RockingChair

Front Porch Blog

Updates from Appalachia

AV-mountainBorder-white-medium3
Aerial view of South Fork Coal Company mine

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.

Read More
Group of people in red shirts sitting in the audience of a press conference against the Chesterfield gas plant

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!

Read More
Over 100 people showed up to a Preserve Cheatham County town hall event on March 27, 2025, in Pleasant View. Photo by Angie Mummaw

‘Take your pipe and shove it’: How one Tennessee community fought back a major fossil fuel project — and isn’t done yet

Residents of Cheatham County, Tennessee, united to push back against the Tennessee Valley Authority’s plan for a methane gas power plant on 286 acres of rolling farmland.

Read More
An old, rusted coal conveyor belt structure crossing over a curved mountain road in a forested area of Appalachia, with dense greenery and hills in the background.

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.

Read More
The Looney Ridge Surface Mine in Southwest Virginia. Photo by Jimmy Davidson

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.

Read More