Category: Environment
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Northam Appointee Opposes DEV’s Green Tariff
By Steve Haner Is Governor Ralph Northam now on both sides of the electricity retail choice issue? Having sent a strong signal weeks ago that he would oppose 2020 legislation creating competition for all customers, his administration has now intervened in a regulatory dispute asking to protect competitive choice for 100% renewable electricity. You are…
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Chesapeake Bay Foundation Embraces Social Justice Advocacy
I have long respected the Chesapeake Bay Foundation for its role as an advocate for the Chesapeake Bay. It has always stuck close to its nonpartisan, non-ideological mission, and it has enjoyed a high degree of credibility across the political spectrum. Until now. Last week, the CFB issued a statement supporting the Environmental Justice for…
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Getting Serious about Flooding
by James A. Bacon Everybody talks about the weather, as the old saying goes, but nobody does anything about it. Well, here in Virginia, people are getting serious about one aspect of the weather — flooding. Last week Governor Ralph Northam issued an executive order, the Virginia Flood Risk Management Standard, to encourage the “smart…
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The Cumberland Landfill: Another Case of Risk Illiteracy
by James A. Bacon Last year the Cumberland County Board of Supervisors approved a conditional use permit for construction of a 500-acre mega-landfill. Some county residents welcome the facility, which would generate between $1.4 million and $2.8 million a year in host fees and provide a huge revenue boost to a county budget of roughly…
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Omega Protein Exceeds ASMFC Catch Limit of Menhaden
by Don Rippert What, me worry? Omega Protein has admitted exceeding its menhaden catch limit for 2019 in the Chesapeake Bay. Omega Protein, a Houston-based company and wholly owned subsidiary of Cooke, Inc, a Canadian firm, operates a fishing fleet based in Reedville, Va. Employing about 300 Virginians, Omega Protein has been mired in controversy…
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Republicans Must Find a New Way Forward
by James A. Bacon Virginia is a blue state now. Not only do Democrats occupy all statewide elected positions — two U.S. senators, governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general — with yesterday’s election, they control both houses of the General Assembly. Republicans got their booties kicked. And the butt-stomping is not likely to subside. The…
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Virginia Air Pollution Continues Downward Trend
Switching topics from reading test scores, here’s a downward trend Virginians can appreciate. Air pollution emissions in the Old Dominion continued their long-term downward trend in 2017 for most categories of emissions, according to an analysis of federal data by the Consumer Energy Alliance, an organization of major energy consumers. Between 1990 and 2017 Virginia…
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Dominion Goes Whole Hog for Waste-to-Energy
by James A. Bacon Dominion Energy and Smithfield Foods are investing a half billion dollars to capture methane from hog farms and convert it to “renewable natural gas.” The partnership aims to become the “largest renewable natural gas supplier in the U.S.,” according to a press release issued Wednesday. A few days ago, I noted…
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Electric Vehicles Are Punishingly Overtaxed in Virginia
by Alleyn Harned In an October 15th post, James Bacon asked the question: How should we tax electric vehicles? Bacon’s bottom line is reasonable, and it is worth noting that electric vehicles (EVs) and clean fuels already pay more than their fair share in Virginia with equivalent or excessive taxes, according to Consumer Reports. It…
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Bye, Bye, Smokey Stacks
By Peter Galuszka Many years ago, when I was a young cub reporter at The Virginian-Pilot, I had a lonely assignment that had me spending some of my mornings watching big ships come and go into Chesapeake Bay. I worked a night police beat until at least midnight with Wednesdays and Thursdays off, ruining my…
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Reliability, Resilience and a 100% Renewable Electric Grid
by James A. Bacon California is getting a vivid lesson on the trade-offs between sustainability and reliability of the electric grid. Pacific Gas & Electric has taken the extraordinary action of cutting off electric power to 700,000 customers in California to reduce the risk of sparking forest fires. Many customers could go without power for…
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Dominion Vies to Become Sustainability Leader — at What Cost?
by James A. Bacon Dominion Energy is aggressively positioning itself as a leader among U.S. electric utilities in renewable energy and environmental stewardship. Whether the shift in strategic direction will win it any friends among Democrats and environmentalists who increasingly dominate Virginia politics is an open question. The environmental wing of the Democratic Party of…
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Carbon Tax for Your Car, SUV Takes Shape at TCI
By Steve Haner In this politically sensitive moment, they don’t call it “cap and tax” but instead “cap and invest.” Yet, the recently released draft Transportation and Climate Initiative proposal fits a Bacon’s Rebellion prediction in March that next they would be coming to tax your SUV. Reducing CO2 emissions from electric power plants…
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A Sound Business Decision… or More Virtue Signaling?
Governor Ralph Northam has pledged to put $20 million from the Volkswagen diesel-emissions settlement toward the purchase of zero-emission school buses, the governor’s office has announced. The program, to be administered by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), will help local school systems to replace about 75 diesel-fueled buses and reduce CO2 emissions by 36…
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Bacon Bits: Many Grand Schemes but No Numbers on Cost
VCU’s new master plan. You can tell when you’ve entered most universities because you must pass through impressive-looking gates. You don’t know when you’ve entered Virginia Commonwealth University because the urban university bleeds into the surrounding community. The university’s new ONE VCU master plan will address that by creating two create two “Front Door” projects…