​“Corbin's had a revitalize main street movement with the restaurants, we would like to see that everywhere,” said Jon Johnson, a KSEC member and Eastern Kentucky native. “We really think that we as young people, we have the opportunity, we have the knowledge, and we have the passion to create our own future.”

In high school, Soren got involved with an organization called the Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition, which connected environmentally conscious students at her campus with others around the state — mobilizing campaigns that involved concerns such as increasing awareness about the jobs available in alternative and renewable energies.
​
That led her to opportunities with the U.S. State Department, including trips to Panama to map climate change effects and to the East Coast to study social entrepreneurship.

That topic of "solidarity" brought people to a panel in Lexington Wednesday night. It was organized by Take Back Cheapside and the Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition.

The Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition is sponsoring a series of events to educate young Appalachians about opportunities in media, energy, food and creative sectors.  

Coalition Organizer Cara Cooper says it’s not solely a reaction to the long-standing coal industry’s presence in the region,  “Regardless of what the coal industry looks like in the next couple of years in terms of job creation or job loss, I think there’s still interest from young Kentuckians in different industries coming on board and to really diversify our economy so we’re not putting all of eggs into one basket."
​
Saturday’s program will include a presentation about the energy efficiencies implemented in Benham in Harlan County.

More than 100 gathered at Lexington’s Triangle Park to protest a cancelled appearance by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt Wednesday.

Pruitt had been scheduled to speak to the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers’ conference and trade show at the Lexington Center but stayed in Washington, D.C., as President Donald Trump mulls withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement, which former President Barack Obama entered in September and includes more than 200 countries.

The EPA administrator has called the Paris accord “a bad deal” for the U.S. and called for a withdrawal in April, according to The Washington Post.

Pruitt’s absence didn’t deter environmentalists from marching around the convention center, waving signs and chanting slogans in support of the environment.
​
The protest was organized by the Sierra Club and other groups like Kentuckians for the Commonwealth and the Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition. 

The groups represented at the protest were the Sierra Club; Kentuckians for the Commonwealth; the Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition; Kentucky Interfaith Power & Light; Indivisible KY; Kentucky Jobs with Justice; the Kentucky Alliance against Racist and Political Oppression; and Rubbertown Emergency Action Task Force.

Emma Anderson, a soon-to-be senior at Centre College, says the environmental about face has her fellow students speaking up.

"If I did my job like he does his job, I'd be fired," she says, before the Triangle Park protest gets underway. While the pre-EPA days may seem like ancient history to those her age, Anderson says she has no interest in revisiting them. 
​
"Things were not great and we don't want to return to that," she warns.

The Kentucky Student Environmental Coalition is sponsoring the Solution Spotlight sessions. 
​
Coalition organizer Tracy Blevins says part of the meeting's focus was bridging the gap between training and working in the tech industry “We explored some of the current growth in the tech industry that’s happening in the region and there was also an emphasis on building your skills and creating your own opportunities in that industry.”