Front Porch Blog
Our Energy Savings campaign is heating up in the High Country
Back in October we launched the High Country Home Energy Makeover Contest as part of our campaign to motivate Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corp. to offer an on-bill financing program for their members in western North Carolina. We solicited enough support to pay for energy efficiency retrofits for three Blue Ridge Electric members. Read on to meet the contest winners.
Virginia must guard against Freedom Industries-type spill
University of Richmond law professor Noah Sachs recalls the W.Va. crisis last year, when some 300,000 people were left without clean tap water because of a major spill from chemical storage tanks. Guess what – Virginia essentially has no laws to regulate land-based storage of toxic chemicals near rivers. As Sachs has documented, dozens of businesses each storing more than 1 million pounds of toxic chemicals are located on major rivers, including the James, Shenandoah and Potomac.
Cheating shouldn’t pay
Appalachian Voices and our Kentucky partners scored a major victory when a judge, ruling on our case against a lawbreaking coal company, vigorously admonished state regulators for not enforcing the Clean Water Act. The state appealed, so as we head into 2015 it’s clear that our work throughout the Appalachian region is more important than ever.
Decent news for N.C. solar power
The N.C. Utilities Commission’s decision to renew a set of rules governing the contracts between electric utilities and independent power producers allows the state’s solar developers to begin the new year on steady footing.
To protect or prosecute polluters?
Kentucky regulators recently filed an administrative complaint against Frasure Creek Mining for hundreds of violations of the Clean Water Act. As we wait to see if the state is going to take its responsibility to protect the people and water of Kentucky from pollution seriously, Appalachian Voices will continue to do whatever we can to ensure that Frasure Creek and other polluters are held accountable.
Top five energy bills in Virginia (at the moment)
The Virginia General Assembly started last Wednesday, and the stage is set for an interesting couple of months while legislators tussle over a slew of energy bills–some good, and some very, very bad. Here’s the rundown…
Well, that was quick
It was only a matter of time before the new Congress would commence with its anti-environmental, anti-science agenda. But 24 hours? That we weren’t expecting.
Fracking and pipelines threaten Appalachia
The natural gas industry has overwhelmed scores of communities across the country, building miles of new pipelines and erecting huge drilling rigs. Appalachian Voices today launched web pages about efforts to open North Carolina to fracking and proposals to build natural gas pipelines through several Appalachian states, and the growing citizen movement to shift to cleaner energy.
An interview with Christopher Scotton, author of “Secret Wisdom of the Earth”
From The Appalachian Voice Online: “Secret Wisdom of the Earth,” the debut novel by Christopher Scotton released this week, is a coming-of-age story that takes familiar themes — tragedy and the quest to find healing — and explores them with the backdrop of a Central Appalachian community beset by mountaintop removal coal mining.
A silver lining in EPA’s Coal Ash Rule
The long-awaited, first-ever federal rule for regulating toxic coal ash–the second largest waste stream in the U.S.– was released before the holidays. Appalachian Voices dives into the 700+-page rule and finds, yes, a number of problems, but lo … some bright spots, too.