U OF L ROMPS OVER PITT

MORE THAN
SPORTS | C1
Explosive passing, hard-charging running add up to 45-35 victory
$130
IN COUPONS IN
TODAYS PAPER
VALUE MAY VARY IN
CARDS PUT ON THE MOVES IN BASKETBALL SCRIMMAGE SOME AREAS

METRO EDITION LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY courier-journal.com S U N D AY , O C T O B E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 2 USPS 135560

KY. GOP
HAS ITS
BRACING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE

EYE ON
HOUSE
Party sees possibility
of majority after Nov. 6
By Tom Loftus
tloftus@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

FRANKFORT, Ky. Citing an unpop-

ular president at the top of the Demo-
cratic ticket in November, Kentucky
Republicans believe they have a shot at
winning a majority in the state House
for the first time in 91 years.
While acknowledging a tough fight,
and declining to predict specific wins,
Kentucky Republican Party Chairman
Steve Robertson de-
scribed a very compet-
itive environment.
We have a lot of can-
didates who have gone
out there and laid the
proper foundations to
be competitive, he
said.
Currently Demo- Well be

WEATHERING THE crats hold 58 seats and competitive,

EXTREMES
Republicans hold 41 Chairman
with one vacancy. With Steve
House seats up for elec- Robertson
tion every two years, 53 said.
incumbents face no op-
position this year.
But of the incum-
bents facing a chal-
lenge, 29 are Democrats
and only 11 are Republi-
cans. And some of the
most competitive races
By James Bruggers | jbruggers@courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
will be for seven open
seats where incum- Speaker
bents (four Democrats, Greg Stumbo

Louisville Causes aside,

three Republicans) are says money
SUNDAY EXCLUSIVE retiring. favors
Those numbers bode Democrats.

starts efforts First in an occasional series.

many believe
well for Republicans.
But other numbers numbers of
dollars are in the Democrats favor,

to adapt to ABOUT THE SERIES

Over the coming months, The
area is already and House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-
Prestonsburg, said he expects little, if
any, change in the House breakdown.
harsher climes Courier-Journal will publish stories
examining the rising risks associat-
ed with global warming and what,
feeling impact We have a big fundraising edge, and
we still have money in the bank for
these targeted races, Stumbo said.

D U
if anything, local, state and busi-
eadly tornadoes, freak ntil a relentless heat baked Aggressive fundraising efforts by
ness officials are doing to adapt.
windstorms, crippling ice, Louisville with10 days over the House Democratic Caucus and the
Today, we look at what Louisville is
torrential downpours, un- 100 degrees this summer, Kentucky Democratic Party in 2011
doing to adapt. Future stories will
relenting heatwaves and Bellarmine University (when Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear
focus on agriculture and Ken-
flash flooding that swal- wellness teacher Chris Catt was cruising to a landslide re-election
tuckys wildlife, parks and forests.
lows streets and homes Louisvilles was skeptical about global warming. win) gave the party a big war chest as
recent weather has become a roller But now, Im a believer, he says this election year began.
coaster of extremes. so much so that he is organizing a tree- Most House Democratic candidates
In the past four years, four weather- INSIDE planting campaign for his Dundee Es- have gotten $30,000 some $40,000
related disasters have been declared for tates neighborhood because he noticed from these two party funds.
Brief looks at the impact on But Republicans have been working
Louisville, two for Southern Indiana and health and resources. A8 that it was so much hotter there than just
11 total for Kentucky, costing the Feder- three blocks away, where towering hard to raise funds. On Oct. 6 former Ar-
A graphic explains options for kansas governor and 2008 presidential
al Emergency Management Agency adapting to climate change. A9 shade trees line the roads.
more than $700 million in damage reim- The lack of shade became really ob- candidate Mike Huckabee helped
bursements and mitigation grants. vious, he said. It became unbearable
to walk on our street. See GOP, Page A12
Whether its an example of climate
change or just temperamental Mother ONLINE While experts still say its difficult to
Nature, the evidence of more extreme More at courier-jour- blame any single weather event on cli-
weather is mounting in Louisville and nal.com/globalwarm- mate change, a rising chorus of scien-
across the nation. And city officials and ing tists are echoing Catts sentiment that
business leaders are taking their first Explore an interactive timeline the impact of global warming, leading to ONLINE
steps to prepare for what some scien- of major weather events here climate change, may already be upon us. Find all of the latest political
tists predict could be even dodgier con- going back to the 1974 tornado. And Louisvilles recent rash of ex- developments and past stories at
sequences ahead. See videos detailing ways were treme weather only adds to the concern: www.courier-journal.com/election2012.
That includes identifying some of the beginning to adapt to the new Record-setting rain fell last year, See stories, photos, and videos from the
normal in extreme weather. recent vice presidential debate in Danville,
See SCIENCE, Page A11 Ky., at www.courier-journal.com/vpdebate.
See LOUISVILLE, Page A10

TRAFFIC HELP AT HAND WEATHER | B2 INDEX 124 PAGES

Autos G1 Forum H1
Get the latest traffic info on 36-HOUR FORECAST Arts I-1 Lottery A2
your smart phone to help with Class. F1, G1, J1 Metro B1
Louisville area: Partly
your commute. Scan this code
with a QR Code reader or go to Love UofL and hate Big Blue? cloudy early today with Deaths B6 Money D1
www.bit.ly/cjtraffic Or cant stand Big Red? Go to scattered showers or TODAY TOMORROW Editorial A6 Movies I-2
RedNBlueFans.com and let storms later. Mostly Features E1 Sports C1
everyone know. sunny tomorrow. 74 53 65
$3.00
retail
For home
delivery
pricing
Taxable Equivalent YTM
! Matures - Nov. 15, 2025 !!BRAND NEW OFFERING!! Taxable Equivalent YTM
!Matures - Nov. 15, 2045 Winebrenner Capital Mgmt. LLC
see
! Oered at 97.624
!Oered at 100.15 10602 Timberwood Circle, Ste. 13
Page 2.
!5.00% YTM !5.49% YTM Louisville, KY 40223 Earl G. Winebrenner, III
Masonic Homes of KY
issued for
!Call 11-15-22
502-671-0015
KY SUN
!Call 11-15-22 @ 100 @ 100 (5.48% YTC) Over 25Years Experience

