Jill Averitt lives in Central Virginia with her extended family on a patch of land where collectively they are raising seven children, lots of vegetables–and in the past year, a ruckus over Dominion’s plans to run a massive fracked gas pipeline right through that land. She created the “Prayers Not Pipelines” project as a powerful way to connect with her neighbors, and to protect her home and community.
A coalition of conservation groups is asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to consider the combined impact of four proposed natural gas pipeline projects.
Despite efforts at the state level to pave the way for fracking, many North Carolina towns and counties are passing moratoria to block this form of natural gas extraction in their communities.
Residents across North Carolina are looking to their local government officials to oppose fracking since pleas to decision makers in Raleigh have largely fallen on deaf ears. The town of Walnut Cove, N.C., and Rockingham County recently joined the small but growing list of localities where commissions of elected officials have passed anti-fracking moratoriums.
Contacts: Joe Lovett, Appalachian Mountain Advocates, 304-645-9006, jlovett@appalmad.org Joanna Salidis, Friends of Nelson, 434-242-5859, josalidis@gmail.com Tammy Belinsky, Preserve Craig, 540-874-5798, tambel@hughes.net Kirk Bowers, Sierra Club, 434-296 8673, kirk.bowers@sierraclub.org Hannah Wiegard, Appalachian Voices, 434-293-6373, hannah@appvoices.org Monique Sullivan, Chesapeake Climate Action Network,…
In the final hours of the legislative session, the N.C. General Assembly approved Senate Bill 119, which contains a provision that invalidates local ordinances put in place to restrict fracking. The provision was added just days after commissioners in Stokes County approved a three-year moratorium on oil and gas operations in the county.
If Virginia takes a pragmatic approach to the Clean Power Plan, it can incentivize energy efficiency programs and drive growth in solar power — two ways to ensure a more secure grid and shrink bills for electric customers. But there are possible pitfalls too. That’s why it’s critical for Virginians to engage throughout the process, pressing state officials to advance a vision of safe, affordable and reliable energy.
North Carolina communities impacted by coal ash celebrated two positive strides forward recently, only to be disappointed by another fast move on the part of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality and Duke Energy that keeps too many citizens in limbo in terms of resolving polluted drinking water.
Guest Contributor Dr. Diana Christopulos: Sen. Tim Kaine recently completed a series of listening sessions in communities where Mountain Valley Pipeline proposes to build a 42-inch natural gas transmission line, meeting with “affected property owners, local elected officials, local businesses, farmers, organizations dedicated to preserving our natural resources, and numerous other concerned citizens.”
By Sandra Diaz Tracey Edwards, a lifelong resident of Stokes County, resides within three miles of the coal-fired Belews Creek Steam Station, and is concerned about the coal ash the plant generates. As a child growing up in the mostly…
