The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s new rule on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants will, if implemented, have severe negative consequences not only for Ohio but for our entire nation.
The rule requires existing coal-fired power plants to nearly eliminate the carbon dioxide they emit by first capturing the carbon that’s produced when coal burns and then pumping it deep underground. The rule requires compliance by Jan. 1, 2032.
Jerry Banks has a green thumb — something to which his family could always attest. Now, so can the residents and staff at Woodland Country Manor in Somerville.
Banks and his wife, Kathy, residents of Somerville and members of Oxford-based Butler Rural Electric Cooperative, always had a home garden but expanded their gardening activities when her parents (Homer and Phoebe Polser) moved to the retirement community not far from the “homeplace.”
“They used to tend a 1½- to 2-acre garden,” Banks says. “He was not one to sit around without getting some dirt on his hands, so Kathy and I thought a garden would help with the transition.”
Nature weaves a tapestry of tranquil landscapes and vibrant ecosystems in Ohio, in several spots presented thoughtfully through the winding allure of boardwalk trails.
Summer at Maumee Bay State Park
On the northern cusp of Ohio near the town of Oregon, Maumee Bay State Park is one of Lake Erie’s playful attractions. The park features a 2.3-mile boardwalk that winds through wetlands teeming with diverse wildlife and lush vegetation. I stumbled upon this path a few years ago during a family stay at Maumee Bay Lodge.
Electric-industry leaders nationwide are pushing back against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recently announced regulations that those leaders say are a threat to the reliability and affordability of electricity in the U.S.
One of the new rules would require Cardinal and other coal-fired plants to be 90% carbon-emission free by 2032 and points to carbon capture and sequestration — technology that does not and is not likely to exist at a scale that would be necessary — as a means to achieve it. Generating facilities unable to meet the demands would be forced to close.
In early March, a spring storm ravaged much of the region served by Logan County Electric Cooperative in Bellefontaine.
“System reliability and safety are extremely important,” says Scott Roach, director of engineering services at LCEC. “With every new project, every work plan, it’s always with that in mind.”
Foliage foibles
One of the most significant factors affecting that reliability is the presence of trees. Of course, properly placed trees not only are beautiful to look at, but they also provide tangible benefits: increasing property values, reducing the cost to heat and cool a home, providing privacy, and even cutting stormwater runoff.
Clevelander and motorcycle aficionado Dan Davis and his biker buddies tackled a 7,000-mile round-trip ride to the West Coast and back in 2022.
Ohio’s Windy 9, promoted by the Athens County Convention and Visitors Bureau, is a motorcycling destination that encompasses nine routes — nearly 800 miles of winding roads that twist through southeastern Ohio’s hilly Appalachian region. The abundance of curves and the elevation change along the roads make it a hugely popular draw for motorcyclists.
I am not what anyone might call a “snake guy.” But the reptiles do hold a certain fascination for me, especially the three venomous species inhabiting the Buckeye State: timber rattlesnake, copperhead, and eastern massasauga.
Another state (and federally) endangered species is the smallest of Ohio’s three venomous snakes, the eastern massasauga rattlesnake, a name derived from the Chippewa Indian language. It’s also known as the swamp rattler or black snapper — the latter moniker giving some idea of the snake’s dark coloration as well as its aggressive striking behavior upon becoming agitated. Massasaugas measure up to 30 inches in length.
Nearly a million people visit the tiny cluster of islands at the western end of Lake Erie each year, and most of them arrive by boat — specifically, on one of three ferry services that tote folks across the water from Port Clinton, Catawba, Sandusky, and Marblehead.
Ehrbar is one of a half-dozen full-time Kelleys captains, who, along with nine part-timers, keep the service’s five boats running from Marblehead to Kelleys Island nearly year-round. “In season, we’re running a boat every 30 minutes — we just raise the ramp and go,” Ehrbar says. “But in the off-season, we’ll give a couple minutes leeway here or there.”
Every year as winter fades, spring brings the promise of a refresh to our landscape. This year, spring also has brought several deadly tornadoes and strong storms, and Ohio’s electric cooperatives continue to assist in the rebuilding of devastated communities and pray for those who have suffered great loss.
