RockingChair

Front Porch Blog

Updates from Appalachia

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The Voice: Toxic Warnings, Trilliums and More

AprilMay2014_cover_small2This latest issue of The Appalachian Voice explores some of the pressing economic and environmental hardships faced by the region today. Read about the ongoing water crises in West Virginia and along the Dan River of North Carolina and Virginia, the continued challenges in the War on Poverty, and the people who are dedicated to achieving solutions.

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Spring Happenings for Clean Water in N.C.

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This spring, many North Carolinians are feeling renewed concern about the threat coal ash poses to our water resources. During the next month, concerned citizens are gathering across the state to make their voices heard and create a cleaner way forward. Find a festival, rally, picnic or community meeting near you!

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The Power of Energy Efficiency — Building a Stronger Economy for Appalachia (Part 1)

urlWhen 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.

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North Carolina sides with Duke Energy by appealing coal ash ruling

Buck Steam StationDuke 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.

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America’s biggest bank moves away from mountaintop removal

r-TOO-BIG-TO-FAIL-large570Pressuring 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.

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