Posts Tagged ‘appalachia’
“War on Coal” Claims are a War on Reality
By Melanie Foley Legislative Policy and Research Assistant, Summer 2013 The coal industry and the members of Congress who depend on its support have accused President Obama and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of waging a “war on coal.” Industry supporters argue that limits on emissions from coal-fired power plants and increased scrutiny of mountaintop…
Read MoreAmerica’s “Sadness Belt”: Appalachian States Worst in U.S. for Health and Happiness
By Melanie Foley Legislative Policy and Research Assistant, Summer 2013 Gallup and Healthways recently released their annual Well-Being Index for 2012, and Appalachia was found once again to be home to some of the least healthy and happy Americans. The most striking result of last year’s Well-Being Index is that while the happiest states are…
Read MoreWhat We Weren’t Allowed to Say
In this legislative session, Tennesseans’ voices were silenced. Here’s what I would have said. Yesterday, I was honored to be called to testify before the Tennessee State Senate Committee on Energy, Agriculture, and Natural Resources, along with a friend, hero and colleague, Ann League. Ann is a property owner and resident of coal-bearing areas in…
Read MoreProtecting Tennessee’s mountains? Not worth the Senate’s time.
Despite broad citizen and political support for a bill protecting Tennessee’s mountains, the state Senate Energy, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee today decided to not even allow public testimony on the measure and instead killed the bill. SB99, the Scenic Vistas Protection Act, was slated to be heard by the committee during its usual meeting…
Read MoreTennessee Votes on Scenic Vistas Tomorrow. CALL TODAY!
Call today and Urge Tennessee Legislators to Protect the Beauty and Economic Vitality of the Cumberland Plateau. Tennessee legislators are scheduled to take up a critical vote tomorrow on the Scenic Vistas Protection Act — a good bill with broad, bipartisan support that would help one of Tennessee’s most important assets – our mountains. Representative…
Read MoreAn Uphill Climb Gets Steeper
Sequestration Comes to Appalachia By Melanie Foley Legislative Policy and Research Assistant, Summer 2013 In August 2011, Congress and President Obama made a pact. They agreed to $1.2 trillion worth of cuts over 10 years if another deficit reduction compromise could not be reached. Efforts to avoid the severe and widespread cuts failed, and as…
Read MoreRenewed Resolve: Pushing for Energy Reform in Virginia
Reform of Virginia’s renewable energy law was in the spotlight on both sides of the political spectrum in the General Assembly this year. In the end, only a few adjustments were made to the law, none of which encourage the vibrant solar and wind industries that Virginians want, nor support a market for small businesses…
Read MoreLesson Learned: The Buffalo Creek Flood
I woke up this morning to a frozen world. Fog and ice descended on the hills above Boone, N.C., last night and are still waiting around for the thaw. It was silent other than the periodic crack of a branch and the following echo that bounced around the hills. Stepping outside after reading Ken Ward…
Read MoreVirginia Transportation Board OKs Coalfields Expressway Project
Yesterday, Virginia’s Commonwealth Transportation Board approved a four-lane divided highway that will flatten steep mountain ridges in southwest Virginia along a route proposed by Alpha Natural Resources — the largest coal company operating in Appalachia today. The proposed 26-mile Coalfields Expressway is only a few miles off of several less destructive routes studied by the…
Read MoreA Clearcut Connection Between Mountaintop Removal and Climate Change
By Melanie Foley Legislative Policy and Research Assistant, Summer 2013 Scientists from the universities of Kentucky and California recently released a study detailing the climate implications of coal extraction by mountaintop removal. If coal mining continues at its current pace, the authors predict the next 12 to 20 years will see Southern Appalachian forests switch…
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