Front Porch Blog
Updates from Appalachia
Coal hauling through the Monongahela National Forest has ceased… for now.
Our collective efforts to defend the Monongahela National Forest and the Cherry River from the abuses of South Fork Coal Company are having an impact.
Part one: The $3 billion health costs of Dominion Energy’s proposed Chesterfield gas power plant
This is the first of two blogs looking at how Dominion Energy’s plans for a new methane gas power plant in Chesterfield would affect the local community and everyone in Virginia who gets power from the state’s biggest power company. We’ll dive into the latter in part two!
Mapping the decline of coal production
The decline of coal production in Appalachia has been ongoing for decades. We thought it would be useful to develop a way to visualize these trends across the region.
The state of coal community protections 48 years after landmark mining law
On Aug. 3, 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act into law. This anniversary presents a good opportunity to discuss SMCRA’s intent, where it’s fallen short over the years and how the Trump administration is undermining SMCRA’s protections.





