Ohio House Budget Proposal Would Cost Appalachian Public Schools $565.8 Million Over the Next 2 Years
The Ohio House of Representatives recently released its proposal for the next two years of school funding. Despite claims that the new plan gives schools more money than they received in 2025, the new proposal actually reduces funds for almost all of Ohio’s public schools compared to what they would have received if the state […]
Misleading and Just Plain Wrong
The central claim of the Heritage Foundation’s special report that, because of New York’s ban on fracking, counties in the Marcellus region “lost out on around $11,000 per resident or $27,000 per household” is simply wrong. Why? Because . . . Very little of the money invested in or earned by fracking ever lands […]
Ohio House Bill 170 and Senate Bill 136: What You Should Know
Legislators in Ohio seek to establish a regulatory framework for the long-term, geologic storage of carbon dioxide in order to provide the clarity needed to attract developers to the state. But, HB170 and SB136 go far beyond this simple goal. If passed, these two CO2 storage bills would erode landowner rights in Ohio and expose […]
Why Trying to Save Coal Is Costing Us More Than We Think
Let’s talk about coal. Yes—coal, the black rock that powered much of America’s past. Lately, some leaders have been trying to bring it back in a big way. But here’s the truth: no matter what policies are put in place, the coal industry is on its way out—and trying to prop it up is only […]
ARCH2: It’s Time for Our Leaders to Start Asking Tough Questions
The Appalachian Hydrogen Hub (ARCH2) was always a questionable prospect. Since 2021, the Ohio River Valley Institute has asserted that carbon capture and blue hydrogen, the technologies underpinning what later became the hub, are prohibitively expensive and only possible if ratepayers and taxpayers foot the bill. This is why just four months after being allocated […]
A Month from Hell
Key Points Northern Appalachia has, for a decade and a half, premised its economic development strategies on a strategic triad of natural gas, petrochemicals, and most recently hydrogen. Natural gas expansion has proven itself incapable of delivering on promises of jobs and economic prosperity. Meanwhile petrochemicals and hydrogen don’t seem capable of getting off the […]
The Carbon Implications of Ammonia Production
The US is on the verge of an ammonia ‘boom,’ which could expand fracking and incentivize risky carbon storage infrastructure. But as with any boom, industrial expansion will eventually bring a bust. At least 37 new projects have been proposed around the country which could increase ammonia production by over 350% within a decade. Part […]
What could Trump’s expanded LNG exports mean for consumer prices, Appalachian gas production, and local economies?
Joanne Kilgour: Today’s discussion comes on the heels of an executive order signed by President Trump reversing the Biden administration’s pause on pending and future applications for liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects. We’ve gathered a panel of experts today to help us unpack what this new political landscape might mean for consumers and local […]
What does Appalachia have to do with LNG?
The Biden administration’s pause on new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export permits is over. On February 14, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued an order conditionally granting Commonwealth LNG to export liquefied natural gas from its proposed terminal near Cameron, Louisiana. So now the LNG buildout is steamrolling ahead, emboldened by the Trump administration’s vow […]
Uncertainty Remains for Essential Programs After Gov. Shapiro’s Lawsuit Unfreezes Federal Funds for PA
Last week, I joined a group of Pennsylvania advocates and policy experts for a press event on the critical situation facing businesses, community service organizations, and municipalities across the Commonwealth, one that demands our immediate attention and continued vigilance. The Trump administration recently took the unprecedented step of withholding over $2.1 billion in Congressionally approved […]