CLIMATE: Four tornadoes devastate western Kentucky, destroying buildings, killing dozens of people and raising questions over whether climate change is intensifying the storms. (Courier Journal, CNN)
ALSO:
• Nearly 10,000 people in Memphis, Tennessee, remained without power into the weekend, but the city’s utility projects power restoration by today. (Commercial Appeal)
• Three distinct but related Indigenous communities press for environmental justice after their Louisiana homelands took the brunt of Hurricane Ida, destroying homes and displacing thousands of people. (Al Jazeera)
PIPELINES: Hundreds of anti-pipeline protestors rally and highlight more than 300 water violations by the Mountain Valley Pipeline ahead of a pivotal decision this week whether to award the project a crucial permit to cross waterways. (Associated Press, WDBJ, Roanoke Times)
COAL:
• Coal’s accelerating demise leaves behind environmental devastation throughout the U.S., including 2,300 square miles of land scarred by mountaintop removal and other forms of surface mining. (Inside Climate News)
• FirstEnergy officials admit one of the company’s coal-fired power plants is a bad deal for West Virginia ratepayers but continue to seek more cost recovery from state regulators. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• Demand for coal by the steel industry and in China drives a mining uptick in southwestern Virginia, where state officials have seen 17 applications for new mining permits and licenses. (WVTF)
• U.S. Joe Manchin was half right when he referenced the number of coal units still operating in the U.S. and cited it as a world leader in coal retirements, but glossed over significant cuts in coal-fired power made by other countries. (PolitiFact)
OIL & GAS: A Louisiana woman fights a massive build-out of industrial facilities to export natural gas that would affect her city, where nearly half the residents are Black. (Sierra)
UTILITIES: Critics voice concerns about transparency as Memphis concludes a bidding process to supply its electricity, which could mark a major step toward the Tennessee city leaving the Tennessee Valley Authority. (Commercial Appeal)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A Tennessee economic developer is shopping a 422-acre property to a company in the electric vehicle industry that’s also considering Texas and other locations for a project that could bring more than 4,000 jobs. (ClarksvilleNOW)
• An Alabama city partners with the state and private sector to install more electric vehicle chargers. (WHNT)
SOLAR:
• Kentucky regulators approve a 200 MW solar farm on a reclaimed coal mine site. (Lexington Herald-Leader)
• A team from Marshall University begins its second year of evaluating former and current coal mine land for potential solar energy sites. (Huntington Herald-Dispatch)
WIND: Virginia regulators seek public comment on Dominion Energy’s proposal to build an offshore wind facility. (Augusta Free Press)
EMISSIONS: Austin, Texas, partners with a clean air group to place devices to measure air quality in public schools. (Austin Monitor)
POLITICS: North Carolina conservationists file suit over newly redrawn legislative maps, reflecting a growing recognition that redistricting decisions now underway could set the stage for environmental and climate defeats for the next decade. (Inside Climate News)