Front Porch Blog
Updates from Appalachia
High Country residents speak up to save energy
Appalachian Voices joined with numerous others this month in asking Blue Ridge Electric co-op to help its members save money and make their homes healthier and more comfortable by financing home energy-efficiency improvements. At the co-op’s annual meeting, CEO Doug Johnson said his team is considering offering debt-free financing for upgrades including home weatherization.
Video illustrates need for energy efficiency in the High Country
In the mountainous northwestern corner of North Carolina, many residents struggle to afford to heat their homes, especially during the region’s long, harsh winters. As part of our High Country Energy Savings campaign, we produced a video featuring the three winners of our High Country Home Energy Makeover contest that provides a glimpse of their experiences with high energy bills and the benefits of greater energy efficiency.
Pope’s message on climate brings hope for change
“…for human beings to degrade the integrity of the earth by causing changes in its climate, by stripping the earth of its natural forests or destroying its wetlands; for human beings to contaminate the earth’s waters, its land, its air, and its life – these are sins.” Thus spake Pope Francis today in his “Laudato Si'” letter, the Vatican’s first encyclical on the environment. And it’s a doozy.
Appalachian Regional Commission receives citizen input
On June 4, the Appalachian Regional Commission held one of its five 2016-2020 Strategic Plan Listening Sessions in Morehead, Ky. The session successfully facilitated the sharing of ideas by Appalachian stakeholders that will inform the commission’s plan for improving economic opportunities in communities across the region.
Score one for the Clean Power Plan
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals today rebuked the first legal challenge to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to cut global-warming pollution from the nation’s power plants. In a straightforward ruling, the court said the states and the industry groups had no legal grounds to challenge EPA’s “Clean Power Plan” since it has yet to be finalized.
