Monday, December 1st, 2014 | Posted by Hannah Wiegard | No Comments
Advocates for energy efficiency often call it “the first fuel,” and Virginia is now creeping ahead toward gains in this lowest-cost power source. The state's largest utilities are promoting new programs to help their customers invest in energy-saving home improvements, which can help Virginians save money while reducing energy consumption and pollution. [ Read More ]Monday, December 1st, 2014 | Posted by Kara Dodson | No Comments
Whether you're two days or 20 years deep in environmental or social justice organizing, we all ask ourselves the same question day in and day out: why do I care? Rhiannon Fionn, creator of Coal Ash Chronicles, brings the "Why I Care" video series to the social media scene in the spirit of story-sharing, collaboration, power building and advocacy. Watch a few videos and share your own story.
[ Read More ]Friday, November 21st, 2014 | Posted by Cat McCue | 3 Comments
Kathy Selvage comes from a long line of coal miners in southwest Virginia. She's proud of her heritage, yet is a passionate advocate for moving Appalachia away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy. [ Read More ]Friday, November 21st, 2014 | Posted by Hannah Wiegard | 1 Comment
Despite last week's legislative hearing on the Clean Power Plan in Richmond being stacked with pro-industry speakers, the legislators could not fail to notice just how many Virginians took the time to be there to watch and listen, and how passionately they care about shifting to clean energy.
[ Read More ]Friday, November 21st, 2014 | Posted by Tom Cormons | 5 Comments
In what seems to be the biggest incident of violating the Clean Water Act in history, Appalachian Voices has uncovered almost 28,000 violations at coal operations owned by Frasure Creek Mining in Kentucky. While shocking, the discovery is not surprising given the industry’s decades-long, callous disregard for health, safety, and environmental laws in Appalachia. [ Read More ]Wednesday, November 19th, 2014 | Posted by Erin Savage | No Comments
Two recent studies include more bad news regarding the impacts of mountaintop removal on streams throughout Central Appalachia. One indicates that work done to restore previously degraded streams is inadequate, while the other raises important questions about the feasibility of selenium pollution enforcement. [ Read More ]Wednesday, November 19th, 2014 | Posted by Jaimie McGirt | 1 Comment
Wilmington, N.C., is the site of the L.V. Sutton Power Station — a retired coal-fired power plant operated by Duke Energy along the Lower Cape Fear River. Though Duke recently converted Sutton to burn natural gas, the carcinogenic-laden waste generated from decades of coal combustion remains in 135 acres on site. But this one lake, at least, is one of the few slated for cleanup in the state, while the future of 10 other sites remains a question.
[ Read More ]Monday, November 17th, 2014 | Posted by Eric Chance | No Comments
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. That certainly seems to be the case with Frasure Creek Mining. Four years ago we took legal action against them for submitting false water monitoring reports, and now they are at it again, but this time the false reporting is even more extensive. [ Read More ]Monday, November 17th, 2014 | Posted by Sarah Kellogg | No Comments
The North Carolina Mining and Energy Commission issued their final vote on proposed changes to the rules regulating the process of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas last Friday, voting unanimously to approve the rule set. Despite the outpouring of public comments requesting stronger rules, almost all of the commission's changes fell short of what the public overwhelmingly asked for, and the few changes that strengthen the rules only minimally do so. [ Read More ]Wednesday, November 12th, 2014 | Posted by Sarah Kellogg | 1 Comment
Appalachian Voices lost a dear friend in late September with the passing of Annie Fulp Brown. Annie was a mother, a grandmother and a great-grandmother. She was also a champion for her community and one of the first people in her neighborhood to speak publicly about her experience living next to the largest coal-fired power plant in North Carolina. [ Read More ]Wednesday, November 5th, 2014 | Posted by Thom Kay | 3 Comments
For the next couple of days, you’ll have a hard time looking at anything online or on TV that doesn’t try to break down the midterm elections. Most pundits will analyze what happened, and some will try to tell you what it all means. Whatever that is, the job before us has not changed, and our responsibilities to Appalachia are the same today as they were yesterday and will be tomorrow.
[ Read More ]Wednesday, October 29th, 2014 | Posted by Brian Sewell | No Comments
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has sent the long-awaited Coal Ash Rule to the White House for final review. But until the agency's Dec. 19 deadline, we likely won't know much about how far the final rule will go to protect communities from coal ash pollution. And that's probably just how the White House wants it. [ Read More ]
