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Do-It-Yourself tips for energy efficiency: Heating & Cooling
Education is a key part of our work, and one way we are helping residents lower their energy costs is by creating and sharing some short videos with Do-It-Yourself energy efficiency tip. This video features John Kidda, founder and President of reNew Homes, Inc., in Boone, N.C., discusses programmable thermostats as a way to save on heating and cooling.
Read MoreEnergy bill acrobatics
For the Schmidt family of Tazewell, Tennessee, managing their budget is a balancing act, and one they have become very good at. But high electric bills–up to $300 in the winter–makes that balance tricky to maintain, sometimes leaving very little for emergency funds, much less for the home repairs they need that could actually lower their energy use.
Read MoreHands Across the Appalachian Trail
Atlantic Coast Pipeline backers head to North Carolina
While North Carolina is rightfully focused on the coal ash scandal, another environmental tug-of-war is strengthening in some of the state’s poorest areas. The Atlantic Coast Pipeline would cut 170 miles through eastern N.C. where a quarter to a third of people live in poverty. And this is precisely why these types of projects are placed in low-income communities: to reduce the chance of resistance.
Read MoreCleaning Up A Mess: Coal Ash Across Appalachia
Appalachian states are burdened by millions of tons of toxic coal ash. Without firm federal standards, it’s up to states to determine much of the cleanup process — and regional states are taking varying approaches.
Read MoreTrailbuilding: Forging New Paths
Trail advocates in Pound, Va., Elizabethton, Tenn., and Wyoming County, W.Va., are working with community members and partners to develop new hiking paths.
Read MoreGrowing Up Appalachian
The next generation is overcoming barriers to achieve their goals By Molly Moore Answers to broad questions about Appalachia’s future — such as how coal-bearing counties will transform as the region’s chief industry declines — are invariably traced back to the next generation. The region’s future will be shaped one child, one teen and one…
Read MoreMistaken Identity: Recognizing the northern water snake
The non-venomous northern water snake is frequently spotted at swimming holes and rivers in Appalachia — and sometimes mistaken for its venomous cousin, the copperhead.
Read MoreAppalachian Media Institute: Envisioning Our Future
For 28 years, the Appalachian Media Institute has given young people from Central Appalachia a platform to explore their voice, document issues in their communities and elevate rural stories. A program of Appalshop, a multimedia arts and cultural organization in Whitesburg, Ky., AMI interns gain hands-on experience with media production and learn about topics such…
Read MoreRebukes, a resignation and more reasons to worry about coal ash in NC
Where does the war of words over coal ash health advisories leave North Carolinians with contaminated drinking water? Exactly where they were before: as distrustful of DEQ and DHHS as they are of their water’s safety. But in the battle between state employees and the McCrory administration, residents are clear on who they trust.
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