Another boat to chase

It looks like AEP has a new boat on the water. The AEP Future is on the Lower Mississippi River, probably at the fleet at Mile 159. When it gets up this way, Adam and I will have to chase it.

One person's thoughts on the future of coal

By far most of the cargo moved on the Ohio River in my area is coal. Thus, I try to keep an eye on the coal industry, I don't follow it religiously, but I try to find news items that pertain to the transport of coal.

Having said that, here is one blogger's take on various predictions on the future of coal, including power generation. I didn't go to the links the blogger included. And I'm not endorsing her opinions. I offer this link for those who might be interested.

Cross-border pollution

Canada has cleaned up its act. Now the people of Ontario would breathe better air if the factories and utilities in the Ohio River Valley would stop burning so much coal, according to this story in The Windsor Star.

Bioengineering a solution to riverbank erosion

From The Courier-Journal in Louisville: The people who run Chickasaw Park in or near Louisville are taking a different approach to combat the erosion problem that's common along the Ohio River. They're using willow trees.

They're placing 50-foot strips of willow in trenches on the bank now, while they're dormant. In spring, the willows should sprout and use their root systems to hold the bank in place.

It will be interesting to see if this bioengineering approach works. The people who thought this up said they wanted to avoid using large rocks -- riprap -- because they have no habitat value.