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The Colorado Public Utilities Commission has approved Xcel Energy’s voluntary closings of two coal-fired coal plants, the Arapahoe Plant near Denver and the Cameo plant in Grand Junction CO. Xcel Energy is the foremost power company in the state of CO, powering 70% of the state. This is the first time that a major company…

(By Jeff Biggers, re-printed with permission. – J-Dub) On October 18, 1929, just days before the Stock Market Crash, Thomas Wolfe published his monumental novel, Look Homeward, Angel, unveiling the machinations behind small town life in western North Carolina. It took Wolfe several years to return to his Asheville hometown, and when he finally took…

Nate Silver, an Obama supporter, and master of the must-read election site fivethirtyeight.com, answered a question from us in his Washington Post live-chat regarding this years elections. J-Dub:What is the significance of Appalachia in a general election? Is it worth campaign resources to invest in Appalachia as a geographic region with tentacles in Virginia, North…

In 2008, the United States stand to lose Blair Mountain,WV. Our loss may very well be at the hands of our own coal companies that want to see this special place turned into a mountaintop removal mining site. But before we can save it, we want people to understand why we believe the mountain deserves…

There have been some remarkable happenings in the last two weeks in the fight against mountaintop removal. For the first time EVER, both major Presidential candidates are publicly against mountaintop removal coal-mining. Last week at a town hall meeting in Orlando, Florida Senator McCain re-iterated what he told Appalachian Voices back in February. When asked…

Protesters From Across the Country Join Wise County VA Residents to Oppose Power Plant’s Impact on Environment and Health, and to Demand a Clean Energy Future Wise County, VA — At 6:00am this morning around 50 peaceful protesters entered the construction site of Dominion Virginia’s (NYSE: D) Wise County coal-fired power plant. Almost twenty protesters…

From Rory McIlMoil: Hey folks, We wanted to let you know that Coal River Mountain has survived another day! Due to the fact that Massey coal company had not obtained the required permits, they were prevented from starting the blasting yesterday from a legal standpoint. However, it was your calls and emails to Governor Manchin…

Bees, Trees, Wind and Dynamite by Kevin Grandia over at Huffington Post There’s a showdown in West Virginia today pitting old dirty energy against renewables — and one side is armed with explosives. Can Massey Break the Law with Impunity by David Roberts over at Grist: Massey wants to start blowing the mountain up as…

We’ve reached a cross-roads in Appalachia. We can choose between the economically and environmentally destructive resource of coal, or clean, green, economically invigorating industrial wind power. Right now there is a battle going on at Coal River Mountain to decide whether to turn the mountain into a mountaintop removal site or an industrial wind farm…