Posts Tagged ‘2014 — Issue 3 (June/July)’
Mixed Reports on Coal Finance
By Brian Sewell Rainforest Action Network’s annual coal finance report card found that the biggest banks put up $31.7 billion for coal projects in 2013. Citigroup, the largest funder of coal, invested $6.5 billion. JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo updated their policies to begin phasing out financing for mountaintop removal. Stanford University also announced it…
Read MoreProgress for Tennessee Wilderness
By Molly Moore Efforts to preserve wild lands in East Tennessee took a step forward this spring when a bill to designate nearly 20,000 acres in the Cherokee National Forest as wilderness passed the Senate Agriculture Committee. First introduced by Tennessee Republican Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker in 2010, the Tennessee Wilderness Act would…
Read MoreStreamside Technology in the Clinch River Valley
By Kimber Ray Although visitors are unlikely to stumble upon Saint Paul, Va., by chance, those who do might be surprised to learn that this small, rural town hosts some of the most novel trails in the country. Located along the crystal-clear waters of the Clinch River in Russell and Wise Counties, Saint Paul boasts…
Read MoreTracking the Trails of a Reinspired History
By Kimber Ray Hundreds of miles of driving and recreation trails criss-cross southwest Virginia’s rolling green acres of mountains, stitching together a quilt of gushing streams, hidden and remarkable wildlife, raw coal mines, spirited music and welcoming, resilient towns. The unique history of southwest Virginia is a seasoned patchwork of distinct communities with a shared…
Read MoreN.C. General Assembly to Consider Coal Ash
By Brian Sewell In the first North Carolina legislative session since a Duke Energy coal ash pond spilled 39,000 tons of toxic ash into the Dan River, two lawmakers introduced a bill based on Gov. Pat McCrory’s coal ash cleanup proposal. The governor’s proposal mirrors previous recommendations made by the utility itself, and State Senator…
Read MoreFacing the Frontier: Practical Considerations for Genetic Modification in Appalachian Food
By Valerie Bruchon It sounds perfect: enter a laboratory, change one quality of a food crop through genetic technology, and walk away having created a “miracle” food source to help feed the world. This new crop might eradicate the need for destructive or unsustainable farming practices, or it could make farmland more productive by packing…
Read MoreMurky Rules Raise Questions About Coal Ash Minefill
By Brian Sewell When FirstEnergy Corporation announced plans last year to close Little Blue Run coal ash pond, a 1,700-acre unlined basin that sits along the banks of the Ohio River, nearby residents were understandably relieved. But not everyone was celebrating. The coal ash still has to go somewhere, and the Bruce Mansfield coal plant…
Read MoreDoubts Follow Elk River Contamination
By Kimber Ray Four months after a Freedom Industries chemical tank contaminated the water of approximately 300,000 West Virginia residents this past January, only 36 percent of those residents were drinking their tap water, according a survey released in May by the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department. The affected private utility, West Virginia American Water Company, is…
Read MoreCommunities Pursue Revitalization Plans
By Carvan Craft Convenient access to local food can be a rare commodity in rural communities. Thanks to the Appalachian Livable Communities grant program, founded in 2012, five Appalachian communities will receive a shared total of $375,000 to help make local food projects a reality. The grant will fund a new agricultural education facility for…
Read MoreAcrobats of the Forest: The Eastern Gray Treefrog
By Meredith Warfield It’s mating season in Appalachia, and the region’s deciduous forests are humming with life. Birdsongs may be heard by day, but by night the Eastern gray treefrogs have hopped out of the branches and flocked to nearby ponds, where they can be heard singing their melodic love songs in hopes of attracting…
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