<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/kentucky-communities-unite-over-climate-change/>
"Two myths tend to shape how people talk about Kentucky and climate change. One
is that the state is a “climate haven,” insulated from the worst effects of
global warming. The other is that Kentuckians are hostile to climate action.
Officials pushing for change — researchers, environmental directors and more —
say their conversations around climate are more nuanced than a red or blue
ticket makes it look.
Kentucky is the sixth most climate-vulnerable state, according to a report by
Texas A&M University and the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund. From 2020 to
2024, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration documented 27
“billion-dollar” climate disasters in the state, including tornadoes that
killed more than 50 people in western Kentucky and flash floods that killed 39
in the east.
From the outside, the Commonwealth’s politicians and residents — largely
rural, with a reputation for voting conservative — may appear indifferent.
Last year, state leaders passed
S.B. 89, removing groundwater and wetland
protections, and stood by President Donald Trump as he signed executive orders
to boost the coal industry.
“I am delighted to share that that is a false assumption. And absolutely, it is
an assumption that people make,” says Lauren Cagle, a professor at the
University of Kentucky specializing in climate rhetoric.
Locally, municipalities varying in population density, income levels and
industry are teaming up to strengthen their own communities’ climate resilience
through a six-county regional climate action plan. The draft
Central Kentucky
Climate Action Plan, published last fall through an Environmental Protection
Agency grant, targets an area of more than half a million people. Their leaders
say neither politics nor an urban-rural divide can predict the popularity and
effectiveness of climate action."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
