Front Porch Blog
Updates from Appalachia
Common Sense, Nonsense, and a Climate Fight in the Making in Richmond
The 2014 session of the Virginia General Assembly is underway, and state lawmakers are wasting no time. Legislation this session falls into two categories: the bright ideas that bring Virginia closer to a future of safe and reliable clean energy, and the downright crazy bills that do the opposite and must be stopped. Here is the breakdown.
Fighting for Clean Water in Virginia: Standing up to Coal Industry Bullies
Today, Appalachian Voices along with our allies in Virginia filed a lawsuit against Penn Virginia, for water polluted by selenium coming from abandoned mines on their land. This lawsuit is one in a series of suits aimed at cleaning up selenium pollution in Callahan Creek.
It’s Solar Day, So Why is Duke Energy So Sour?
Today is Solar Day. But unfortunately, the solar industry in North Carolina might be growing to quickly for big daddy Duke Energy to keep in check. As the News & Observer and other sources are reporting, Duke wants to reduce the value of the renewable energy credits North Carolina households that have installed rooftop solar receive for generating electricity that is fed into the grid.
Hannah Wiegard: Binge-watching “Doctor Who” and Bettering Virginia’s Energy Options
I joined Appalachian Voices to help steer Appalachian Power and Dominion Virginia Power toward clean energy. Over the recent winter break, I got a jump on this massive undertaking in what may seem an unusual way: by becoming utterly engrossed in a “Doctor Who” marathon. I maintain that it was time well-spent in the fight for clean energy sources and efficiency for the Old Dominion.
The West Virginia Chemical Spill: A Warning for North Carolina
There is a lesson in West Virginia’s water crisis for North Carolina policymakers and regulatory agencies akin to the saying that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. If you look at the changes to and by the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources in 2013 and the path ahead in 2014, the General Assembly seems resolved to run headlong down a shortsighted path that will lead to the same inevitable consequences.
