Posts Tagged ‘Coal’
A New Year, New Plants for Duke Energy
As we ring in the New Year, Duke Energy is touting three facilities that came online at the end of 2012 with a combined capacity of 2,365 megawatts of new generation. The newly operational units include the Cliffside Power Station Unit 6, and natural gas-fired units at the Dan River Power Station and the H.F.…
Read MoreWATCH: Appalachian Kids Give Science Lesson to President Obama
Children in Appalachian coal mining communities are 42% more likely to be born with birth defects and have a life expectancy that is almost 5 years lower than the national average. As this short video shows, they understand why: Dozens of scientific studies have linked mountaintop removal coal mining to high rates of cancer and…
Read MoreAppalachia & the World
The Appalachian Voice typically looks inward, exploring the intricacies of our region. This time, however, we looked out at the rest of the world to see what Appalachia’s global ties could tell us about the life, history and struggles that take place within these mountains. Take a moment to flip through the print version or…
Read MoreTime to End Corporate Welfare for King Coal in Virginia
Virginia taxpayers have been boosting profits for the coal industry with tens of millions of dollars in tax breaks every year. That’s not big news – but what’s astounding is that, due to the structure of the subsidies, the Commonwealth is not only foregoing revenue, it is actually paying cash to the industry. According to…
Read MoreAnswer Me These Post-Coal Questions Three
A new blog for YES! Magazine asks, “How do we get over coal?” That’s the question many are asking in Appalachia, where coal’s contribution to the economy is wearing thin. Already, coal is less and less abundant and more and more expensive to extract. And because it harms the environment and destroys local communities, “How…
Read MoreCoal Industry Costs Virginians Millions of Dollars Every Year
New report suggests shifting money to diversify coalfield economies Contact: Rory McIlmoil, Downstream Strategies, 304-445-7200, mcilmoil@downstreamstrategies.com Cat McCue, Appalachian Voices, 434-293-6373, cat@appvoices.org Glen Besa, Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, 804-225-9113 x 104, glen.besa@sierraclub.org Resources Full Report Executive Summary Blog Post Time To End Corporate Welfare For King Coal In Virginia Photos Richmond, VA –…
Read MoreA Clean(er) World
By Molly Moore No country is an energy island. In the face of a European Union sanction that bans steel imports, Iran is using roundabout trading methods to secure metallurgical coal, used in steel manufacturing, from Ukraine. A state-backed firm in Abu Dhabi plans to invest in Saudi Arabia’s growing renewable energy efforts. And in…
Read MoreThe Export Enigma: Appalachian Coal’s Complicated Outlets Overseas
By Brian Sewell Recently, coal exports have provided operators in Appalachia with a crucial buffer against the market-driven forces that are shaping the energy landscape across the United States. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, between 2009 and 2011, coal exports nearly doubled in response to stagnant domestic consumption. This year, the EIA forecasts…
Read MoreCoal Industry Employment Remains in Flux and other shorts
On Nov. 27, Southern Coal announced it would recall 650 laid-off miners after entering into a multi-year contract with American Electric Power. The deal will allow Southern Coal to reopen mines that were closed earlier this year and will prevent the layoffs of another 500 workers. Much of the complaints about a political “war on…
Read MoreLincoln and Climate Science
By Dr. Bill Kovarik Abraham Lincoln used to tell a story during the darkest days of the Civil War. Although the story was omitted from a recent movie about Lincoln, it is still worth recalling. It goes like this: When Lincoln was a young man in Illinois in 1833, he was roused from his bed…
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