These announcements dont constitute a solicitation of an offer, nor do they constitute an offer in any jurisdiction in which, or to any person to whom, it wouldn't be lawful to make such offers. An investment advisory account is required and the quoted yields do not reflect deduction of investment
advisory fees disclosed in Form ADV Part 2. The left Masonic Homes of KY security is a 4.75% coupon rate KEDFA revenue bond. The right Masonic Homes of KY security is a 5.50% coupon rate KEDFA revenue bond. The interest from both bonds is free from federal, state, and local taxes
to KY residents and paid semi-annually. Taxable equivalent yield assumes a 35% federal and 6% state tax rate for KY residents. Prices and yield to maturities (YTM) are as of October 12, 2012 and subject to availability. Minimum overall account balance applies.
A10 | SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2012
BRACING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE
The roof of the Louisville Metro Housing Authority building on Vine Street contains trees, shrubs, perennials and sedum carpet to assist in cooling and heating and reduce runoff.
ANGELA SHOEMAKER/SPECIAL TO THE C-J
LOUISVILLE: Trying to adapt to harsher climes; some options too costly
Continued from Page A1
weather threats, ramping up the
emergency-response system,
buying out some residents of
flood-prone areas, introducing
green infrastructure such as
plant-covered roofs, and launch-
ing an effort to cool the city by re-
storing the vastly depleted tree
canopy.
And a new, long-range plan-
ning effort called Vision Louis-
ville will attempt to factor in cli-
mate change, city officials said.
Much of that work is being
done without direct reference to
global warming.
For example, in announcing
his tree initiative, Mayor Greg
Fischer cited the need to shrink
Louisvilles urban heat island
the downtown buildings, roads
and parking lots that exacerbate
hot conditions in the summer.
And many of the Metropolitan
Sewer Districts changes are tied
to an agreement with the U.S. En-
vironmental Protection Agency
to greatly reduce sewage over-
flows while also helping handle
anticipated heavier storms.
You start with the things that
cause health effects, because in
an urban area, its all about peo-
ple, said Louisville attorney Art
Williams, the retired director of
the Louisville Metro Air Pollution
Control District, who has fol-
lowed climate change science
and policy for more than two dec-
ades. But all the assets will need
to be (strengthened). Roads,
bridges, piping, utility systems
above and below ground will have
to be examined.
Time to plan
Experts such as Keith Moun-
tain, chair of the University of
Louisville Geography and Geo-
sciences Department and a cli-
mate scientist who has studied
the retreat of glaciers, say its
time for cities to start planning
for a new normal.
If the things that are going to
impact a community are some-
what inherently unpredictable,
such as the ice storm, or such as
Hurricane Ike that came
through, the point is, there is go-
ing to be a cost, Mountain said.
The question is, do we have an
infrastructure that will accom-
modate that cost with the least
amount of impact?
Environmental engineer Sa-
rah Lynn Cunningham, who leads
the Louisville Climate Action
Network, said Louisville needs to
develop a greater sense of urgen-
cy in dealing with climate
change.
The impact of climate change
is going to hit people in the pock-
etbook, with more flooding, high-
er health-care costs and bigger
utility bills, she said. If we are
running our air conditioning
more in the summer, in a leaky
| THE COURIER-JOURNAL
(inefficient) home, thats just go-
ing to send those bills higher and
higher, she said.
Price isnt right
Still, some city officials say
the cost of adapting may some-
times be too high.
The EPA, for example, says
there are materials and tech-
niques that can make streets
lighter colored, reducing pave-
ment surface temperatures by 20
to 40 degrees.
But the city has limited funds
for such projects, officials say.
For example, the entire public
works paving budget this year
was just $500,000 enough for
six miles of pavement.
Bottom line, we have looked
into some of these innovative
techniques, and the prices were
well beyond what we can afford,
said Lindsay English, spokes-
woman for the Metro Public
Works and Assets Department.
When Williams was with the
city, he started working on a city
climate-action report through the
Partnership for a Green City, a
collaboration among metro gov-
ernment, Jefferson County Pub-
lic Schools and the University of
Louisville. Jefferson Community
& Technical College has since
joined the partnership.
That 2009 report focused
mostly on how Louisville could
reduce pollution by shrinking its
emissions of greenhouse gases
such as carbon dioxide.
But it was also partly an adap-
tation plan.
It identified ways that climate
change would affect the city and
made preliminary recommenda-
tions, such as developing more
robust public health programs
for asthma and heat stress, edu-
cating the public about the impor-
tance of trees, planting more
trees and making sure design
standards for storm and flood-
control systems are sufficient.
Partnership representatives
are reviewing the report now to
determine whats been accom-
plished.
Some officials said its hard to
plan for climate change because
there is still uncertainty about
just how it will play out.
For example, while its likely
we will have more extreme
weather, the uncertainty is do
we plan for increased dryness or
increased precipitation? said
Kentucky Environment and En-
ergy Secretary Len Peters.
Probably increased precipita-
tion, but we arent sure about
that. I dont know how to make
policy when all we can do is spec-
ulate what the impacts might be.
But Williams said such uncer-
tainty is no reason not to plan.
Many, if not most, of the key
effects can be planned for,
Williams said. There is enough
known about climate change and
its consequences so that failure
to do so would be negligent. It
would be a serious dropping of
the ball.
Some of that work is already
being done, said Doug Hamilton,
the director of the local emergen-
cy management agency, in part
through what he called all-haz-
ards planning, which assesses
community disaster risks and re-
sponses, as well as in quarterly
meetings of an interagency cri-
sis group.
Officials and others who oper-
ate essential facilities and ser-
vices, from power plants to
health care, have already learned
lessons from the repeated disas-
ters and made some changes, he
said.
For example, they are identi-
fying and remedying places that
need backup water and power
service, such as businesses that
fill oxygen bottles for Louisville
residents with heart and lung ail-
ments, he said.
The recent disasters, he said,
are building our resilience.
Two efforts
City officials also said they
will incorporate thinking about
climate change into two new
planning efforts.
One is a sustainability plan
that seeks to spell out how the city
can create lasting environmen-
tal, economic and community vi-
tality. Its under development by
the mayors new sustainability di-
rector, Maria Koetter.
The plan will explore ways to
improve the environmental per-
formance of the city, including
buildings, transportation sys-
tems and energy, said Ted Smith,
the citys economic development
and innovation director and Koet-
ters boss.
I am now just putting togeth-
er the framework for what our
plan is going to include, Koetter
said.
The other is the mayors new
Vision Louisville program, which
seeks to harness our collective
energy and chart our path to the
future, to decide how we want
Louisville to look, feel and flow in
2040, according to its website
seeking public input.
The city has hired the Space
Group, a consulting company
based in Oslo, Norway, to do re-
search and help identify ideas
Fischer has said will really
stretch people's minds.
The mayor has said the plan
could be completed by December
2013 and will explore such
themes as transportation, sus-
tainability and connectivity.
Climate has to be a part of
that, said Smith If we get to the
bigger conversation of what is
the overall experience of Louis-
ville, I think you get to some
kind of greater good for us all.
How Louisville compares
Hundreds of cities have
vowed to reduce their emissions
of heat-trapping gases, including
Louisville, but far fewer have
started specifically identifying
threats and making recommen-
dations for action, as Louisvilles
2009 climate report did.
The Georgetown Climate Cen-
ter at Georgetown University
Law Center in Washington, D.C.,
counts about 50 cities or counties
with such adaptation plans.
I think that puts Louisville in
the top tier, said Williams. Now,
implementation is the remaining
important step.
Louisville officials say some
of that is in play. For instance,
they say they already have an ad-
equate system for dealing with
heat emergencies that involves
opening public buildings as cool-
ing centers and issuing public
service announcements.
Some other cities, however, do
more by working with the Nation-
al Weather Service and Univer-
sity of Miami research professor
Larry Kalkstein to give officials
more robust heat advisories
based on matching weather con-
ditions with heat-related mortal-
ity data from the past.
It gives the weather service
and cities estimates of how many
people may die of heat-related
conditions during extreme heat
events, helping them plan an im-
proved response, Kalkstein said.
Our main use is to really help
distinguish between the days that
are just hot, and those that actu-
ally pose a health risk, said Sa-
rah Boese, spokeswoman for the
Polk County Health Department
in Des Moines, Iowa.
And Philadelphia has a net-
work of neighborhood volunteers
who check on the sick and elderly
during extreme heat.
Dr. LaQuandra S. Nesbitt, di-
rector of the Louisville Metro De-
partment of Public Health and
Wellness, said establishing such a
network in Louisville would not
be practical. Were not as big as
Philadelphia, she said, adding
that police will check on the el-
derly if asked.
Hamilton, the citys emergen-
cy management director, said
some senior service organiza-
tions, like those that deliver food,
check on clients during extreme
heat.
Seeking shade
Research by Brian Stone Jr., a
Georgia Tech city and regional
planning professor, has found
that Louisvilles heat island is
growing hotter, faster than other
U.S. cities hes studied.
He said hes not sure why but
suggested it might be due to too
few trees, especially downtown
and in some neighborhoods, in-
cluding some in western Louis-
KY
VISION LOUISVILLE
Mayor Greg Fischer is asking the
public about its vision for Louisville
25 years out.
His questions: What should our
public transit look like? What about
our neighborhoods? What about
our economy our waterfront
our parks public art?
The environment and responding
to climate change is a big part of
that vision, and the public is encour-
aged to submit comments, via email
or Twitter, via a website:
www.visionlouisville.com/
ville. Stone and others have said
Louisvilles tree cover appears to
be much smaller than other larg-
er cities in the region, about 27
percent compared with 40 per-
cent or 50 percent elsewhere, and
that tree planting would go a long
way toward helping to cool Louis-
ville.
To that end, Fischer earlier
this year appointed a new tree ad-
visory commission, which is
planning a comprehensive study
of the citys tree cover. Fischer
has said the city needs to plant
several hundred thousand new
trees and have a plan to care for
them.
The commission has begun to
raise money to make those goals
happen.
In Dundee Estates, Bellar-
mine University wellness teach-
er Chris Catt responded to the
summer heat by starting a push
to plant100 trees this fall and next
spring on several streets near
where he lives.
He and arborist Michael Hay-
man, a retired Courier-Journal
photographer and adviser to the
tree commission, have selected
trees such as white oaks, chinka-
pin oaks, sunshine elms, October
glory maples and male ginkgos,
which will add summer shade and
splashes of red and yellow during
the fall.
Orange flags in peoples yards
show where the trees are to be
planted. Re-Tree Dundee signs
are scattered around the neigh-
borhood. And Catt is persuading
residents to pay $225 for each of
the trees, which will be 8 to10 feet
tall. The money covers delivery
and planting costs.
Mike and Shirley Ehrler have
agreed to plant three new trees,
after they lost a giant oak to a
storm last year. If we start put-
ting some trees in, everybody
will want to start putting trees
in, predicted Mike Ehrler, a re-
tired dairyman.
We are trying to leave a lega-
cy for the neighborhood, Catt
said. Were going to benefit the
next generation.
Reporter James Bruggers can be
reached at (502) 582-4645.
 KY THE COURIER-JOURNAL | SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2012 | A11

