Reflections and Thanks
Next year, KCC will be celebrating its 50th anniversary, and we have been collecting information and stories from our members in preparation (If you have history to share, please contact us). An important part of that history are the many amazing and talented people who worked tirelessly over the years to protect Kentucky’s environment.
Earlier this year we lost Fr. Al Fritsch, who founded Appalachia Science in the Public Interest and served on KCC’s Board of Directors in the 1980s. And then a few weeks ago, we were saddened to lose another environmental giant, and good friend, Art Williams. Art was a friend to many of our KCC members and served as KCC’s first full-time executive director in 2011. In addition to his time at KCC, Art was a dedicated environmental attorney and served for many years as the Director of the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District. But most importantly, Art was a good and kind person who served this planet well. We send our condolences to Art’s family and we thank him so much for his lifetime of service and friendship.
Thanks to Those Who Came to the Earth Walk
We want to thank all of you who came to last weekend’s Louisville Earth Walk in support of ten environmental organizations. We had great weather and over 70 registered walkers who came out to celebrate the planet and enjoy a fall walk at Shawnee Park in Louisville. We hope you will join us for next year’s event and bring a walking team!
Sustainability of the manufacturing sector was a major theme of the first Ky. Industry Conference
Manufacturing and its Impact on the Climate
The manufacturing sector is a major contributor to climate change, and reducing its emissions is vital to reaching global climate targets. Almost a quarter (23 percent) of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions come directly from industrial sources, such as manufacturing, food processing, mining, and construction.
This past week, we had the pleasure of attending the state’s first Kentucky Industry Conference, presented by the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers. We attended the conference as part of our partner work as a member of the Sustainable Aluminum Network, which is focused on advancing clean aluminum production methods. As we have mentioned, the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development is presently working to hopefully bring the nation’s first low-carbon aluminum smelter to the state. The state is still in competition with other locations to see who can provide enough of the essential low-carbon energy for this project.
A significant part of the conference agenda was focused on sustainability and building a “circular economy” for the industrial supply chain that reduces wasteful processes, integrates more full-product lifecycle technologies and reduces the industrial reliance on carbon-intensive energy. It was refreshing to see that while there had been legislation in the General Assembly to challenge “Diversity-Equity-Inclusion” initiatives, that the industrial sessions at this conference largely embraced and promoted them.
As another part of our work around the manufacturing sector, we were invited to join the Kentucky Sierra Club and their members out in the Ashland region to discuss how sustainable manufacturing could impact local jobs in these heavy industrialized regions. We want to thank Sierra Club for the invitation and were glad to meet old and new friends in that part of the state.
More Reflections on Those Who Support Us
And as we have been reflecting on the tremendous legacy of Art Williams and his work as an environmental attorney, and give thanks to our members and supporters, we also want to take the time to thank the work of KCC’s current legal support. For the past decade, the Kentucky Conservation Committee has been supported by the work of the legal firm Strobo Barkley PLLC through our good friend and colleague Randy Strobo. Randy has not only blessed us for years with his legal talent, but has also supported us through his good nature, humor and steady hand. We at KCC have been so fortunate to have the talents of people like Art Williams and Randy Strobo supporting our work over these many years.
Kentucky Voices 2024
Join us on December 6, 2024 for our annual Kentucky Voices event in Frankfort. Kentucky Voices is free to KCC members in good standing, as our "thank you" for your support, but we also encourage you to renew your membership at the event and invite a friend to come and join or donate to KCC, to help us raise funds to prepare for the 2025 legislative session.
This year’s event features these distinguished authors:
Melissa Helton, editor of the powerful 2024 anthology “Troublesome Rising: A Thousand-Year Flood in Eastern Kentucky.” Published by the University of Kentucky Press
Jon Reynolds, photographer and author of the 2024 book “Illuminating Nature: Chasing Light Across the Landscape.”
Greg Pape, poet and author of the 2023 collection “A Field of First Things,” published by Accents Publishing in Lexington.
To reserve your spot for this year's event, go to this link. Note: Donations to KCC are not tax-deductible due to our effective environmental lobbying efforts.