CLIMATE: How incentives in the markets for insurance in Florida and elsewhere can help regions adapt more quickly to climate change risks. (New York Times)
SOLAR:
• A push to waive property taxes on solar purchases that failed in South Carolina leaves backers feeling frustrated but not defeated. (Charleston Regional Business Journal)
• North Carolina ranks 5th, Virginia 39th in the latest national survey of installed solar systems. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• Florida Power & Light touts development of solar farms because “they’re clean and plants like these benefit our customers … keeping their bills low.” (Alachua County Today)
• A primer on the first of two Constitutional amendments in Florida, this one waiving property taxes for qualifying systems. (Palm Beach Post)
COAL ASH: Workers at the cleanup of Tennessee’s massive coal ash spill in 2008 deal with health effects they weren’t warned about. (Center for Public Integrity / The Daily Beast)
COAL: A West Virginia town struggles to cut its municipal budget as coal tax revenues decline. (WVVA)
UTILITIES: Municipalities in Kentucky prepare for the option to shop for wholesale power supplies. (The State Journal)
FRACKING: West Virginia University researchers identify a drilling technique that reduces toxic waste below federal guidelines. (The Dominion Post)
PIPELINES: An economic development group representing two Kentucky counties opposes the proposed reversal of a natural gas pipeline. (Lexington Herald-Leader)
POLITICS: Conservative groups are pushing back against the Republican party’s denial of climate change. (The Guardian)
COMMENTARY:
• How a big coal blunder gave Mississippi a shot at cleaner air. (Yes Magazine)
• The EPA was right to reject the disposal of coal-mine discharges in West Virginia. (Courthouse News Service)
• Demands of environmental and social justice activists in Virginia deserve scrutiny. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• North Carolina’s coal ash cleanup law falls short of ideal. (Rocky Mount Telegram)