The Power of Community
Presenters at the University of Ky. Climate Symposium review statistics on flooding and other economic costs of climate change.
As many of you have been digesting the latest news, with images of a climate crisis that continues to unfold, it can be disheartening. These challenges remind us of the frightening and intimidating power of nature—from Katrina to Hurricane Helene. But it also can remind us of the awesome power of our collective community. A few weeks ago, activists and academics convened in Lexington for the state’s first Kentucky Climate Symposium hosted by the University of Kentucky. It was a chance to take a step back and take inventory on the current state of Kentucky’s climate issues. It was also an opportunity to take time with many of our allies in person, during a time when many of us have become used to seeing each other via zoom. It was the latest of many important events that have taken place in the past few weeks to bring communities together around important projects to protect Kentucky’s environment, as illustrated below.
A Community Reflects on the Bluegrass Pipeline
Citizens gathered to reflect on their work to stop the Bluegrass Pipeline a decade ago. A rainbow later that day.
A few weeks ago, a community of activists gathered in remembrance of our collective work from a decade ago to stop the Bluegrass Pipeline. We can hardly comprehend that is WAS indeed a decade ago. This was during the time when the gas industry was evolving to new technologies including fracking for gas extraction—creating a market for new drilling and pipelines in the state. As the project impacted more and more constituents, communities organized their collective talents, trained themselves, and fought back—in a display of teamwork that can be found in the locally crowdsourced and produced film “The End of the Line.” Looking through the experience again with a decade of perspective, we could now appreciate the power of our collective efforts and the importance of that fight in a way that was not so apparent back then. It was certainly not the only pipeline protest over the last decade. But bit by bit, each pipeline protest across the nation raised a collective voice that told a story which inspired and connected even more communities. After spending a day in solidarity and remembrance, we were blessed with the sight of a rainbow on our drive home.
Many of you have had similar experiences through your lives in doing this work. Your achievements can often need time to appreciate their full impact. Yet with the scenes from the recent hurricane, it may seem that time is against us. But we are advancing…bit by bit to a cleaner energy future.
Wildlife Corridor Project Becoming a Reality
Slides from this past week's presentation of the state's Animal-Vehicle Collision Reduction plan to develop best practices for wildlife corridors.
This past week we were so excited to help shepherd the the next phase of what has been a six-year project for KCC. We began the long path toward building Kentucky’s wildlife corridor plan back in 2019, when New Mexico passed their Wildlife Corridors Act (Senate Bill 228) to create a wildlife corridors action plan…and other states began to follow. We had been aware that there were efforts to include a wildlife crossing program into federal funding for infrastructure and began our work to build momentum and educate the public on wildlife corridors. KCC used models from New Mexico and Virginia to educate lawmakers.
In 2021, KCC approached Senator Higdon and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to request available federal research and planning dollars for a technical study to collect data on animal/vehicle collisions, and develop statewide standards for data tracking, partnering with the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Resources and the Kentucky Department of Nature Preserves. The study would serve as a basis for future legislation. We began educating our allies and members during the 2021 KCC Annual Meeting, and promoted wildlife corridors as part of our Wild and Scenic festival.
In November of 2021, the U.S. Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which included a $350-million competitive grant program called the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program— the first-ever dedicated funding for structures that reconnect habitat. We began collecting information from the Center for Large Landscape Conservation and the Wildlands Network to help Kentucky’s state agencies prepare for potential grant applications.
In 2022, the Cabinet applied to the State Planning and Research program based on our recommendations for such a study during the 2023 planning session. On the federal side, the Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program was finally announced in April of 2023. During this time, we worked with our land conservation partners at the Kentucky Natural Lands Trust, The Nature Conservancy, American Farmland Trust and the Bluegrass Land Conservancy to recommend priority corridors that align with current initiatives Kentucky land groups were working on. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet submitted their application in July of 2023. We also were working closely with our partners at the Kentucky Sierra Club who were focused on bringing attention to the many community grant opportunities like these within the Infrastructure Bill and the Inflation Reduction Act.
We were excited when the State of Kentucky was one of 19 projects awarded in the first round of grants, receiving $1.2 million in funding for a study area along the US 60 and I-64 corridor to reduce animal-vehicle collisions.
During the project kickoff meeting last week, transportation staff and consultants laid out their goals for the project, to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions by identifying trends, promote habitat connectivity by gaining a better understanding of the variables that impact wildlife movement and support public awareness through social media and stakeholders. The reason for the selection of the US 60/I-64 corridor as the study area is that the project area contained a wide range of situations where different tactics and theories could be tested. We were proud to be a part of the official start of what has been a multi-year effort for KCC and we will continue to participate in the project’s development.
Another Milestone: “Solar for All”
Governor Beshear announcing the "Solar for All" program, and meeting with KCC Director Lane Boldman and Sumedha Rao, Director of Louisville's Office of Sustainability, who provided input on the Kentucky plan.
Another milestone over the past few weeks was the announcement of the state’s “Solar for All” program. The $62.4 million Solar for All program state grant will help Kentucky deliver affordable solar energy to eligible households while creating new jobs in the renewable energy sector. KCC had approached the state over two years ago, encouraging them to bring stakeholders together to apply for this grant. And partner groups such as the Kentucky Solar Energy Society and Sumedha Rao from the Louisville Office of Sustainability were critical partners in supplying technical information for this work.
The Governor is expecting to see 41 apprenticeship scholarships and more than 500 training and certification scholarships. “That means these projects will be done by Kentuckians for Kentuckians,” Gov. Beshear said.
The program will help families in Eastern and Western Kentucky in disaster recovery housing, Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program customers and recently weatherized households in high energy regions. Kentucky’s Solar for All program timeline spans five years and the program’s plans are pending final EPA approval. In the meantime, the state is seeking input about the program from families, communities and key stakeholders.
Kentucky is one of 60 recipients across the country to earn a portion of the $7 billion being awarded by the EPA under its Solar for All competition to deliver residential solar projects to over 900,000 households nationwide. It is funded through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.