All Posts Archives | Page 58 of 118

Pro-solar group gets on Duke Energy’s bad side

By Brian Sewell | November 2, 2015 |

Duke Energy wants to smack down NC WARN for setting up a experimental solar project on the rooftop of a Greensboro church and testing a law prohibiting third-party electricity sales in North Carolina. The company is not helping its reputation for quashing clean energy efforts that aren’t its own.

Settlement in Virginia Coal Pollution Case to Result in Cleaner Water

By Cat McCue | October 28, 2015 |

Contact: Ricky Junquera, Sierra Club, 202-625-2392, ricky.junquera@sierraclub.org Erin Savage, Appalachian Voices, 206-769-8286, erin@appvoices.org Wise County, Va. – The Sierra Club, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards and Appalachian Voices today filed a consent decree resolving the 2012 Clean Water Act enforcement suit against A&G Coal Corp., a subsidiary owned by coal billionaire Jim Justice, and found responsible…

Gov. McCrory signs “Polluter Protection Act”

By Amy Adams | October 26, 2015 |

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?

Understanding the Stream Protection Rule

By Erin Savage | October 23, 2015 |

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.

Follow the leader: A Tennessee electric co-op moves forward

By Amy Kelly | October 20, 2015 |

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.

Charlottesville Joins National Day of Climate Action

By Hannah Wiegard | October 19, 2015 |

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.

N.C. General Assembly restricts local governments on fracking

By AV's Intern Team | October 19, 2015 |

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.

Considering Clean Power Compliance

By Brian Sewell | October 16, 2015 |

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.

White House POWER Initiative grants awarded

By Brian Sewell | October 15, 2015 |

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.