RockingChair

Front Porch Blog

Updates from Appalachia

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Court Grants North Carolinians a Voice in the Coal Ash Lawsuits

906527_10152419133054084_3153136159662225319_oA North Carolina Superior Court judge ruled that conservation groups representing the interests of communities living near coal ash ponds can participate in a lawsuit between Duke and the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources for documented, illegal coal ash pollution across the state.

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Climate Change has “firmly moved into the present”

image001Not only is climate change real, it has “firmly moved into the present” and its impacts “are expected to become increasingly disruptive across the nation throughout this century and beyond.” That’s according to the U.S. National Climate Assessment, a report five years in the making that was released today.

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What’s green, gold, and good for everyone?

EENPODLast week, the folks at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) put out another of their scintillating reports, this one showing how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can apply energy efficiency as a key way to reduce global warming pollution — with no net cost to the U.S. economy.

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Tennessee mountains are at risk, here’s what you can do

TennesseeThe Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is conducting a public hearing tomorrow on a proposed surface mine in Claiborne County, Tenn. If the permit for the Clear Fork mine is approved, Kopper Glo Fuel, Inc., would discharge its pollution into surrounding creeks that feed the Cumberland River, many of which are already impaired by surface mining. Here’s what you can do.

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Like a “good neighbor,” the Supreme Court is there

coal-plantThe U.S. Supreme Court handed a significant win to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency when it revived a federal rule aimed at reducing air pollution that travels across state lines and harms the health of those downwind, and the ability of certain states to meet Clean Air Act requirements.

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