The Front Porch Blog, with Updates from AppalachiaThe Front Porch Blog, with Updates from Appalachia

Announcing the Energy Savings for Appalachia webinar series

Tuesday, May 24th, 2016 | Posted by Amber Moodie-Dyer | No Comments

If you happened to miss our first energy efficiency on-bill financing webinar on May 11, don’t despair. You can watch the recording of the webinar, which is the first in a series describing the benefits of on-bill financing entitled “Leveraging Energy Savings: On-bill Financing as an Economic Opportunity in the Southeast.” [ Read More ]


DEQ dodges legitimate coal-ash safety concerns

Thursday, May 19th, 2016 | Posted by Amy Adams | 1 Comment

Enabled by anti-regulatory powers in the legislature, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has abandoned the principles necessary to serve the public. It's time for lawmakers to acknowledge DEQ’s failures and focus on moving forward on coal ash cleanup. [ Read More ]


Peabody Energy joins coal bankruptcy club

Thursday, April 14th, 2016 | Posted by Brian Sewell | No Comments

While the company no longer operates in Central Appalachia, the story of Peabody Energy’s downfall is similar to those of major producers in the region, where coal mining communities have plenty of first-hand experience with what happens next. [ Read More ]


Another step toward clean water in Southwest Virginia

Thursday, April 14th, 2016 | Posted by Erin Savage | 1 Comment

Through a settlement with Penn Virginia Operating Company, a large landholding company, and A&G Coal Corp., a Jim Justice-owned company, several sources of the toxic pollutant selenium in Wise County, Va., will be cleaned up. [ Read More ]


What happened on Pine Creek?

Tuesday, April 12th, 2016 | Posted by Tarence Ray | 4 Comments

A lot of folks have had questions about last month's mine blowout on Pine Creek, in Letcher County, Ky. So we’ve put together an explainer that runs through the facts, the science and the regulatory protocols behind spills like this — and offers tips on what you can do about them. [ Read More ]


From inside Appalachia, a look at WGN’s “Outsiders”

Friday, April 8th, 2016 | Posted by Guest Contributor | 13 Comments

Exclusive to the Front Porch: WGN's television series "Outsiders" doesn't leave a single stereotype of Appalachia unturned. In this essay exclusive to the Front Porch Blog, award-winning author Ron Rash reflects on how stereotypes cloak harms much more profound than cultural misperceptions: "The region is diverse, and many areas are doing well, but for those that are not, might a show focused on “retard hillbilly animals” make it easier for America to ignore the region’s needs?" [ Read More ]


Sleeping giants: TVA and Georgia Power stuck in second gear on energy efficiency

Wednesday, March 30th, 2016 | Posted by Guest Contributor | No Comments

While even the region’s top achievers have room for improvement, some of the largest utilities in the Southeast are seriously falling behind on energy efficiency. In particular, the Tennessee Valley Authority and Georgia Power are two enormously capable utilities that appear to be stuck in second gear. [ Read More ]


Responding to “Appalachia’s Distress”

Tuesday, March 1st, 2016 | Posted by Brian Sewell | 2 Comments

Over the weekend, a letter by our Executive Director Tom Cormons to the editors of The New York Times appeared on the newspaper’s website. It was penned in part to stress the importance of the Stream Protection Rule and to urge federal regulators to stand firm in the face of industry opposition, and finalize it. [ Read More ]


Virginia’s Clean Power Plan approach unchanged after court’s action

Thursday, February 18th, 2016 | Posted by Hannah Wiegard | No Comments

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe stated that Virginia will “stay the course” and continue working to reduce carbon pollution after the U.S. Supreme Court hit pause on the Clean Power Plan. But there's still more that we’re counting on Governor McAuliffe to deliver. [ Read More ]


Virginia General Assembly compromises on solar

Thursday, February 11th, 2016 | Posted by Hannah Wiegard | 1 Comment

While football fans were pumping up for the Big Game last weekend, supporters of clean power in Virginia were gearing up for a different showdown as key committees in the General Assembly prepared to take up important clean energy legislation. [ Read More ]


Action needed: Va. General Assembly considers pipeline policy fixes

Thursday, February 4th, 2016 | Posted by Hannah Wiegard | No Comments

Late last month, we learned that the U.S. Forest Service rejected the Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s proposed route. This development significantly checks the lickety-split pace of the project. If that renews your desire to take action, there are opportunities channel that feeling into these important legislative fights in the General Assembly. [ Read More ]


Do bankrupt coal company executives really deserve bonuses?

Tuesday, January 26th, 2016 | Posted by Brian Sewell | 1 Comment

Witnessing the one-sidedness of coal bankruptcies in Appalachia and their aftershocks goes to show who has a voice and whose voices the system values. Take Alpha Natural Resources, which recently received approval to pay its executives millions in bonuses despite not having made a profit since 2011. [ Read More ]



 

 


Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube