Posts Tagged ‘Coal’
Stop Brushing off the Bad Stuff
West Virginia University professor and public health researcher Dr. Michael Hendryx’s latest article, “Personal and Family Health in Rural Areas of Kentucky With and Without Mountaintop Coal Mining,” appeared in the online Journal of Rural Health a couple of days ago. The study immediately gained the attention of Kentucky media, and supporters of the coal…
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 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 MoreHelp Protect Kentucky’s Fish from Toxic Selenium
The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet is currently attempting to significantly weaken the state’s water quality standards for selenium. Selenium is a pollutant common at some coal mines that deforms and kills aquatic life. It bioaccumulates, increasing in concentration as it moves up the food chain, affecting larger fish and aquatic birds. At higher levels,…
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…
Read MorePresident Obama Focuses on Energy Jobs
Climate, Energy, Efficiency Feature as Key Pieces of SOTU The first “State of the Union” address of President Obama’s second term had a little something for everybody. The President was aggressive about the need to tackle the problem of climate change, while using broad economic language to describe the potential benefits of growth in solar,…
Read MoreAppalachian States Reconsider the Role of Coal Severance Taxes
By Brian Sewell Lawmakers in Central Appalachia are seeking legislative solutions to counter declining severance tax revenue after decades of natural resource extraction. Although not all of the counties in coal-producing states in Appalachia have minable coal, they all benefit from severance taxes, which generate millions of dollars used to improve roads, build flood controls…
Read MoreOrganizational Roundup
Teaming Up For Virginia Appalachian Voices’ Virginia campaign team partnered with Downstream Strategies to help in their research for a report that details how the coal industry is reaping huge benefits from the Commonwealth of Virginia each year. Released in mid-December, “The Impact of Coal on the Virginia State Budget” reveals that Virginia taxpayers have…
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