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Clean Energy Corps
A Benefit for the Economy and the Environment By Linda Brinson The Clean Energy Corps has the potential to be an economic as well as an environmental boon for the Appalachian region. At the national level, the Clean Energy Corps is still a proposal, but many people are working to make sure that it becomes…
Read MorePhotovoltaic Prospects Are Sunny
Story by Bill Kovarik The phones are ringing off the hook at Solar Connexion in Blacksburg, Va., but Brian Walsh is out in the field installing photovoltaic panels. Keeping up with the rising number of inquiries is a dilemma that Brian Walsh faces as he thinks about how to expand his solar photovoltaic business. “We…
Read MoreGreen Entrepreneur Offers Energy Solutions to NC High Country
Story by Sarah Vig Boone, N.C. resident Kent Hively says he considers himself a “green collar worker,” but in truth, he’s also somewhat of a green entrepreneur. Hively started his business High Country Energy Solutions five years ago, before the term “green jobs” was the buzzword it is today. He had learned about alternative energy…
Read MoreThe Green Side of Heavy Industry
Story by Bill Kovarik When most people envision green jobs, they see recycling, ecotourism and solar panels. Luke Staengl, president of Pesco-Beam in Roanoke, Va., sees cellulosic biofuels, methane and hydrogen gasification, wood pellet manufacturing and other large-scale renewable energy production projects. “The prospects are spectacular for green jobs in this region,” Staengl said. For…
Read MoreGreen Collar Jobs
Sustainable Jobs for the Appalachian Future Story by Gregory McNamee A quarter-century ago, a friend of mine moved from Wytheville, Virginia, to southern Arizona to take a job in an emerging, fast-growing field: installing rooftop photovoltaic panels to take advantage of the desert’s one great abundance, solar energy. He flourished—briefly. Then, for reasons that political…
Read MoreGreen forestry redefines the profession
Story by Bill Kovarik They’re not just loggers with horses. When Jason Rutledge and his colleagues walk into the woods, they are thinking about how to protect the forest ecology, not how quickly they can deliver ten thousand board feet to the mill. That’s just one difference between traditional forestry and what Rutledge terms restorative…
Read MoreBlue Skies for Green Education
Story by Bill Kovarik As new green technologies transform the economic landscape, the need for focused education and training has become apparent. While only a few pilot programs specifically designed for green collar jobs are currently in place, community colleges and universities are poised for dramatic expansion. Climate change and federal stimulus dollars are spurring…
Read MoreComers Rock and Hale Lake
Story by Joe Tennis Ah, the view: That’s what makes Comers Rock such a jewel. But shhh! Don’t tell everybody: Let this jewel of southwest Virginia remain hidden. Comers Rock sits on the Grayson-Wythe county line at an ear-popping 4,102-foot elevation. It’s a place listed on all Virginia state maps. But the trouble, for the…
Read MoreLess Twittering in the Trees
Story by Kathleen McFadden Spring comes slowly to the mountains. Long after the early-season flowers have come and gone in the lowlands, winter-weary mountain dwellers wait patiently for their first sight of a royal purple crocus, the golden glory of the backyard forsythia and the return of our cherished birds. But the birds of Appalachia…
Read MoreTaking the Price Tag Off Our Heritage
Story by Sarah Vig At the Center for Cherokee Plants, the seeds are not for sale. “People will stop by and ask us if we sell the plants, or why we aren’t trying to sell our seeds,” said Kevin Welch, who founded the Center, “I tell them ‘you can’t put a price on your heritage.’”…
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