The federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement announced that it will revise current rules to prevent toxic gas emissions from surface coal mine blasting operations.
Kimber Ray
A native of New Jersey with an environmental policy degree from Rutgers University, Kimber served two terms as our AmeriCorps Communications Associate and the Associate Editor for The Appalachian Voice from 2013-2015 before leaving to pursue permaculture farming in Costa Rica.
Blog Archives
The Appalachian Voice
Looking on the bright side, states seek solar benefits
U.S. jobs grew nearly 20 times faster in the solar industry than the whole economy’s national average, reports The Solar Foundation, and some southeastern states are catching the rays of the burgeoning industry with policies encouraging growth in both privately-owned and utility-scale solar.
White House moves to regulate methane emissions
After years of scientific research pointing to methane’s outsized contribution to climate change, the Obama administration will use its executive power to regulate emissions of the potent greenhouse gas from oil and gas productions and pipelines.
Knoxville: “The Sustainable City”
By Nolen Nychay Knoxville, Tenn. ranks second in the nation for growth in green jobs and is one of only a handful of American cities to have fully bounced back from the economic recession, according to a recent Brookings Institute…
TAGS: Economic Transition Economy Energy Efficiency energy infrastructure Green jobs green jobs training Knoxville Renewable Energy Solar sustainability sustainable communities Tennessee
A Science of Responsibility:
Dr. Ben Stout’s Dedication to Community-Based Research By Brian Sewell Dr. Ben Stout, a stream ecologist and professor of biology at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia, is as at home in nearby communities as he is in the classroom.…
TAGS: appalachia Clean Water Act Coal coal ash slurry ecology environmental education Hydraulic Fracturing Massey Energy Mountaintop Removal Pennsylvania Water quality West Virginia
Teacher, Wife, Activist, Mother:
Wilma Lee Steele Turns Focus to Healing By Molly Moore For Wilma Lee Steele, the devastation wrought by mountaintop removal coal mining can’t be measured solely by polluted streams or transformed ridgelines. For someone as spiritually connected to the mountains…
TAGS: Activism Citizen action Coal Coal mining environmental education Mountaintop Removal West Virginia
Anna Behnke: A Seventh Grade Activist
By Sarah Kellogg Seventh grader Anna Behnke loves to swim in Mountain Island Lake, but two years ago, she learned about the water pollution caused by Duke Energy’s Riverbend coal-fired power plant and began to worry about the impact the…
TAGS: Activism Citizen action Coal Ash Duke Energy Mountain Island Lake North Carolina Renewable Energy young leaders
Innovating with Electric Cooperatives
By Sarah Kellogg An inspiring, forward-thinking businessman, Mike Couick works to distribute affordable electricity to rural homes. “I don’t believe it’s a sustainable business plan to try to sell electricity that a member can’t afford,” Couick says. “The bottom line…
Diane Pitcock Connects Landowners to Fracking Researchers
By Molly Moore When Diane Pitcock and her family retired to rural Doddridge County, W.Va., in 2005, she planned on canning garden vegetables, watching the stars and listening to the owls. Today, however, four Marcellus Shale gas rigs surround her…
TAGS: Activism Citizen action environmental journalism environmental protections fracking Hydraulic Fracturing Marcellus Shale West Virginia
Ralph Davis: Exploring Appalachia’s Future
By Nolen Nychay In his 21 years of journalistic work at publications such as the Jackson County Sun, Paintsville Herald and Floyd County Times, Ralph Davis developed a close relationship with the small communities of eastern Kentucky and the rural…
TAGS: appalachia Appalachian Culture Community development Documentaries Economic Transition environmental journalism Kentucky Tennessee Virginia West Virginia
