Virginia approves draft rule to cut carbon pollution from power plants

Contact: Cat McCue, Appalachian Voices, 434-293-6373, cat@appvoices.org Kelley Galownia, Virginia Conservation Network, 571-403-4625, Kelley@vcnva.org RICHMOND – The State Air Pollution Control Board today unanimously approved the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)’s proposed draft regulations under Executive Directive 11 to reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants. These draft regulations serve as a critical first…

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Va. regulators reject APCO’s misguided renewable energy program

SCC commissioners

Contact: Peter Anderson, Appalachian Voices, 434-293-6373, peter@appvoices.org Yesterday, the Virginia State Corporation Commission rejected a program proposed by Appalachian Power Company that would have charged customers well above market rates if they elected the utility’s proposed program for 100% renewable energy. Appalachian Voices and others who participated in the SCC proceeding were concerned the program…

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Trump’s Would-Be Coal Comeback Faces Long Odds

President-elect Donald Trump has expressed his support of the coal industry. Less clear is how he will attempt to revive the struggling sector — or how he will confront the collateral damage to human health, the environment and the climate that could result.

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What we do now — a note from Executive Director Tom Cormons

I believe deeply in Appalachian Voices’ longstanding mission to bring people together for the well-being of Appalachian communities, our shared natural heritage and our children’s futures. In stark contrast, the presidential election has underscored and exaggerated our differences, overshadowing the many fundamental values we share. But being discouraged is not an option. Instead, we must join together like never before.

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Pope’s message on climate brings hope for change

Encyclical-PF-10“…for human beings to degrade the integrity of the earth by causing changes in its climate, by stripping the earth of its natural forests or destroying its wetlands; for human beings to contaminate the earth’s waters, its land, its air, and its life – these are sins.” Thus spake Pope Francis today in his “Laudato Si'” letter, the Vatican’s first encyclical on the environment. And it’s a doozy.

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