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Appalachian Millennials and social media in Wyoming County
Guest Contributor Donald Welch: The Rural Appalachian Improvement League encourages plenty of groups to visit the Mullens, W.Va., area to volunteer. But, as an organization focused on sustainability and creating social change in southern West Virginia, the group also uses social media to engage youth and create opportunities for local residents.
Read MoreReaching for Virginia’s clean power potential
If Virginia takes a pragmatic approach to the Clean Power Plan, it can incentivize energy efficiency programs and drive growth in solar power — two ways to ensure a more secure grid and shrink bills for electric customers. But there are possible pitfalls too. That’s why it’s critical for Virginians to engage throughout the process, pressing state officials to advance a vision of safe, affordable and reliable energy.
Read MoreThank God for our Kentucky newspapers
Local newspapers in Kentucky have helped expose state regulators’ lax treatment of industry, most recently in the form of a secretive deal stuck with an oil company responsible for polluting drinking water supplies. But sadly, Kentucky’s politicians and agencies aren’t shy in revealing whose interests they truly serve either.
Read MoreWeatherizing Tennessee homes gets results
TVA is delivering millions of dollars in grants to communities in East Tennessee to start programs to help families weatherize their homes so they can stay warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer while saving money on their electric bill. People like Dorothy Ware of Knoxville.
Read MoreDuke-DEQ coal ash settlement not such a great deal for citizens
CONTACT: Amy Adams, N.C. Campaign Coordinator; (cell) 252-944-6459; amy@appvoices.org Duke Energy and the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality (formerly the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources) today announced an estimated $20 million settlement over groundwater contamination from leaking coal ash pits at the utility’s facilities in North Carolina. The following is a statement from Amy…
Read MoreCitizen stories counter coal industry deception
Citizens and clean water advocates used a series of hearings on the proposed Stream Protection Rule to demand improvements to the draft version and call out state agencies for repeatedly failing to enforce regulations already on the books. Coal industry representatives, on the other hand, relied on “war on coal” rhetoric and deception to rally against the rule.
Read MoreA Tennessee homecoming for energy savings
Amy Kelly is returning to her roots in the Volunteer State as Tennessee Energy Savings Outreach Coordinator for Appalachian Voices. She’ll be tapping into the natural ingenuity of local residents to help strengthen communities by increasing energy efficiency programs in the region.
DENR is a “BOOR”
The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources is acting like–to use its own term–a “bureaucratic object of resistance.” The agency’s creative interpretation of its mission statement is just one reflection of the McCrory administration’s broader hostility to the notion that public servants have a responsibility to protect the natural resources and therefore the public health and welfare of the Tar Heel state.
Read MoreCoal Ash: It’s not just toxic, it’s radioactive!
This week, a study conducted by Duke University was published in “Environmental Science and Technology” which concluded that coal ash is more radioactive than its parent coal or soil, and that the radioactivity may exceed safe levels for human exposure.
Read MoreVIDEO: “Contaminated, But Smart!”- Duke Energy’s New Coal Ash Assessment
On Monday evening, Duke Energy released the executive statement from its study assessing groundwater contamination at two of its largest coal ash sites in North Carolina. Unsurprisingly, Duke Energy’s findings suggest it is not responsible for the contamination found in the drinking water wells of over 200 households within 1,000 feet of the company’s coal ash dumps.
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