New: Decades ago, Kris Hansen showed 3M that its PFAS chemicals were in people's bodies. Her bosses halted her work. As the EPA now forces the removal of the chemicals from drinking water, she wrestles with the secrets that 3M kept from her and the world. propub.li/3yqzZUF

In a letter to @FERC Mountain Valley Pipeline says it has completed all construction and testing. It's asking regulators to authorize operation of the natural gas pipeline by Tuesday.

As the Mountain Valley Pipeline moves closer to completion, a reminder of how little we know about why the pipe burst last month during testing in Virginia. wvpublic.org/when-and-how-p…

Do the folks who live in the Mountain Valley Pipeline's path feel reassured now that federal regulators have approved it to begin service? Short answer: They do not. wvpublic.org/safety-health-…

Per a filing with FERC, Mountain Valley Pipeline is in service as of this morning.

My summer research students are presenting their findings on Virgina Data Centers today at noon in the Spatial Analysis Lab on the 3rd floor of the International Center at the University of Richmond. Check out their great storymap! arcg.is/qbPeO

ERCOT experienced a new record for solar power production on Saturday at 19,386 megawatts. It's the 10th time this record has been broken in 2024. The record, which won't last long, is 39% higher than 2023's record. gridstatus.io/records/ercot?…

Virginia House, Senate leaders reach agreement on tuition program vpm.org/news/2024-07-0…

Today we learned that worker safety drove Appalachian Power's decision to operate its three West Virginia coal plants when they couldn't make money in recent months. The plants lost $87 million in a 12-month period. wvpublic.org/safety-drove-d…

starting in 2021, I reported on whistleblowers who said they were being pressured to make new chemicals seems safer than they were. Today the EPA IG found they were retaliated against propublica.org/article/epa-sc…

Meeting adjourned with no closed sessions. Stevens told me she wasn’t sure why it was on the agenda.

Tried to make sense of the very brief and historically specific moment in time when net-zero pledges were all the rage, and what’s succeeded them newrepublic.com/article/186883…

nextcity.org/urbanist-news/…

I’ve been asked to moderate Monday night's Mayoral Forum at Boushall MS at 6:30 p.m. 🌟This is an opportunity for Richmond’s Latino and Indigenous communities to hear from the mayoral candidates. I hope to see you there! *B/c I am moderating, I won’t be reporting on this event.

This--combined with the story from Samuel B. Parker that notes that a treasurer can't remove themselves from--suggests Virginia's campaign finance system has...issues

A year after world leaders made a landmark promise to cut fossil fuels, countries have essentially made no progress, a UN report said. nyti.ms/3C8Tgvl

Occasional reminder that if you want to know why your power bill looks the way it does, you can read Patrick Larsen Dominion requests bill hikes to cover offshore wind, early SMR costs buff.ly/4g157dU

A Virginia Democrat and Republican are asking for a total of $22 million in state funds be used to build out natural gas infrastructure. $15 million would go toward a data center and power plant. $7.4 million would go toward chicken processing plants. insideclimatenews.org/news/19022025/…

I spoke with House Approps Chair Torian. He tells me the conference report between the VA House and Senate has: -$50 million for the Richmond CSO -No skill games, but leg could come back to it next year -$50 million for biz ready sites -$8.7 million for CSBs (per Del. Sickles)

.Patrick Larsen's got the story on a repair pop-up in Richmond. The volunteer work diverts waste from landfills, and saved his pants. vpm.org/news/2025-04-2…