Energy + Environment
Grain Belt Express clears another legal hurdle with Missouri appeals court ruling
Chariton County cannot block construction of the Grain Belt Express electric transmission line by refusing permission to cross county roads, the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday. The county can establish rules for how the transmission line crosses its roads, the court ruled as it modified a trial court decision that said the […]
Rural Missouri groups threaten lawsuit over PFAS in meatpacking sludge
Industrial sludge often offered to Missouri farms as free fertilizer contains “forever chemicals,” several groups threatening to sue the state allege. Two advocacy groups along with a mid-Missouri farmer notified several sludge providers and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources of their intent to sue in a letter dated Wednesday, saying the waste presents “an […]
Ameren Missouri’s Rush Island coal plant to close following years-long litigation
One of Ameren Missouri’s largest coal plants will shut down Tuesday after more than 13 years of litigation over its failure to comply with federal clean air regulations. The St. Louis-based electric utility will retire the Rush Island Energy Center, a two-unit 1,178-megawatt coal plant on the banks of the Mississippi River in Jefferson County, […]
Regenerative farming practices require unlearning past advice
Early on a cool September morning, farmer Josh Payne tends to his flock in Concordia, just east of Kansas City. As Payne opens the gate, about a thousand sheep round the corner and bound into fresh grass. The pasture the flock grazes was once corn and soybeans, along with the rest of the Payne family […]
FEMA chief decries rumors, disinformation about hurricane recovery as worst ever
WASHINGTON — Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell said Tuesday that rumors and disinformation will become a regular part of natural disaster response moving forward, and rebuked those seeking to benefit politically from spreading false information. The volume and type of disinformation spreading about FEMA, as Southeast states struggle to recover from Hurricane […]
Energy and climate: Where do Harris and Trump stand?
Highlighted in Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign as one of the major crises facing the country, climate change has received much less attention in the 2024 race for the presidency. The candidates, Republican former President Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, share the twin goals of lowering energy costs and increasing U.S. jobs in […]
New Missouri House committee will investigate impact of St. Louis nuclear waste
Missouri lawmakers will convene a special committee to study the consequences of nuclear weapons production in the St. Louis area and recommend legislation for next year, House Speaker Dean Plocher announced Thursday. In a press release, Plocher said the Special Interim Committee on the Impact of U.S. Nuclear Weapon Programs on Missouri will allow “policymakers, […]
Farmers struggle with ‘bleak’ situation as Congress waffles on new Farm Bill
The cost of fertilizer is up; crop prices are down. Farmers have struggled through drought, and ranchers sold off huge swaths of their herd. To top it all off, Congress has yet to pass a new iteration of the Farm Bill, which expires in a matter of days. And it likely won’t take action on […]
Farming among the trees: How perennial crops can help breathe life into depleted soil
On harvest days at Three Creeks Farm and Forest in the Missouri River valley, farm owner Emily Wright and her staff collect three varieties of leafy greens from the field. “We can’t really grow enough,” she said. “We try to have consistent supply throughout the course of our season — which is basically April to December — […]
Cancer victims implore U.S. House to take up compensation for radiation exposure
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is holding up compensation for generations of Americans who developed cancer after exposure to the nation’s nuclear weapons program, several members of Congress said Tuesday. At a news conference in Washington, D.C, U.S. House members and Senators stood beside advocates from Missouri and tribal nations in the southwest who have […]
Signs warning of radioactive waste to be installed along Missouri’s Coldwater Creek this fall
Federal officials plan to post warning signs along a contaminated suburban St. Louis creek where generations of children were exposed to radioactive material. Coldwater Creek, which winds between homes and parks in St. Louis County for 14 miles before meeting the Missouri River, is plagued with nuclear waste left over from World War II. For […]
Red and blue states have big climate plans. The election could upend them
Pennsylvania wants to remain a manufacturing powerhouse. But state leaders also want to reduce climate change-causing emissions from steel mills and other industrial facilities, while cutting back the toxic pollutants that cause health problems in nearby neighborhoods. Thanks to a nearly $400 million investment from the federal government, the state is preparing a massive plan […]