BRACING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE

SCIENCE: Evidence grows that global warmings impact will be felt here
Continued from Page A1
followed by extreme heat, more
smog and drought.
Freak winds from a hurri-
cane in 2008 toppled trees and
power lines and were followed by
crippling ice a few months later
in 2009 that left hundreds of thou-
sands without electricity.
Deadly tornadoes raked
Southern Indiana earlier this
year, killing 13 people and caus-
ing more than $84 million in
losses, while other recent storms
have dumped several inches of
rain in a few short hours, flooding
low-lying neighborhoods and
causing massive sewage spills.
I believe reality and our own
data indicate the frequency and
intensity of weather-related inci-
dents are rapidly changing and
are affecting the way we do busi-
ness, said Doug Hamilton,
Louisvilles emergency manage-
ment director. I agree with Bob
Dylan who rasped, You dont
need a weatherman to know
which way the wind blows.
Last year in particular was
one for the record books, accord-
ing to the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration,
which recorded 14 U.S. weather
and climate disasters, each caus-
ing more than $1 billion in dam-
ages.
Emergency managers are
worried that these storms seem
to have more velocity in them
than they had in the past, said
Brig. Gen. John W. Heltzel, direc-
tor of the Kentucky Division of
Emergency Management.
While scientists are not yet
ready to blame any of the recent
extreme weather in Louisville or
the region on global warming,
they said the Kentuckiana cli-
mate is changing, along with that
of the rest of the planet. And glob-
al warming, they say, can put
weather on steroids.
There is nothing to suggest
we are going to break out of this
generally persistent warming
trend, said Keith Mountain,
chair of the University of Louis-
ville Geography and Geosciences
Department and a climate scien-
tist who has studied the retreat of
glaciers around the world.
Whether use of fossil fuels is
to blame for the earths new
weather patterns remains a vola-
tile political debate. Still, experts
say its hard to deny the apparent
warming trend.
State climatologist Stuart Fos-
ter at Western Kentucky Univer-
sity takes a more cautious ap-
proach, saying Kentuckys
weather records show a history
of variability. Summers with ex-
treme heat have occurred before
during the past century, he said.
But Foster acknowledges that
climate models anticipate the
state moving into uncharted
weather territory.
By the year 2050, a good sum-
mer would be what we now con-
sider to be a very hot summer,
Foster said.
Strong trends
If anything, the science of cli-
mate change is getting more cer-
tain.
In 2007, scientists with the In-
tergovernmental Panel on Cli-
mate Change concluded that
most of the observed increase in
global average temperatures
since the mid-20th century is
very likely due to the increase in
human-caused greenhouse gases
in the atmosphere.
Five years later, some scien-
tists are now starting to use sta-
tistics to attribute some recent
major weather events, such as
catastrophic drought in Texas
and Oklahoma, and the Russian
heat wave of 2010, to climate
change.
We are not going to avoid cli-
mate change, said Gavin
Schmidt, a climate scientist with
NASAs Goddard Institute for
Space Studies and the co-author
of the 2009 book Climate
Change: Picturing the Science.
Its here, its happening and
its going to get worse, he said.
The experts say the conse-
quences will be more dramatic in
places such as the Arctic, the
American West and low-lying
coastal areas subject to sea-level
rise.
But they say the Louisville
area likely wont be able to escape
more excessive heat, summer
drought, bigger storms, the
spread of certain diseases like
West Nile virus and worsening
asthma from more air pollution
and pollen.
Chris Catt stands
last month at the
site where a tree
would be placed
for his tree
planting campaign
in Louisvilles
Dundee Estates
area. Catt noticed
how hot his
neighborhood got
this summer
because of the
lack of shade
trees. ANGELA
SHOEMAKER/SPECIAL
TO THE C-J
The air pollution and pollen
pose trouble for the estimated
100,000 area residents who suffer
from asthma, including Cecilia
Anglin, a Family Allergy and
Asthma clinic patient.
I am concerned, and I am
really hoping they are wrong,
said Anglin, of Louisville, who
manages her condition with aller-
gy and asthma shots, pills, inhal-
ers and staying indoors on the
worse days or making sure all er-
rands are done by midmorning.
Even with all the medicine, I
was still having flare-ups, An-
glin said of the past summer.
You cant just take a deep
breath.
Weather changes from year to
year, as part of natural variabili-
ty. But Schmidt said the planets
climate fate is largely set for at
least the next two or three dec-
ades, as greenhouse gases al-
ready pumped into the air do
their damage.
And any actions that are taken
now to curb heat-trapping gas
emissions likely wont have an ef-
fect for just as long, meaning ad-
aptation will be necessary,
Schmidt said.
Adaptation planning involves
assessing the vulnerability of
your population, your infrastruc-
ture, to the changes we antici-
pate, said Vicki Arroyo, execu-
tive director of the Georgetown
Climate Center at Georgetown
University Law Center. In some
areas, like New Orleans, it is sea
level rise or very intense storms,
like we saw with Hurricane Ka-
trina. In other places it might be
droughts.
Getting worse
U of Ls Mountain has ana-
lyzed temperatures in Louisville
dating to 1947 and has found that
temperatures are going up.
The average yearly lows have
risen the most during the past 65
years about 4 degrees. The av-
erage high temperatures have
risen about 1 degree, and the
yearly average temperature has
gone up about 2 degrees, he calcu-
lated.
But climate modeling for the
Midwest and Southeast suggest
temperatures could work their
way toward 10 degrees hotter by
the end of the century, Schmidt
said.
The results could be deadly.
A report issued in May by the
Natural Resources Defense
Council environmental group es-
timated that as many as 39 Louis-
ville residents die each year from
problems exacerbated by heat.
That number, the group said,
could increase to 257 per year by
roughly 2050 and 376 per year by
the end of the century the
worst among 40 cities studied.
University of Miami research
professor Larry Kalkstein, who
helped the group with the study,
said he is not sure why Louisville
ranked at the top.
But he said what threatens
people the most is when heat
catches them off-guard, especial-
ly earlier in the season following
cooler winter or spring weather.
The most vulnerable cities are
those with regular and intense
heat waves in a variable climate,
he said.
Reporter James Bruggers can be
reached at (502) 582-4645.

