment Institute’s US Center (SEI) and the Ohio River Valley Institute. Rosy industry projections of a gas-fueled petrochemical buildout led many Appalachian […]
Technical Note for Forthcoming Report – Repairing the Damage: Cleaning up the land, water, and air damaged by the coal industry pre-‘77
Abandoned mine land (AML) reclamation consists of design, construction, and administration costs.
Cost estimates in the official AML inventory, eAMLIS, only reflect construction costs—and many construction cost estimates are old and not updated for inflation or new reclamation techniques.
Election 2020: Will Pending Litigation Impact Results in Pennsylvania?
The 2020 election has taken place against the backdrop of a pandemic, a racial justice movement, and record-setting political spending–projected to total nearly $14 billion, a figure greater than the GDP of Armenia. For a culture that is used to immediate gratification, the days spent waiting for election results required more patience and discipline than […]
ORVI Insider #6: Trump Won’t Like the Results of an Economic Impact Study on Fracking
A Message from Our Executive Director Back at my desk in Pennsylvania, I have the strong sensation of being in the eye of a storm; the past few months of frenzied political campaigning and voter education have crescendoed, Election Day has arrived, and the gaze of the nation is upon us as we all await […]
ORVI Insider #5: LNG-by-Rail Transport Poses Threat of Catastrophic Explosions
The latest news and research findings from the Ohio River Valley Institute.
ORVI Insider #4: Quality of Life Investments Could Drive Prosperity in Small Cities and Towns
A Message From Our Executive Director The Ohio River Valley, like much of the country, is currently living under the nation’s microscope – we are facing scrutiny from pundits trying to predict our contribution to the outcome of the Presidential election, we are navigating the turbulent waters of educating our children during a pandemic, we […]
Quality of Life-driven prosperity for small cities and towns
Earlier this year, the Belomar Regional Council, an economic planning and development council comprised of governments in Belmont County Ohio, and Ohio, Marshall, and Wetzel Counties in West Virginia, submitted an updated Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy to the US Economic Development Administration. It contained this SWOT chart. The only opportunity for economic development identified in […]
ORVI Insider #3: Inequality is Robbing Workers of Pay in the Ohio River Valley
The Ohio River Valley Institute aims to circulate our findings as widely as possible, making our research and messaging strategies available to all – starting with this newsletter.