Front Porch Blog
Updates from Appalachia
The Power of Energy Efficiency — Building a Stronger Economy for Appalachia (Part 1)
When you think of poverty, what words do you associate with it? Many of us might think of words like “low-income,” “unemployment” or “homelessness.” Unfortunately, it is not often that we associate poverty with electricity costs, because for many across the United States, especially those living in the South and Appalachia, electricity costs play a significant role in worsening the impacts of poverty.
North Carolina sides with Duke Energy by appealing coal ash ruling
Duke Energy recently appealed a ruling that gave North Carolina authority to force the company to immediately clean up its coal ash pollution across the state. But why would the N.C. Environmental Management Commission join Duke and also appeal the decision? The answer likely has to do with who sits on the commission and how they were appointed.
America’s biggest bank moves away from mountaintop removal
Pressuring large investment banks to stop financing mountaintop removal has been a strategy of the nationwide movement to end the practice for years. Judging by the progress made by Rainforest Action Network, and other grassroots groups targeting the infamous “too big to fails,” that strategy is working.
Central Appalachian-focused James River Coal Company enters bankruptcy
This week, James River Coal Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court. Like Patriot Coal, which reemerged from bankruptcy in December, the Richmond, Va.-based company’s operations are concentrated in Central Appalachia and are located in some of the counties most economically vulnerable to coal’s downturn.
Rural Electric Co-ops Can Renew Community Spirit
Guest Contributor Brian Depew: The cooperative spirit that brought electric service to rural America represents the community-driven values of small towns. Today, more than 900 rural electric co-ops serve 42 million people in 47 states. Co-ops remain democratically controlled, run by elected customer-members. But they have drifted from their community-oriented mission.