! Painful Dentures and Partials?

! Not Being Able to Eat Your Favorite Foods?
! The Roof of Your Mouth Covered in Plastic?
! Years of Tooth Pain, & Painful Dental Visits? Help KNOCKOUT
breast cancer at a
Fit for the Cure
event.
! Convenience Everything from IV Sedation, our CAT Scan, to
our International training in Dental Implants and over 25 years in Cosmetic
Dentistry. You can save yourself all the time and aggravation of seeing Receive a complimentary
several doctors to have your dental care finished. fitting in a Wacoal or
b. temptd bra
! Comfortable By personally placing your Dental Implants, from a Wacoal fit
offering you the GUARANTEED comfort of IV Sedation and crafting specialist. For every
your beautiful new smile all right here in our office. woman who participates*,
Wacoal will donate $2 to
! All Right Here By having a Galileos 3D CAT Scan
Susan G. Komen
right here in our office, we can tell you what options you have for
for breast cancer research
your dental problems - at your first visit!
and community outreach programs.
! Flexible Payment Arrangements and financing available Wacoal will also donate an additional
$2 for every Wacoal bra, shapewear
piece or b. temptd bra purchased
The fastest replacement of dentures & missing teeth at these events.
with All-On-4 & Teeth-In-One-Day!
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19
10 A.M.-8 P.M.
Before I came to Dr. Receveur I had a fear of dentists and I GREEN TREE MALL
put it off for years. Once I came to Dr. Receveur I found out 812-285-0161
that I wouldnt have any pain and the process was great.
The money I invested to have my new smile was worth SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20
every penny. ~ Janet Allen 10 A.M.-8 P.M.
MALL ST. MATTHEWS
My new teeth and implants are very stable. Theyre very 502-893-4400
strong. I speak like I used to speak with no inflection in my
speech, And I can eat like I never ate before, chewing and
cutting and tearing whatever is necessary, good steak or
good bread or nuts. ~ Avital Schurr

Call 888-378-1510 SPOT ON

Dr. Ronald Receveur, DDS By 10/19/12 to schedule: TOTE BAG
A Comprehensive Exam Our gift to you with
Implant, IV Sedation an $80 purchase.**
Full Face Before & After Digital
& Cosmetic Dentistry Photos , CAT Scan, and Treatment
819 Mt. Tabor Rd Plan Separately $672
No purchase necessary.* While supplies last.** For 2012, Wacoal will make a
New Albany, IN 47150 Now for a Limited Time minimum guaranteed donation of $250,000. Fit for the Cure is a registered
only $287 trademark of Susan G. Komen. For breast health information, please visit
www.komen.org or call 1-877 GO KOMEN.
CJ-0000342151
 Time: 12-23-2012 00:12 User: estrebel PubDate: 12-23-2012 Zone: MT Edition: 1 Page Name: A 1 Color: Black
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan

MONEY | D1 KNOW YOUR CREDIT SCORE? HERES HOW TO CHECK DATA

CARDS CRUISE PAST WESTERN

BLACKSHEAR, HARRELL SPARKLE IN 78-55 WIN OVER WKU SPORTS | C1

METRO EDITION LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY courier-journal.com S U N D AY , D E C E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 1 2 USPS 135560

BRACING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE Arena

struggles
to pay
off debt
Officials hope tax revenue
rises along with economy
By Marcus Green
magreen@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

It was supposed to be a reliable way to

help cover the cost of a new downtown
arena: The buildings events would bring
throngs of people downtown who would
eat, drink and shop nearby. Their sales
taxes would be captured to help pay for
the KFC Yum! Center.
But the arena hasnt added as much to
tax revenues as expected during its first
three years producing less than one-
third of the amount originally projected.
Arena officials have scraped together
cash to deal with the shortfalls, nearly
emptying a building renovation fund and
notifying Louisville metro government
that more city money may be needed as
early as next spring.
The troubles have captured the atten-
tion of the bond market, with rating
Scott Travis, a Spencer County farmer, now plants a wider selection of crop varieties that mature over different periods agency Standard & Poors lowering its
and uses ponds to retain as much water as possible. ANGELA SHOEMAKER/SPECIAL TO THE COURIER-JOURNAL confidence in the authoritys ability to
repay the projects debt to negative
from stable over concerns about the

WEATHER SHIFTS FORCE FARMERS TO

ADAPT
See ARENA, Page A13

James Ramsey is under contract to remain

By James Bruggers U of L president through 2020. C-J FILE
jbruggers@courier-journal.com SUNDAY EXCLUSIVE
The Courier-Journal
10 years in,
W
Second in an occasional series.
hile some of them still arent convinced that humans
are to blame, farmers across the nation including
those in Kentucky and Indiana increasingly ac-
knowledge that theyre having to deal with the con-
ABOUT THE SERIES
The Courier-Journal is publishing stories Ramsey gets
plaudits for
examining the risks associated with global
sequences of climate change. warming and what, if anything, local, state
Every day we get up, put our shoes on and watch the weather, and business officials are doing to adapt.
Spencer County farmer Scott Travis said during a break while driv- Today, we look at how Kentuckys
ing a soybean harvester this fall.
Ive accepted for me to stay in business, I have to adapt. I need
to assume its going to be hot and dry, and if its not, Ill be fine.
agriculture is adapting to climate change.
Previously, we looked at what Louisville is
doing to cope. Future stories will focus on
U of L rebirth
Kentuckys wildlife, parks and forests.
Climate change can come in many forms. Just in the past year: By Joseph Gerth
An early warm spell coaxed fruit trees and bushes, including INSIDE jgerth@courier-journal.com
blueberries, to blossom early, only to be frozen by the return of a A graphic explains agricultural options
The Courier-Journal
more seasonal killer frost. for coping with climate change. A11
The warm winter meant the ground didnt freeze and thaw, a A decade ago, only one-third of Uni-
process that normally opens the soil and lets moisture soak in. versity of Louisville students graduated
More frequent heavy storms threatened to wash away unpro- within six years of starting college, few-
tected topsoil. er than 100 students earned doctoral de-
A massive drought, the worst in 20 or 30 years, prompted disas- grees each year and the school was
ter declarations in roughly 2,200 counties from New York to Cali- drawing just $81 million in research
fornia and Texas to North Dakota, including all of Indiana and grants.
Few students lived in student hous-
See FARMING, Page A10 ing, and the campus was a fairly desolate
place except during peak class hours.
Now, as University of Louisville
President James Ramsey reaches his
10th anniversary, many of those statis-
FOR TABLET USERS: tics have improved dramatically.
Use the touch screen to view the various techniques that farmers More than half of students now gradu-
are using to adapt to climate change. ate, twice as many doctoral degrees are
given out annually and professors bring

