The 113th session of the U.S. Senate began on Jan. 3, with the Democratic party gaining two seats as a result of the November election — only slightly increasing its majority control to 53. We take a look at the…
Blog Archives
TAGS: Bob Corker Jay Rockefeller Joe Manchin Kay Hagan Kentucky Lamar Alexander Mark Warner Mitch McConnell North Carolina Richard Burr Senate Tim Kaine Virginia West Virginia
A Return to the States
By Appalachian Voices staff State legislatures in Appalachia are using their authority on health care reform, taxes, education, and energy and environmental policy to accomplish their own agendas, and sometimes, to rebuke federal policies. Here is the latest from our…
TAGS: hemp farming hybrid tax Kentucky Mountaintop Removal North Carolina polarization selenium pollution Tennessee Virginia West Virginia
The Appalachian States of Energy Efficiency
By Matt Grimley Every year, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy releases rankings on individual state’s energy efficiency performance. And every year, Appalachia is middling at best in saving energy. The ACEEE’s State Energy Efficiency Scorecard examines everything from…
TAGS: Energy Efficiency Energy Savings Georgia Kentucky North Carolina Ohio South Carolina Tennessee Virginia West Virginia
America’s “Sadness Belt”: Appalachian States Worst in U.S. for Health and Happiness
By Melanie Foley Legislative Policy and Research Assistant, Summer 2013 Gallup and Healthways recently released their annual Well-Being Index for 2012, and Appalachia was found once again to be home to some of the least healthy and happy Americans. The…
Stop Brushing off the Bad Stuff
West Virginia University professor and public health researcher Dr. Michael Hendryx’s latest article, “Personal and Family Health in Rural Areas of Kentucky With and Without Mountaintop Coal Mining,” appeared in the online Journal of Rural Health a couple of days…
Help Protect Kentucky’s Fish from Toxic Selenium
The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet is currently attempting to significantly weaken the state’s water quality standards for selenium. Selenium is a pollutant common at some coal mines that deforms and kills aquatic life. It bioaccumulates, increasing in concentration as…
TAGS: Appalachian Water Watch Clean Water Act Coal Coal Ash Kentuckians for the Commonwealth Kentucky Mountaintop Removal Politics Selenium Water Water Pollution
Lesson Learned: The Buffalo Creek Flood
I woke up this morning to a frozen world. Fog and ice descended on the hills above Boone, N.C., last night and are still waiting around for the thaw. It was silent other than the periodic crack of a branch…
TAGS: appalachia Coal Environment Health Kentucky Mountaintop Removal Water Water Pollution West Virginia
A Clearcut Connection Between Mountaintop Removal and Climate Change
By Melanie Foley Legislative Policy and Research Assistant, Summer 2013 Scientists from the universities of Kentucky and California recently released a study detailing the climate implications of coal extraction by mountaintop removal. If coal mining continues at its current pace,…
TAGS: appalachia Appalachian Voices Climate change Coal Environment Kentucky Mountaintop Removal Tennessee Virginia West Virginia
N.C. State Rep. Harrison: Let the EPA Do Its Job
By Davis Wax Editorial assistant, Spring/Summer 2013 What should the role of the states be in protecting human health and the environment? Last Friday, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Economy held a hearing to untangle…
TAGS: Clean Air Act Clean Water Act Coal Ash coal ash ponds Duke Energy EPA hydraulic fracking iLoveMountains Kentucky N.C. Politics North Carolina Politics state environmental policy
Vested Power: State-Level Legislative Agendas in 2013
By Brian Sewell, J.W. Randolph and Nathan Jenkins At the state level, the public often has greater access and input on decisions and the processes of their governments. But so do special interests — especially campaign funders and industries that…
TAGS: Air Pollution Appalachian politics Coal mining fracking Gov. Bill Haslam Gov. Bob McDonnell Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin Gov. Pat McCrory Gov. Steve Beshear Greg Stumbo Kentucky Mountaintop Removal NC Division of Air Quality NC Mining and Energy Commission North Carolina Renewable Portfolio Standards state environmental policy Tennessee Tennessee Wilderness Act uranium mining Virginia West Virginia
