March 15, 2018
A watershed moment in Virginia
Citizen voices on the critical issue of energy policy were heard like never before in the General Assembly this year, forcing legislators to take the unusual step of scrutinizing what was in the massive rate bill Dominion Energy proposed. What does this revived citizen engagement mean going forward? Photo: Marco Sanchez; courtesy of Piedmont Environmental Council
[ Read our summary of the legislative session ]
Robeson Rises
Join us March 22 for the premiere of “Robeson Rises,” the story of citizens in rural Robeson County — the heart of the Lumbee Indian community — who are fighting to protect their homes, health and heritage from Duke Energy’s proposed fracked-gas Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The event is free and open to the public.
[ More details & movie trailer | RSVP on Facebook ]
A backlog of abandoned mine cleanup
Across the nation, the backlog of mine cleanup projects from before 1977 is estimated at $10.5 billion, with more than $8 billion in Appalachia. But there is only $2.4 billion left in the federal cleanup fund — and without congressional reauthorization, it will expire in 2021.
[ Read more in The Appalachian Voice ]
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N.C. home energy contest redux
Appalachian Voices is launching our second “Home Energy Makeover Contest” for folks in the High Country. The grand-prize winner will receive up to $2,500 in improvements to make their home more healthy and comfortable, and help them save on energy costs.
[ Find out if you’re eligible ]
Health study on mountaintop removal caught in politics
It's unlikely that Steve Gardner — Trump's nominee to head the federal agency that oversees surface mining — will reinstate a review of the human health impacts of mountaintop removal, which are significant. If he ever gets confirmed, that is.
[ Learn more ]
Pruitt’s “war on America’s health”
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is on a roll — rolling back key health and environmental rules meant to protect the public from coal ash pollution and from millions of pounds of toxins discharged every year into our waters from coal-burning fossil fuel plants.