See RAMSEY, Page A4

TRAFFIC HELP AT HAND WEATHER | B2 INDEX 114 PAGES

Arts I-1 Lottery A2
Get the latest traffic info on 36-HOUR FORECAST
Class. F1, G1, J1 Metro B1
your smart phone to help with
your commute. Scan this code
Find and write your own Louisville area: Sunny Deaths B7 Money D1
with a QR Code reader or go to
neighborhood news every morning, cloudy after- Forum H1 Movies I-4
day at courier-journal.com/ noon. Showers tonight Features E1 Sports C1
www.bit.ly/cjtraffic TODAY TOMORROW
louisville-neighborhoods through midday tomor-
$3.00
row, then drying out. 49 42 47
retail
For home
delivery
pricing C E L E B R AT E J E S U S T H I S C H R I S T M A S
AT SOUTHEAST CHRISTIAN CHURCH
see
Page 2.

Christmas Day Special

DECEMBER 22-24 three CAMPUSES sixteen SERVICES
MT SUN

W W W . S O U T H E A S T C H R I S T I A N . O R G NOON-1 P.M. | WAVE 3 TV

CJ-0000346292
 Time: 12-22-2012 23:44
A10 | SUNDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2012 | THE COURIER-JOURNAL
BRACING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE
Videos, photos and more at courier-journal.com/globalwarming
See how Russellville farmer Don Halcomb
is adapting to climate change using more
efficient crops and rotating them each year.
FARMING: Weather patterns may bring different crops, cultivation methods
Continued from Page A1
nearly all of Kentucky.
The impact goes beyond farming:
The drought is still contributing to
higher retail prices for food and more
taxpayer subsidies for federal crop in-
surance, even as high crop prices al-
lowed for a record $5.3 billion in farm
receipts in Kentucky.
The pain of the drought is spread
across farmers, shippers, producers,
laborers, retailers and, of course, con-
sumers, said Richard Volpe, econo-
mist with the U.S. Department of Agri-
cultures Economic Research Service.
Craig Cox, an ecologist, economist
and senior vice president for the Envi-
ronmental Working Group, a group
based in Washington, D.C., that closely
tracks agricultural issues, said taxpay-
ers pay two-thirds of the crop insur-
ance premiums and pick up most of the
losses.
And the bigger the losses, the larg-
er the share of the losses the taxpayers
pick up, Cox said.
Food costs rising
U
SDA recently detected the first
impact on food prices from the
2012 drought a 0.4 percent in-
crease in the food consumer-price in-
dex during October.
The agency estimates next years re-
tail food prices could be about 0.5 per-
centage points higher than normal,
with the increase largely due to the
drought. Overall, food prices are ex-
pected to increase 3 percent to 4 per-
cent in 2013.
Agriculture contributes billions of
dollars to the economies of Indiana and
Kentucky, while employing more than
570,000 Hoosiers and 270,000 Kentuck-
ians, according to the National Associa-
tion of State Departments of Agricul-
ture.
It pegs Indiana farm output at nearly
$9 billion, while Kentuckys exceeds
$5 billion.
Experts concede its difficult to
prove whether any single weather
event, including a drought, is linked to
climate change. But many are looking
at how global warming fuels weather
systems, creating new weather pat-
terns, and are examining other evi-
dence to conclude that climate change
is already happening.
Farmers have a front-row seat for
the weathers unpredictability.
Its one thing to say its hot, and you
are out running, and you go back to your
air conditioning, said Meade County
farmer Adam Barr, who raises cattle
and chickens and grows vegetables for
farmers markets and subscribing fam-
ilies in Louisville. If you see your
crops drying up, thats another thing.
I dont know whats coming. ... That
is the biggest concern.
But in rural areas, which tend to be
politically conservative, just raising
the subject with some farmers can be
difficult because the terms climate
change and global warming have be-
come so politicized, said J. Gordon Ar-
buckle Jr., an assistant professor and
extension sociologist at Iowa State Uni-
versity.
A survey he worked on this year of
some 5,000 farmers across the corn belt
found that 66 percent agreed that cli-
mate was changing, but only 8 percent
concluded people were the main cause.
Arbuckle said that skepticism
makes it more difficult for university
extension researchers to educate farm-
ers on how they can both reduce their
contribution to global warming agri-
culture contributes 8 to 15 percent of
greenhouse gases globally and how
to change farming practices to adapt.
Farmers, for example, can reduce
erosion and runoff of fertilizers into
streams and rivers by not planting
close to waterways.
And new technologies that combine
sensors on farm equipment and global-
positioning systems make sure fertiliz-
er isnt over-applied.
There is plenty is at stake, Arbuckle
said.
Despite all of the soil and water con-
servation efforts over the last 80 years
or so, we still have major soil erosion
and water-quality problems that need
to be addressed, Arbuckle said.
Thats in part because many of the
conservation efforts are voluntary and
pit short-term economic needs of farm-
ers against long-term societal needs to
maintain soil and clean water, he said.
If weather is going to get more vari-
able and extreme due to climate
change, dealing with these issues be-
comes even more urgent, he said.
Climate impacts
C
limate change will increasingly
affect this regions agriculture in
the next 20 to 30 years, bringing
both problems and opportunities, ac-
cording to experts at the University of
Kentucky.
Last year, the university published a
User: estrebel
FROM PAGE ONE |
Watch Spencer County farmer Scott
Travis as he explains his plans for hot
and dry weather.
Don Halcomb of Russellville employs no-till farming, in which the soil is left exposed to the elements. Seeds are planted into stubble left
from previous crops. The stubble helps break the fall of raindrops and restores organic material to the soil. KYLENE WHITE/THE COURIER-JOURNAL
Meade County farmer Adam Barr sells produce, poultry and meat at the Douglas Loop
Farmers Market last month. Hes concerned about the additional unpredictability
farmers could face from climate change. ANGELA SHOEMAKER/SPECIAL TO THE C-J
What you do as a
farmer is you spread
your risks out to
where all your eggs
arent in one basket.
SCOTT TRAVIS, a farmer in Spencer
County
white paper that warned corn yields
could drop with rising temperatures.
Corn produced $786 million in farm re-
ceipts in 2011, making it the states
third-most-valuable agricultural com-
modity behind horses and broiler
chickens, according to USDA.
Hail, wind and flooding damage may
become more common, the UK scien-
tists warned.
Pests and diseases that would nor-
mally be killed or slowed down during
cold winters could invade earlier in the
year or move farther north, they said.
For example, the southern bacteria wilt
that affects tobacco and horticultural
crops, including tomatoes, recently has
been confirmed in Kentucky.
It is known to attack as many as 200
plant species, said Paul Vincelli, exten-
sion professor in the Department of
Plant Pathology at UK. The wost case
is total crop losses, he said.
Conversely, some crops might bene-
fit, such as soybeans that are stimulat-
ed by warmer weather and more car-
bon dioxide. And warmer winters also
mean winter production of cool-season
vegetable crops, creating new market
opportunities.
There is still a lot of uncertainty
about how climate change will play out
in the region, said Vincelli.
We are going to get hurt by climate
change, but maybe less than in other
parts of the country, he said. We will
certainly have our share (of droughts),
PubDate: 12-23-2012 Zone: MT Edition: 1 Page Name: A 10
courier-journal.com
Adam Barr preaches the virtues
of organic farming and knowing
where your food comes from.
but drought projections are even more
severe for the already dry American
West and Southwest, he said.
This could be a place where people
want to move to (because) we have the
Ohio River, he said.
He said Kentucky has only begun to
grapple with the potential threats of cli-
mate change to agriculture and lags be-
hind some other states, including Indi-
ana, which he said has been doing adap-
tation planning for several years.
I dont think we are far behind, but
we are not a national leader, he said.
Learning to adapt
T
here is much that farmers can do
to improve their odds of adapting
to whatever climate change
brings, Vincelli said though eventu-
ally they may need to consider growing
different crops entirely.
Dry periods are going to be drier,
longer and hotter, said Cox. Wet peri-
ods are going to be longer, wetter, with
more precipitation coming in larger
storm events.
The biggest issue is what kind of
farming systems and practices can
stand up to that kind of variability and
still be productive.
Russellville farmer Don Halcomb
agreed, saying too much rain too quick-
ly can be a problem for soil erosion.
If you have 2 inches of rain (and) its
over a day, thats one thing, he said . If
you have it over four hours, thats just
more erosion.
Halcomb grows corn, soybeans and
wheat, and employs a practice called
no-till farming, which was developed
commercially in Kentucky 50 years
ago. Thats where the soil is not cultivat-
ed and left bare, exposed to the ele-
ments.
Seeds are planted into stubble left
from previous crops. The stubble helps
break the fall of each raindrop and re-
stores organic material to the soil to
help it retain moisture, he said.
About 50 percent of the corn acre-
age, 80 percent of soybean acreage and
70 percent of the states wheat acreage
is no-till, said Lloyd Murdock, UK ex-
tension soils specialist. Its especially
important in Kentucky because of its
sloping topography and erodible soils,
he said.
Why more farmers dont use no-till is
Color: Black
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan
MT
Take an interactive tour on your tablet of
farmers adaptive techniques at www.couri-
er-journal.com/globalwarming/interactive
largely because of a mindset that
makes them resistant to change, Mur-
dock said.
Farmers are also experimenting
with new kinds of cover crops between
plantings of corn and soybeans. On a
tour of farms in his area, Halcomb
showed a field of rye that included
plantings of daikon radishes, which he
said leave behind depressions in the soil
after they rot, retaining more water.
Halcomb and others have also begun
to irrigate. He has a new, large center-
pivot irrigation system watering about
140 acres. Thats the type of irrigation
system more typically seen in the much
drier West.
He said his irrigated farmland this
year produced more than 200 bushels of
corn per acre, compared with his farm-
wide average of about 90 bushels per
acre.
But if many farmers turn to irriga-
tion, it could draw down water supplies,
potentially putting farms and cities at
odds.
We probably need to put some re-
sources into it to figure out how much
(irrigation) these aquifers could sus-
tain, said Peter Goodman, assistant di-
rector of the Kentucky Division of Wa-
ter, which this year began looking into
how many new irrigation wells have
been drilled.
For his part, Travis said he also prac-
tices no-till farming and grows corn,
soybeans, wheat, tobacco and hay. He
said hes planting a wider selection of
crop varieties that mature over differ-
ent times and uses ponds to retain as
much water as possible.
What you do as a farmer is you
spread your risks out to where all your
eggs arent in one basket, he said.
The race to keep pace
T
hough he agrees the agriculture
industry can adapt, Purdue Uni-
versity agricultural economics
professor Otto Doering says climate
change may be happening too quickly
for science, technology and farmers to
keep pace.
There may not be enough time for
companies to develop new pesticides or
practices because the damn thing is on
you all of a sudden, Doering said. The
same with plant breeding.
Companies, for example, already
have drought-resistant varieties of
corn but are developing some with even
more resistance, using both traditional
methods and more controversial genet-
ic engineering.
They are also breeding cattle with
genes from more heat-tolerant regions,
such as Africa and India, Doering said.
As for the general public, it can ex-
pect dirtier water as heavy rains wash
away more farm soil, dirtier air from
dust storms and a greater tax burden,
Cox said.
Treatment plants can clean water
for drinking, but polluted farm runoff
can still harm aquatic life and make
swimming and wading less safe.
Unlike some of his farming col-
leagues, Halcomb said he buys into the
mainstream science of climate change
and doesnt see how we are going to get
out of this without any damage.
Sometimes, Halcomb said, he feels
as if he might become like the farmers
who stayed behind in states like Kansas
during the Dust Bowl years in the1930s.
If we were really smart, wed sell out
and move north to Minnesota.
Reporter James Bruggers can be reached at
(502) 582-4645.
 Time: 06-08-2013 23:39 User: kslagle PubDate: 06-09-2013 Zone: MT Edition: 1 Page Name: A 1 Color: Black
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan

