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Adapting Farms to Face the Climate Challenge
By Brian Sewell Around the world, farmers are arguably the first to feel the impacts of climate change, and of all the systems put at risk, food may be the most fragile. Some of the largest grain and livestock producing states are still recovering from last year’s drought-stricken season. And forecasts for this summer are…
Read MoreTwo Big Scores for Virginia Greens, but the Game is not Over
Over the course of a week, the state agency that oversees mountaintop removal mining in southwest Virginia denied a massive surface mine proposal in Wise County, and officials reviewing a huge natural gas plant recommended the application be denied because the applicant had not shown necessity in light of other options. This week, the Virginia…
Read MoreTips for Hiking with Kids
• Hiking is a great way to tap into children’s instinctive curiosity, as long as you’re prepared to slow your pace and stop to explore whatever catches their attention. • Let kids carry their own small packs. Having their own water bottle, snack and camera gets them engaged. • Prepare everyone for the fact that…
Read MoreBee Deaths Linked to Pesticides
By Davis Wax More than 30 percent of managed bee colonies in the United States perished this past winter, and beekeepers are looking for answers. While parasites, viruses and malnutrition can be factors in entire hives dying, evidence is building that pesticides are one of the major culprits. Danny Jaynes, president of the N.C. State…
Read MoreEnergy Report shorts
Permit to Mine Ison Rock Revoked In the latest chapter of a six-year battle between A&G Coal Corporation and the citizens of Wise County, Va., the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy denied a 1,200-acre mountaintop removal coal mining permit on Ison Rock Ridge, which would have buried 14,000 feet of streams. The department…
Read MoreRegional Roundup
‘Ag-gag’ bills Considered in Tenn., N.C. North Carolina became the 11th state this year to consider a form of an “ag-gag” bill, which limits the spread of information about agricultural practices through laws about employee practices. Called the “Commerce Protection Act,” the North Carolina bill was proposed by Senators Brent Jackson, Wesley Meredith and Jim…
Read MoreAppalachian WaterWatch: Protecting Your Water with Vigilance and Community Involvement
Our Appalachian Water Watch team is busier than ever watching over our water resources in Appalachia. From arming citizens with the know-how to monitor their own water to challenging bad deals between coal companies and state agencies, the Water Watch program is working each day to protect the rivers, streams and drinking water sources in…
Read MoreTenn. Tuesday: TVA’s Nuclear Nuisance
Welcome to Tennessee Tuesday! We’ve been searching across the state, patrolling the web and scouring our inboxes (as has President Obama, of course) in order to bring you the latest on the state-est that’s the greatest! Let’s get right to it. First of all, we’ve seen a brief clip from this morning on Fox News…
Read MoreUPDATE: Clean Water Protection Act Gains Support
By Melanie Foley Legislative Policy and Research Assistant, Summer 2013 The Clean Water Protection Act, HR 1837, was introduced last month with 45 original cosponsors. Since then, more than two dozen additional members of Congress have recognized the need to protect our communities and rivers from pollution caused by mountaintop removal. The bill, which restores…
Read MoreNeedle in a Haystack: U.S. Senate Supports Lower Energy Costs for Rural America, will the House Follow Suit?
On June 11, the U.S. Senate passed a five-year Farm Bill that includes a small provision with significant potential for reducing energy costs for rural Americans. The Rural Energy Savings Program (RESP) — based on South Carolina’s successful “Help My House” program and first introduced in 2012 as a stand-alone bill — would authorize the…
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