RockingChair

Front Porch Blog

Updates from Appalachia

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New map shows more acreage disturbed per ton of coal mined now than 30 years ago

Researchers from SkyTruth, Duke University, and Appalachian Voices recently released the first-ever peer-reviewed study of the year-by-year footprint of surface coal mining, including mountaintop removal mining, in Central Appalachia, and the results are sobering.

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chart showing energy burden by region and demographic

The burden of rural home energy costs

Rural households spend 40% more of their income on energy costs than households in metropolitan areas, according to a new report. Our executive director explains how rural electric cooperatives could help families alleviate that burden through energy efficiency.

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MVP Southgate open houses held for three counties

What Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC, had to say at three open houses on their proposed Southgate extension into North Carolina, plus a quick look at the latest developments on the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines.

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How can TVA claim to support energy efficiency and renewables even as they implement policies that discourage them?

TVA is using its already-obsolete 2020 Integrated Resource Plan as an opportunity to cut funding for energy-saving technologies that it claims are driving down revenue.

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Empowering citizens at the Water Justice Summit

The recent Water Justice Summit in Blacksburg, Va., brought together citizens from Central Appalachia whose water is imperiled by coal mining, fracked gas pipelines and other industrial threats to strategize, learn skills and build affinity.

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