Written by Brian Sewell
Brian Sewell
Brian is an environmental news junkie concerned with our lagging energy policy and revealing the true cost of coal on our health, the environment and the climate. He is Appalachian Voices' Director of Strategic Advancement.
Power Play: Countering Electric Utilities’ Political Influence
Public interest groups are building political will to counter electric utilities’ influence in state governments.
Pipeline Basics
A quick look at how pipelines are regulated, whether they’re needed, and what the environmental and economic effects are.
Electric Rate Reform Pits Utilities Against Consumer, Clean Energy Advocates
Electric utilities across the Southeast are proposing a variety of rate reforms that could raise utility bills and deter energy efficiency across the region.
Trump’s War on Reality
Special column adapted from the Front Porch Blog: Trump’s administration has set a dangerous precedent of relying on dishonesty and alternative facts instead of addressing the scientific truths behind coal and climate change.
The Path of Most Resistance
Some of the region’s state legislatures and largest utilities have been working to restrict access to solar power and energy efficiency. But clean energy advocates are pushing back.
Considering Clean Power Compliance
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.
“Clean coal” is on the fritz
From The Appalachian Voice Online: As one of the most high-profile and hyped-up projects of its kind, the FutureGen “clean coal” plant in Illinois was supposed make history. So the announcement that the U.S. Department of Energy is backing out of its $1.1 billion funding promise to the project sent a shockwave through the coal sector and investors, energy analysts and environmentalists all took note.
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.
