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Anthony Flaccavento: Appalachia’s Economic Transition is Underway
{ Editor’s Note } Appalachian Voices is pulling up another chair to the Front Porch. Through our new guest blog feature, we’ll regularly invite influential voices to reflect on issues you care about — mountaintop removal, clean water, and promoting a strong, healthy economy and environment for communities in Appalachia and the Southeast. To kick…
Read MoreWinston-Salem Journal Series Highlights Belews Creek Coal Plant Pollution Concerns
Over the past three weeks, the Winston-Salem Journal published a series of excellent articles focusing on the significant environmental and health threat of toxic coal ash in North Carolina — specifically from Duke Energy’s coal plants. Appalachian Voices’ Red, White, & Water team has been working this year in communities surrounding the Belews Creek coal…
Read MoreThe Clock is Ticking on Coal Ash: EPA Given 60 Days to Set Deadline on Regulation of Toxic Coal Waste
After years of delays and setbacks, the clock is finally ticking on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to propose a deadline for federal regulations of coal ash. On Tuesday, a federal judge gave the EPA 60 days to file a written submission setting forth a proposed deadline for its review and revision of regulations concerning…
Read MoreMore clean energy and less coal ash waste ahead for Asheville
Asheville, N.C., harbors a lively community that has united to push for clean energy and to put an end to Duke Energy’s polluting ways. Two wins came this week for Asheville residents when the City Council voted to increase investments in clean energy and, the next day, the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources…
Read MoreAppalachian Coal Losing Another Customer: Eastern Kentucky as a Case Study
The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Paradise Fossil Plant sits on the banks of western Kentucky’s Green River. The largest coal plant in the state, Paradise consumes approximately 7.3 million tons per year — none of which comes from Central Appalachian coal mines. Although TVA recently announced it was cutting almost all of its use of Central…
Read MoreIn Wake of Shutdown, Polls Point to Congress’s Unpopularity and Public Support of EPA
Two recent polls reveal that North Carolinians and Virginians strongly approve of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s plans to regulate carbon emissions from new power plants and the agency’s role in protecting clean air and water for all Americans. According to a Public Policy Polling survey of 803 North Carolinians commissioned by the Natural Resources…
Read MoreIn Defense of the Earth: An Appalachian Poet’s Presence
Stream “Wendell Berry, Poet & Prophet” below or watch it on Moyers & Company by clicking here. Widely celebrated as a caretaker of the culture and myth of rural America, Wendell Berry has a distinct drawl and speaks like he writes, eloquently but with simple words and equal parts conviction and compassion. Beyond being a…
Read MoreShutdown Continues: Appalachian Public Lands Feel the Pressure
By Nolen Nychay Editorial intern, Fall 2013 It is day 16 of the government shutdown, and while a resolution is being negotiated, budget cuts and furloughs at federal agencies continue to affect workers and communities near public lands. Both the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service have closed all offices outside of crucial emergency…
Read MoreHow the Government Shutdown Effects Rural Energy Efficiency Programs
While many rural electric cooperatives are waiting eagerly for the government to get back to work, others are moving forward on energy efficiency. While some rural electric cooperatives are large and have the ability to provide valuable services to their customers, others are smaller, cash-strapped, and face administrative and financial challenges on a daily basis.…
Read MorePodcasting Appalachian History
By Bill Kovarik Dave Tabler’s education in art history didn’t prepare him to be an Appalachian historian so much as his hope to overcome the way his father “spent a lifetime running away from mean jokes about marrying your cousin and swilling moonshine.” After helping his father with a book, Tabler started the Appalachian History…
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