SPORTS | C1 SPORTS | C1 MORE THAN

$120
PALACE COUP U OF L HANGS
ON TO BEAT IN COUPONS IN
TODAYS PAPER
13-1 HORSE WINS BELMONT VANDY 5-3 IN VALUE MAY VARY IN
SOME AREAS

SUPER REGIONAL

METRO EDITION LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY courier-journal.com S U N D AY , J U N E 9 , 2 0 1 3 USPS 135560

BRACING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE Ky. tax

on chew
tobacco
to drop
Health advocates upset;
change got little fanfare
By Tom Loftus
tloftus@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

FRANKFORT, Ky. Kentuckys tax on

chewing tobacco will be cut by more
than half in August, thanks to a little-no-
ticed bill passed this year that has drawn
the ire of health advocates.
The change will
drop the tax on chew-
ing tobacco from
roughly 41 cents per
pouch to 19 cents.
The cut will cost ONLINE
the state an estimat-
Andrew Berry, manager of the Bernheim Arboretum & Research Forest, walks along one of the trails at the Bullitt County ed $425,784 in annual Watch a video
site. Conservationists are seeking to protect corridors between the forest and Fort Knox. ALTON STRUPP/THE COURIER-JOURNAL revenue, but im- about how the
proved collection of chewing tobacco

CONSERVATION
tobacco taxes re- bill was passed
quired by the same and why health
bill could make up advocates think
the lost revenue, ac- its a step
backward at

ISLANDS
cording to a legisla-
tive staff analysis. www.courier-
Regardless, journal.com/
health advocates ar- legislature
gue a tax cut is the
wrong move for a state wrestling with
widespread health problems and some of
the nations highest rates for use of
chewing and smokeless tobacco, partic-
ularly among teenage boys.
When Kentucky consistently has the
highest rates of tobacco use among kids
and adults, and at a time when the state
needs new sources of revenue, it does not
KENTUCKY WILL NEED TO THINK BIG TO HELP NATURE ADAPT TO FUTURE make sense to lower taxes on tobacco
products, said Amy Barkley, of the
See CHEWING, Page A16
By James Bruggers | jbruggers@courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
SUNDAY EXCLUSIVE KENTUCKY TOBACCO TAXES

