RockingChair

Front Porch Blog

Updates from Appalachia

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Solar’s Here to Stay at the YMCA!

Earlier this spring, community members and solar experts gathered to celebrate the opening of the Tazewell Four Seasons YMCA’s new solar array, which was made possible in part by federal clean energy tax credits that are now at risk.

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Rooftop solar panels on Faith Lutheran Church in Tennessee. Photo by Anne Brock of Solar Alliance.

Clean energy tax credits: Why are they important for Appalachia? 

On the surface, federal tax credits may seem overly complicated or unrelatable. However, understanding the intricacies of tax law isn’t necessary to witness the positive impact these incentives are making in the country. 

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Southwest Virginia’s Solar Summit for Rural Appalachia

This year, the Solar Workgroup of Southwest Virginia…

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The former Cas Walker building during the 2025 flood.

Putting faces to the floodwaters: The need for disaster preparedness in one rural community

There is something particularly heartbreaking about pulling a…

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The NIOSH mobile testing unit provides free, confidential black lung screenings for miners. Photo courtesy Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Trump administration cutting vital health and safety services for miners

Coal miners, families and advocates were still trying to figure out what the termination of leases for dozens of Mine Safety and Health Administration offices by Elon Musk’s DOGE meant for the work of mine safety inspectors when even worse news came.

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