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Thursday, October 10, 2024

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Florida picks up the pieces after Hurricane Milton; Georgia elected officials say Hurricane Helene was a climate change wake-up call; Hosiers are getting better civic education; the Senate could flip to the GOP in November; New Mexico postal vans go electric; and Nebraska voters debate school vouchers.

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Civil rights groups push for a voter registration deadline extension in Georgia, federal workers helping in hurricane recovery face misinformation and threats of violence, and Brown University rejects student divestment demands.

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Hurricane Helene has some rural North Carolina towns worried larger communities might get more attention, mixed feelings about ranked choice voting on the Oregon ballot next month, and New York farmers earn money feeding school kids.

Misinformation prevents VA from reaping solar-energy benefits

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Monday, September 9, 2024   

Although most Virginians support and prefer solar energy, misinformation is keeping more of it from being built.

Several counties and cities have banned solar energy farms because of misinformation, saying solar requires too much land or energy, which stunts the state's progress on its climate goals.

Jim Purekal, director of the advocacy group Advanced Energy United, said other misconceptions prevent solar from being as widely considered as it should be.

"We're also seeing stories that solar wrecks the land for future development, and that's not true either," Purekal asserted. "Some of us can also go into how to develop or actually develop that land. It should also be possible to be able to reuse that land once the solar project is done."

Virginia lawmakers introduced legislation to remove solar-energy installation bans aggravated by county-level moratoriums. Had the law gone forward, localities would not have been able to ban solar projects until they hit 4% of their landmass. Lifting bans can increase dual-use solar projects and solar grazing, which uses livestock to keep a solar panel field's vegetation contained. Farmers can also keep bees on the land to pollinate flowers.

Solar siting bans could mean communities see more fossil-fuel plant and natural gas pipeline development. Although it aligns with Gov. Glenn Youngkin's All of the Above energy plan, it works against the goals outlined in the 2020 Clean Economy Act.

Purekal pointed out communities can utilize other forms of renewable energy besides solar.

"People should also look at wind, both onshore and offshore; that's another reliable revenue stream that counties should look at," Purekal urged. "We're talking about -- and people will have a question too about -- what happens if the wind's not blowing, which leads to battery storage."

He added battery storage needs to be a part of the growing conversation surrounding renewable energy. It serves as an answer to the age-old question of how renewables work when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing. Battery storage saves up energy so it can be used at different times.


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In Florida, the deadline to register to vote was Monday, and a Florida driver's license or Department of Motor Vehicles ID card was necessary to complete the registration. (Vilkasss/Pixabay)

Social Issues

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As Hurricane Milton makes landfall and Florida recovers from Hurricane Helene's devastation, voting rights groups have filed a legal challenge to …


Social Issues

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A Detroit educator recently told a congressional committee he is "terrified" at what a second Trump term as president could bring for America's public…

Social Issues

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Ho-Chunk Farms' annual Indian Corn Harvest is reviving and preserving this tradition for the northeast Nebraska tribe. Corn from a Winnebago family's …


There is no safe level of lead in a person's blood, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Scientists note even low lead levels have been shown to affect IQ, the ability to pay attention and academic achievement. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

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Clean water advocates in Maine are applauding the Environmental Protection Agency's new rule on lead pipe removals but warned drinking water in school…

Health and Wellness

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When it comes to stroke care, experts say, "time is brain." Now, a program launching in South Dakota will coordinate and strengthen stroke care …

Emergency management officials in North Dakota say dry air with less than 20% relative humidity and dried vegetation are providing plenty of fuel for wildfires this season. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

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From power outages to burnt farmland, North Dakota is coming to grips with the impact of several large wildfires that are linked to at least two …

Environment

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By Bennet Goldstein for Wisconsin Watch.Broadcast version by Mike Moen for Wisconsin News Connection reporting for Wisconsin Watch-Public News Service…

Social Issues

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The biannual Pro-Kid Scorecard from the Children Now Action Fund was released today. In it, 12 state Assembly members and seven state Senators …

 

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