Front Porch Blog
Updates from Appalachia
Good – and not-so-good – mine reclamation projects
Congress has funded “pilot” projects to repurpose old coal sites in Appalachia for three years; the results show a clear need for a strong RECLAIM Act grounded in community-driven goals and environmental cleanup.
Bankrupt Westmoreland Coal granted permission to sever worker agreements
A federal bankruptcy judge ruled that Westmoreland Coal Company can back out of its collective bargaining agreements with current workers and retirees as soon as Feb. 28, putting pensions and health benefits for thousands of people at risk.
Takeaways from the TVA quarterly meeting
Increased public participation but continued gaps in transparency marked TVA’s recent quarterly meeting, which included a vote to close two of the utility’s coal plants.
It’s time for energy justice in North Carolina
Residents and organizations joined in Raleigh, N.C., to launch the Energy Justice North Carolina: End the Duke Monopoly coalition to promote energy choice and end monopoly control of the state’s utility structure.
Buckingham rises up with visit from Rev. Barber, Al Gore
Civil rights and climate activists Rev. William Barber and former Vice President Al Gore drew more than 1,000 people to a town hall meeting in Buckingham, Va., to highlight the environmental racism of the proposed frack-gas compressor station in the African-American community of Union Hill.
