KFTC's Citizens Legislative Guide - information for effective citizen participation in the 2010 Kentucky General Assembly.

KFTC's Response to Governor Beshear's proposed energy plan — This document includes talking points and a point-by-point analysis and critique of the Governor's proposed energy plan.

Energy Efficiency in Appalachia: How Much More Is Available, At What Cost, and By When? — a new study by the Appalachian Regional Commission and others concludes that Appalachian states could save billions and create many jobs by cutting energy consumption.

Research About Energy Issues

KFTC has compiled a great deal of research on the topics below in hopes of informing the public debate and spurring better decision-making. Each of these is provided as a downloadable pdf.

• The Right Decision for Changing Times — This report, released in conjunction with the Kentucky Environmental Foundation and the Cumberland Chapter of the Sierra Club, outlines why the East Kentucky Power Cooperative should not build additional coal burning power plants and how Kentucky's energy needs could be met through cleaner means.
• Report on EKPC and proposed carbon legislation — This report examines why East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) is undertaking a financially risky resource plan by pushing forward with plans for a new coal-fired power plant despite pending carbon regulations, rising construction costs and a shaky economy.
  
• Climate Change, Coal and Kentucky — Definitions of global warming, the greenhouse effect and climate change and why they are detrimental to our health, our ecosystem and our world; coal’s contribution to national and global climate change, as well as Kentucky’s role in those emissions; and the potential effects of climate change on Kentucky’s weather, agricultural, people and ecosystem.
• Kentucky Utilities and Coal Dependence — a description of the extent of national and state dependence on coal for electric energy, upward trends in utility costs and the burden on low-income families, recoverable Kentucky coal reserves, the massive impact of future carbon constraint policies on housing, buildings and our continued state reliance on coal electricity.
• The Silent Costs of Coal-Based Electricity — details about what health problems are linked to and caused by the mining and burning of coal, including information about the health costs Kentuckians pay for coal-fired electricity that are not included in utility bills, and, a list of the major types of environmental destruction in Kentucky caused by coal mining over the last few decades.
• The Reality of the “Clean Coal” Campaign — Information about the public messaging and lobbying results of the coal industry’s $40 million “clean coal” campaign, how the federal government has responded, and, detailed descriptions about why the three main industry-backed “clean coal” methods are unrealistic and expensive.
• Policies for a Carbon-Constrained Future — an explanation of why a federal policy to regulate carbon dioxide emissions is imminent in the U.S. and a discussion of the two major policy proposals under consideration — cap and trade system and a carbon tax — including their advantages and disadvantages from a social, economic and environmental justice perspective.
• Clean Energy Solutions for Kentucky — Information about saving energy and money through improved energy efficiency, recommended demand-side management programs, and the feasibility of various types of renewable, clean energy inKentucky including solar power, wind power and biofuels; includes details about how investing into community-based renewable energy andenergy efficiency will expand the economic capacity and job potential of Kentucky communities, with examples.
• Internet Resources — a listing of go-to sites for much of the information included in this research and good places to start your search when you have additional questions.

KFTC 2007 Annual Report (2.8MB pdf)

Missing Mountains — Thirty-five Kentuckians write against  mountaintop removal in this collection of essays, fiction, and  poetry that grew out of the April 2005 Authors  Mountaintop Removal Tour organized by KFTC. After witnessing first-hand the devastation from this type  of mining, the inadequacy of reclamation, and hearing from residents  regarding the effects of mountaintop-removal mining on the land and the  people who live there, this book was conceived.

Raising the Bar: Kentucky’s Real Budget Report is an important collection of evidence that we are not adequately investing in the programs and services that can move Kentucky forward in such areas as public schools, higher education, health care, and more.  The Kentucky Economic Justice report is a call to action with the belief that Kentucky Can Do Better!  To be updated later this year.

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