A
OVEN FORK, Ky. Cigarettes: 60 cents per pack
mile up a tree-covered trail on Pine Mountain, the Bad Third in a series Moist snuff: 19 cents per tin
Branch stream plummets 60 feet into a crystal clear pool ABOUT THE SERIES Chewing tobacco: Changing to 19 cents
before meandering down a rocky ravine. The Courier-Journal is publishing stories per pouch (now 15% of wholesale price)
This Letcher County waterfall in the headwaters of the examining the risks associated with Cigars: 15% of wholesale price
Cumberland River is a showcase attraction, part of nine global warming and what, if anything,
Pipe tobacco: 15% of wholesale price
local, state and business officials are
state nature preserves strung together along a 120-mile-long conser-
doing to adapt.
vation island. Today, we look at how large-scale
Here in southeast Kentucky, state and federal agencies and private conservation could give Kentucky na-
conservation groups are spending millions of dollars to piece together ture and wildlife the best chance at
adapting to climate change.
thousands of acres of protected land through acquisitions and conser-
Previously, we looked at how Ken-
vation easements. Their goal is to preserve enough land for nature and tucky agriculture is adapting to climate
wildlife to weather the effects of mountaintop-removal mining and de- change and what Louisville is doing to
velopment as well as adapt to the threats of global climate change. cope with its heating urban core.
What we are hoping for is that we have a really intact ecosystem
for those species that are here and persist, said Greg Abernathy, a MORE ONLINE

BUYERS
forest ecologist with the Kentucky Natural Lands Trust, which works
A video outlines the issue
to buy or protect some of the most sensitive Pine Mountain properties and what one can do. Other
and others around the state. So the analogy is that it is really protect- videos showcase some

ZERO IN
ing the stage, though the actors may change over time. Kentucky wildlife habitats. Also
In Kentucky, many native plants and animals are already strug- read past stories at www.courier-
journal.com/globalwarming.
gling as their habitat is lost to encroaching cities, farms and roads, as

ON HOMES
well as invasive species. The American chestnut was virtually wiped BUILDING RESILIENCE
out by an invading disease and others, such as Eastern hemlock and A full-page illustration helps to
ash, face perilous threats from foreign insects. show the land in question, threats
from climate change and ways to Louisville home sales are back, but
See CHANGES, Page A6 help nature cope. A7 there arent that many homes for sale.
So far this year, Realtors in the area
have sold the most homes since the same
time in 2007 and more than 20 percent
more homes than a year ago.
WEATHER | B2 124 PAGES But a four-year lull in new home con-
Arts I-1 Metro B1 struction has left a tight market. In some
36-HOUR FORECAST Business D1 Movies I-4 areas, such as St. Matthews and Cres-
cent Hill, homes are selling for 97 per-
Louisville area: Partly Deaths B9 Racing C14 cent of the asking price. In other neigh-
Find out how much crime sunny, isolated shower Editorial H1 Sports C1 borhoods, the tight supply is less obvi-
is happening in your or storm today. Scat- TODAY TOMORROW Features E1 Classified ous.
neighborhood. Go to tered showers, storms Lottery A2 G1, J1, F1
$3.00
www.courier-journal.com/crime tonight and tomorrow. 85 68 81 SEE STORY IN MONEY | D1
retail
For home
delivery
pricing
see
Page 2.

MT SUN

CJ-0000356745
 Time: 06-08-2013 18:15 User: jharkness PubDate: 06-09-2013 Zone: KY Edition: 1 Page Name: A 6 Color: Black
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan

A6 | SUNDAY, JUNE 9, 2013 | THE COURIER-JOURNAL FROM PAGE ONE | courier-journal.com KY

BRACING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE

A panoramic view from Pine Mountain State Resort Park looks out over the city of Pineville in southeastern Kentucky. PHOTOS BY ALTON STRUPP/THE COURIER-JOURNAL

