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MOV Climate Corner: Reimagining economic development in the Mid-Ohio Valley

At a recent meeting of the Marietta Area Chamber of Commerce, I posed the following question to Brian Chavez, who represents the 30th Ohio senate district and is chairman of the Ohio Senate Energy Committee: “What economic benefit does the injection-well industry (which pumps millions of barrels of production waste from hydraulic fracturing) present to Washington County, and how would you assess the economic cost/benefit ratio of this industry for our region?” Since Mr. Chavez did not really answer my question, I attempted to answer it at the Dec.18 meeting of the Washington County ...

Explosion of ‘new and splendid’ steamboat kills 24

The steamboat BUCKEYE BELLE with about 40 passengers on board was torn apart in a spectacular boiler explosion on November 12, 1852, at Beverly, Ohio. Wreckage and human remains rained down on the surrounding area. It was a gruesome sight. 24 died; a dozen were injured. The BELLE was ...

Apps can help with New Year’s resolution

Please raise your hand if you ate too much turkey, dressing, noodles, ham, cake, pie or Christmas cookies last week. If your belt looks like it should be around a big red suit, please raise your hand. If your New Year’s resolution is to do something about it, please pick up your smart ...

Peace on Earth, for a while

There was no peace in Belgium’s Ardennes Forest on December 24, 1944. But 9 people found an unlikely peaceful “Silent Night” as the WW2 Battle of the Bulge raged around them. Just 8 days earlier, the Allies were surprised by a massive German counterattack through the lightly defended ...

Make energy policy boring again

Over the last decade, I would venture to guess that Americans have heard more about energy policy than ever before. One party’s moonshot solution to climate contrasted with the other party’s appeal to traditional energy systems. The outcome is always the same: division, vitriol, and ultimately a tit-for-tat repeal of existing policy every few years that puts America back at square one. Here’s the deal: policy has become too much of a cultural flashpoint than an actual solution to a problem. In the not-too-distant past, politics and policymaking were boring. It was a necessary ...