Front Porch Blog
Updates from Appalachia
Re: The Problem With Pipelines
Guest blogger Mike Younger became involved in the struggle to prevent pipeline expansion when his community in middle Tennessee was informed that they were in the path of a massive fossil fuel infrastructure project.
White House halts review of mountaintop removal health impacts
The U.S. Department of the Interior ordered the National Academy of Sciences to halt its review of the links between mountaintop removal coal mining and human health impacts.
Preparing for Monday’s Solar Eclipse
On August 21, a total solar eclipse will occur over the United States for the first time in 38 years, and will be visible in parts of the southern Appalachian mountains. Here are some tips on how to see this fascinating celestial event.
Monogamous and territorial – my common traits with woodpeckers
Living in Virginia, it’s easy to take the Blue Ridge Mountains for granted. But if you pay attention, there’s a mystery to them that many don’t appreciate — including the companies who want to build natural gas pipelines through them.
In Tennessee, Powell Valley Electric Co-op members speak out
Electric co-ops are governed by boards who are democratically elected, and therefore supposedly responsive to their customers, who are also co-owners of these utilities. The Powell Valley Electric Cooperative in east Tennessee has stirred grave concern with its herbicide spraying policy, and members are speaking out.