CHANGES: Kentucky tries to connect conservation islands

WHAT CAN KY. DO?
Allow state tax credits for people
who donate their property for
conservation easements.
Dedicate sales taxes from hunting,
fishing and outdoor recreation,
potentially about $20 million a year.
Sell bonds. A $30 million bond
issue could raise that amount over
10 years, with annual debt service of
about $3.9 million.
Source: Conserve Kentucky,
Trust for Public Lands
KENTUCKY
HERITAGE LAND
CONSERVATION FUND
Established in 1990, the Kentucky
Heritage Land Conservation Fund is
the primary source of state money to
buy natural areas for enjoyment by
this and future generations. It gets its
revenue from a portion of unmined
minerals tax, environmental nes,
sale of Kentucky nature license plates
and interest.
Not all the revenue goes to land
conservation. By statute, $150,000
goes to environmental education and
$400,000 goes to promote coal.
The remaining is divided this way:
!10% Department of Fish and
Wildlife Resources
!10% Department of Parks
!10% Division of Forestry
!10% Kentucky State Nature
Preserves Commission
!10% Wild Rivers Program
!50% Local governments, state
colleges, universities and other public
agencies.
TOTAL REVENUE
In millions, scal years
6.99
5.74
4.37
4.74 4.33
$4.33
05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12
FISCAL YEAR
Where the money
comes from
In millions, scal years
LICENSE PLATES
$1.11 1 0.9 0.78 0.69 0.68
0.64
05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12
UNMINED MINERALS TAX
1.92 2.02 2.06 2.1
$1.521.39
05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12
ENVIRONMENTAL FINES
3.27
2.28
1.94
$1.3 1.36
0.89
05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12
INTEREST
0.92
0.73
$0.4 0.41 0.64 0.19 0.07
05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12
SOURCE: Kentucky Heritage Land
Conservation Fund
THE COURIER-JOURNAL
Continued from Page A1
Climate change threatens to disrupt the
states natural heritage even more, said
Thomas Barnes, an extension professor
and wildlife specialist in the University of
Kentucky Department of Forestry.
He said it will make it that much harder
for some plants and animals to survive,
while encouraging other non-native spe-
cies to move in and take over including
some that arent wanted, such as cogan-
grass, one of the 10 worst weeds in the
world thats been moving north from the
Gulf states, reaching into Tennessee.
If it moves north into Kentucky, that
may be one species that gets peoples at-
tention, Barnes said, adding, there will
be winners and losers, he said.
And while Kentuckys billion-dollar rec-
reation and tourism industries depend on
the states heralded natural habitat, its
conservation efforts lag far behind most
neighboring states. Moreover, portions of
the money Kentucky has earmarked for
land conservation have been raided by the
legislature, slowing efforts even further.
Though state Fish and Wildlife officials
have been forward-thinking enough to
draft a climate-action report that exam-
ines the potential impacts of climate
change on Kentuckys habitat, officials
from that department are reluctant to
even acknowledge it, let alone discuss pol-
icy, because global warming is a political
landmine in the state. And Gov. Steve Be-
shear has been reluctant to spell out any
land-conservation goals.
By many accounts, Kentucky has for
now doomed itself to an inefficient, piece-
meal approach to land conservation.
Unless something is done, Kentuckys
plant and wildlife communities could see a
sweeping transformation within a human
lifespan, with invasive species taking over,
and people will not like a lot of the mem-
bers of the mix, said Albert Meier, a West-
ern Kentucky University biology profes-
$5.91 sor and co-director of the WKU Green Riv-
er Preserve near Cave City.
5.03 We will probably have fire ants and ar-
madillos and Burmese pythons, he said,
warning that these changes are already in
motion and it will be hard to stop.
PRESERVING AN ANCIENT FOREST
Yet, there have been some successes.
Pine Mountain is one of several places
in Kentucky where state and federal gov-
ernment agencies and private groups are
focusing on large-scale conservation.
The long ridge rises to 3,273 feet above
the Cumberland Plateau. Geologic forces
pushed it up and over other land 200 mil-
lion to 320 million years ago, according to
the Kentucky Geological Survey.
Coal was exposed and eventually erod-
ed away, leaving it undesirable for mining,
said Ben Begley, education director of the
Pine Mountain Settlement School, an envi-
$0.57 ronmental education center.
Its been pretty much left alone, he
said, producing a largely uninterrupted
forest 120 miles long and 15 miles wide, in-
cluding the largest forest in Kentucky to
have been spared from logging, with trees
dating to the 1600s. There really is noth-
$2.87 ing else like it.
2.4
Yet only about 30 percent of Pine Moun-
tain, or about 53 square miles, is protected,
such as the states newest nature preserve:
1,864 acres along Laurel Fork in Whitley
County, which cost nearly $1 million. emergence of the bees they depend on for
Dedicated March 14 as the Archer
Benge State Nature Preserve, the site con-
tains globally rare species of plants and
two federally threatened fish, the black-
$2.2 side dace and Cumberland arrow darter, as
1.92
well as federally listed mussels, said Don
Dott, director of the Kentucky State Na-
ture Preserves Commission. We look for
areas with the greatest concentration of
rare or endangered species. That gives us
a bigger bang for the buck.
$0.27 SIZE OF AREAS MATTERS
Conservationists are also working on
large-scale conservation along the Green
River, considered by the international Na-
ture Conservancy to be the most biologi-
cally diverse tributary of the Ohio River.
And they are also seeking to protect the
Ben Begley, education director of the Pine
Mountain Settlement School, stands in front
of his herb collection. "Over the last 25 years,
the plants have begun to emerge after the
winter almost a month earlier," he said.
green spaces and migratory corridors be-
tween two large blocks of protected land
south of Louisville: Bernheim Arboretum
and Research Forest and Fort Knox,
which, despite the war games played
there, has an abundance of native species.
Combined they could keep as much as
281 square miles in a relatively natural
state, said Bernheim boss Mark Wourms.
The beauty of it is it gives wildlife and
plants room to move and escape and find
new niches as the climate changes and de-
velopment changes occur, Wourms said.
Its all about using various tools out-
right purchases or buying easements that
restrict development, for example to ex-
pand and link protected large areas that es-
tablish corridors for plants and wildlife,
and connecting enough natural habitat to
let nature to survive and adapt, Dott said.
Black bears, for example, are believed
to have traveled through the forests of
Pine Mountain on their return to Kentucky
in recent years, after being gone from the
state for much of the past century.
Wildlife corridors are essential, but
they wont work for all plants and animals.
The showy and popular three-petaled
trillium woodland wildflower, for exam-
ple, depends on tiny ants to disperse its
seeds, Meier said, adding, Some species
will need assistance, especially if they
have been reduced to patches of habitat.
Building resilience allows something
to bounce back ... (after) some particular
type of disturbance, said Meiers wife,
Ouida Meier, an adjunct biology professor
at WKU and co-director of the preserve.
And climate change, she said, is likely to
bring major disturbances.
Beshear declined to be interviewed, in-
EXTINCTIONS RIPPLE EFFECTS
While there is still uncertainty on just
how climate change may affect Kentucky,
experts anticipate that torrential rains
could erode river and stream banks even
more, clogging waterways with more sedi-
ment and dumping more pollution that has
run off farms and cities.
Extended drought and heat could dry up
wetlands, which are natures kidneys and
are used by many animals for survival.
And early warm spells could disrupt polli-
nation, an essential process for survival.
That is already happening, said Joyce
Bender, a biologist who manages the
states network of 61 nature preserves.
For example, pink lady slippers, a Cum-
berland Plateau woodland wildflower, are
sometimes blooming earlier than the
emerge, Cook said.
pollination, she said. When that timing is
off, you are missing the entire years re-
production for that species.
When some species die out, there can be
a ripple effect.
For example, White-Nose Syndrome
has killed millions of bats in the Eastern
United States, and a new climate action
report by the Kentucky Department of
Fish and Wildlife Resources found that
warmer fall temperatures could allow
more time for the syndrome to spread or
change hibernation patterns.
Many kinds of bats eat mosquitoes,
which can carry diseases such as the po-
tentially deadly West Nile virus.
Fish and Wildlife Commissioner John
Gassett declined to to be interviewed
about their climate plan, said spokesman
Mark Marraccini. The department didnt
want to get involved in any back and
forth on global warming, he said.
Natural areas are also important eco-
nomic engines for outdoor recreation, in-
cluding hunting, fishing, camping, horse-
back riding and boating, said Hugh Archer,
a former Kentucky Department of Natural
Resources Commissioner who has run the
Kentucky Natural Lands Trust since 2005.
Outdoor recreation, for example, gener-
ates about $8.4 billion in annual consumer
spending and employs 105,300 people in
Kentucky, according to a 2013 survey by
the Outdoor Industry Association.
KENTUCKY LAGS BEHIND REGION
Conservationists have big dreams but
few resources. Kentucky lags significant-
ly behind the rest of the region in conser-
vation spending and acres conserved, a
2011 study by the San Francisco-based
Trust for Public Lands for the Nature Con-
servancy concluded.
In all, between 1998 and 2008, Kentucky
had the sixth-lowest state spending on land
conservation of seven neighboring states
examined by the group, ahead of only Mis-
souri. Kentuckys total was $46.9 million
spent to conserve 52,830 acres.
By comparison, North Carolina topped
the list by spending or agreeing to spend
$1.08 billion to conserve 795,000 acres. Vir-
ginia was second, spending $844 million to
conserve 558,000 acres.
Kentuckys funding is just not going to
get you very far, when you are talking
statewide, and in a large state with a lot of
open and available land, said Tom Gilbert,
author of the report.
The study also found problems with the
Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation
Fund, a key cash source for conservation.
Revenue from the sale of the funds na-
ture license plates has declined as motor-
ists have more options for specialty plates.
The legislature raided the fund, taking
$500,000 during recent budget shortfalls,
plus an additional $17 million from in 2009,
replacing it with bond revenue. That
switch caused a six-figure drop in annual
interest income, the report concluded.
And the legislature requires it spend
$400,000 each year on coal education.
A LACK OF GOALS
One of the biggest problems, said Terry
Cook, director of the Nature Conservancy
in Kentucky, is that recent state gover-
nors, including Beshear, have not set any
conservation goals, which prohibits us
from thinking about whats needed.
stead issuing a statement that the state is
always open to considering ways to en-
hance and protect Kentuckys natural
lands, and setting a land conservation goal
could be one of the many ways to enhance
that effort.
Adding to the problems: conservation is
delivered by numerous state agencies, lo-
cal governments, universities and private
groups that dont always work together, ac-
cording to a 2006 land conservation task
force created by the General Assembly.
A new group called Conserve Kentucky
with some of the task forces former mem-
bers helped persuade legislators to pass a
bill in March to allow private land trusts to
seek matching grants from the state.
This will ... hopefully allow more com-
petitive and innovative projects to
Conserve Kentucky also is studying
state tax breaks for those who donate con-
servation easements, issuing tens of mil-
lions of dollars in bonds, raising the sales
tax, or tapping sales tax revenue from
hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation.
But lawmakers wont like new taxes or
more tax breaks, warned Sen. Robin Webb,
a Grayson Democrat and former co-chair
of the 2006 task force even though she
recognized Kentuckys unique nature.
People in Kentucky take a lot for grant-
ed when it comes to the bounty of our re-
sources, until they are threatened and
sometimes its too late, she said.
I hope to keep the issue raised.
Reach reporter James Bruggers at (502) 582-4645
or on Twitter @jbruggers.