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Gov. McCrory signs “Polluter Protection Act”
Late last Friday afternoon, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed into law H765, the “Regulatory Reform Act of 2015.” This massive reform bill should be called “The Polluter Protection Act” with its plethora of anti-environmental provisions, rollbacks and giveaways to industry. So, just how bad is this bill?
Read MoreUnderstanding the Stream Protection Rule
While the draft Stream Protection Rule is far from perfect, it is a long overdue update to protections for surface and groundwater from mountaintop removal coal mining. Not surprisingly, the coal industry had relied on “war on coal” talking points to fight against the rule, and claims these protections are unnecessary and will undermine an otherwise viable industry. Let’s examine those claims.
Read MoreFollow the leader: A Tennessee electric co-op moves forward
As one rural electric cooperative in Appalachia expands clean energy and technology, other utilities in the region can learn from its example of leadership. Appalachian Electric Cooperative is launching a community solar program, conducting a feasibility study for fiber optic internet and leading the way forward for rural energy efficiency programs in Tennessee.
Read MoreCharlottesville Joins National Day of Climate Action
From Anchorage to Miami, and South Portland to San Diego, thousands of people came out for the National Day of Climate Action this month. In Charlottesville, Appalachian Voices helped turn out perhaps the largest, most diverse environmental justice crowd ever assembled here.
Read MoreN.C. General Assembly restricts local governments on fracking
In the final hours of the legislative session, the N.C. General Assembly approved Senate Bill 119, which contains a provision that invalidates local ordinances put in place to restrict fracking. The provision was added just days after commissioners in Stokes County approved a three-year moratorium on oil and gas operations in the county.
Read MoreConsidering Clean Power Compliance
From The Appalachian Voice:Almost everyone agrees that the Clean Power Plan is a game changer. Beyond that though, arguments about the climate regulations are often deeply colored by politics and disconnected from the plan’s intention or realistically expected outcomes. Here’s how Appalachian states are reacting to the final rule.
Read MoreWhite House POWER Initiative grants awarded
Efforts to increase employment, and develop and diversify the economies of historically coal-reliant communities just received a major boost. Earlier today, the White House announced $14.5 million in grant awards to organizations and projects occurring across 12 states. A majority of the three dozen awards, and most of the grant dollars, are going to plan or implement projects in Central Appalachia.
Read MoreAppalachia’s Environmental Votetracker: Oct-Nov 2015
See how Appalachian congressional representatives voted on several environmental issues during late summer 2015.
Read MoreMember Spotlight: Pallavi Podapati
Appalachian Voices board member and native of Hazard, Ky., Pallavi Podapati is currently researching coal miner health policies in Wales to analyze the differences between policies in the United States and abroad.
Read MoreBy the Numbers: Lyme Disease, Conservation Funding, Smoky Mountains and more
11 Ranking the Great Smoky Mountains National Park received from the National Parks Conservation Association of the most polluted national parks, an improvement over its #1 ranking in 2004. $1.2 million Amount estimated to restore the Blue Ridge Tunnel as a pedestrian and biking path in Nelson County, Va. 50 Trees in Knoxville parks with…
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