With LG&E in Berheim, will Bullitt and Nelson Counties be saddled with a messy mistake ?
The other shoe has dropped in Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest. As Friends of Bernheim learned this week, “Bernheim is filing an appeal to the March 31, 2023 Bullitt Circuit Court opinion in the case of Louisville Gas and Electric Company v. Isaac W. Bernheim Foundation and Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund. The opinion found that LG&E had the “right to take” the easement that it sought for construction of a 12’’ natural gas pipeline across property owned by Bernheim.”
This is disappointing. Bernheim is taking on the expense of protecting the legal way we protect clean water, endangered species, conservation easements and the vanishing wildlife corridors. We need that.
The other thing that concerns all of us is this new piece of fossil fuel infrastructure being built at all. It will run 12 miles across two counties. When this court case was presented in January, the usually calm and collected LG&E attorney actually sounded emotional about potential gas customers who had been turned down for service in the extended area. Apparently this argument was effective.
The energy production environment has changed
What the lawyer didn’t mention in court was how many of those customers still need the pipeline. Both the natural environment and the energy production environment have changed a lot in the intervening time.
We all feel nostalgic twinges about the vroom and fumes of gasoline powered engines and propane and gas heat, but households and businesses function very well with electricity. Electric heat is clean and affordable. Electric motors deliver plenty of oomph. Electric appliances work great. The move to tackle climate change has strong support and multiple financial incentives.
More: Bullitt County judge rules against Bernheim Arboretum in fight to block LG&E pipeline
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Are the people of Bullitt and Nelson Counties going to be saddled with a messy mistake?
As a gas and electric company, LG&E can choose to get up to speed connecting their customers with efficiency upgrades and improvements while helping people all over the world working furiously to meet very important pollution deadlines. Who better for this job than LG&E? If not now, when? What’s the plan? The judges in the race to hold global warming to 1.5ºC are the laws of physics and these laws are not swayed by emotion.
In the forsythia bush outside my window, there is a beautiful cardinal, mostly gray with red streaks in her wings and tail, piercing black eyes and a red beak. All morning, she has been flying into the glass (Bam! Bam!) attacking her reflection. Hopefully she will give up on this illusion before she comes to harm.
More Opinion: Bernheim forest and Bell Bowl Prairie are warnings of increasing seizure of wild lands
This seems an apt metaphor for fossil fuel companies still chasing the illusion of never-ending fossil fuel production. They have a choice to re-align their assets and their employees’ skills, expertise and customer base to provide renewable energy to a world that will warmly welcome their service.
I hope LG&E will heed the urgings of Louisville Metro Council and so many others to redirect its energy into clean energy and let Bernheim continue to do its thing, which it does very well.
Maggie Hettinger is a volunteer with Citizens’ Climate Lobby, a non-partisan, non-profit, grassroots organization that exists to create the political will for a livable world.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: With LG&E in Berheim, will Kentucky be saddled with a messy mistake?
