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Fighting Mountaintop Removal During the Obama Years

MTR_ky2013 From The Appalachian Voice: In 2009, representatives of the new Obama administration said that “the administration will do what the science calls for.” In Appalachia, the science calls for an end to mountaintop removal coal mining. But six years later, mountaintop removal is still happening.

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Fighting Mountaintop Removal During the Obama Years

In 2009, representatives of the new Obama administration repeated that “the administration will do what the science calls for.” In Appalachia, the science calls for an end to mountaintop removal coal mining. Six years later, mountaintop removal is still happening.

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Appalachia’s Environmental Votetracker: Dec.-Jan. 2014 issue

See how Appalachian congressional representatives voted on several environmental issues during fall 2014.

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Hey North Carolina, New York just banned fracking

Greener-Fracking_jpg_800x1000_q100New York’s debate over whether or not to allow fracking came to a close today when Gov. Andrew Cuomo sided with the state’s top public health and environmental officials in calling for a ban on the practice. The announcement was exceptional for the much-needed truth it inserts into the fracking fight that could, just maybe, help other states come to their senses.

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What will Obama’s legacy be on mountaintop removal?

GRreport After six years of the Obama presidency, mountaintop removal coal mining continues to put Appalachian communities at risk, leading many to wonder what his legacy on the issue will be. The Alliance for Appalachia just released a Grassroots Progress Report examining the administration’s successes and shortfalls in dealing with mountaintop removal.

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DENR deserves an environmental leader to replace John Skvarla

johnSkvarlaLargeAfter a tumultuous two years as secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, John Skvarla is stepping over to lead the state’s Commerce Department. No word from Gov. Pat McCrory on who will replace Skvarla yet, but here’s to hoping his successor is the environmental leader DENR deserves and North Carolina desperately needs.

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Be cool and keep fighting

15339824261_284508c1c6_hFor 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.

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North Carolinians speak out against fracking: Are elected officials listening?

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More than two dozen environmental and social justice groups came together in Raleigh last week to hand deliver 59,500 petition signatures to North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory, calling on elected officials to reinstate the ban on fracking in the state. Clearly, thousands of North Carolinians don’t want to see fracking in North Carolina, the question is: are our elected officials listening to us?

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Corporate windfall lets N.C. utilities charge customers under outdated tax rate

9068479979_3023eb4546_zThe North Carolina Utilities Commission (somehow) decided that even though the legislature cut North Carolina’s corporate income tax rate from 6.9 percent to 5 percent last year, Duke Energy and other public utilities can continue charging customers at 6.9 percent and pocket the difference. Meanwhile, for three consecutive quarters, Duke has received a larger rate of return than authorized by state regulators, or in this case, the utilities commission.

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The reclamation myth, it’s still happening too

4614774906_888ebf4231_bCompanies are still using mountaintop removal, blowing up mountains in Appalachia to mine coal. But despite what some say, they are not putting them back together again. Until the Obama administration and Congress take serious action, no amount of reclamation is going to fix the problems the mining is leaving behind.

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