Posts Tagged ‘Environment’
Reflecting on Gainesville Loves Mountains
————————————————————————————————————————————– We’re happy to share this guest blog post by Kathy Selvage. Last month, Kathy traveled to Florida to speak at Gainesville Loves Mountains. There she found engaged citizens with open hearts and minds. ————————————————————————————————————————————– I landed at the airport in Jacksonville, FL., on Saturday afternoon, April 14, 2012 at the behest of Jason Fults…
Read MoreRebranding Bank of America’s Responsibility
————————————————————————————————————————————– Join us in Charlotte on May 9 to remind Bank of America, the largest financier of the U.S. coal industry, of their responsibility to citizens and the environment. Visit our action page for more info and to sign up. ————————————————————————————————————————————– “BREAKING: Daring Action at Bank of America Stadium,” read the first email in my…
Read MoreStudy Weighs Risks, Benefits of Fracking in North Carolina
By Brian Sewell A series of public hearings in March concluded that, with proper regulation, hydraulic fracturing, the controversial natural gas drilling method can be done safely in North Carolina. The hearings, held in Sanford, Chapel Hill and Pittsboro, received public comment on a draft report of the state’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources’…
Read MorePerusing Kentucky’s Pine Mountain Park
By Joe Tennis High above Pineville, Ky., near the start of the challenging Laurel Cove Trail, an old joke straddles a rock at Pine Mountain State Resort Park. Local lore suggests that the people of Pineville were worried about the menacing-looking boulder coming loose and rolling off Pine Mountain. In the 1930s, shortly after Pine…
Read MoreThe EPA’s New Carbon Rule, Getting Serious About Climate Change
So we’re a little late to the punch on this one. Let’s take a moment to catch up. Last Tuesday, March 27, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the first-ever rules regulating carbon pollution from power plants. For those who didn’t already know this news, I should also mention this is not an April Fool’s…
Read MoreAsheville’s Call to Action: The Beginning of the End for Toxic Coal Ash
By Patrick Cavanaugh, 2012 Red, White and Water intern It’s hard to miss the Asheville coal-fired power plant as you drive into Lake Julian Park in Arden, N.C. The smokestacks and discolored water surrounding the plant scream of environmental abuse and disfigurement. Our mission was the hidden abuses this plant perpetrates on nearby residents that…
Read MoreClose Calls as Congress Defeats Rollbacks to EPA Boiler Rule and Speed-up of Keystone XL Pipeline
Get ready, because a hostile hive of lobbyists echoing industry cries that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is no more than big government, job-killing, mean, green machine may have just been shaken up again. On Thurs., March 8, Congress narrowly defeated an amendment to a transportation funding bill authored by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) that…
Read MoreSubcommittee Hearing A “Dog and Pony Show” With Your Ringmaster, Rep. Bill Johnson
I’ll admit, this morning’s Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources hearing had my head spinning. Similar to the committee’s previous hearings on the stream buffer zone rule, statements made by the Republican majority committee members could cause concerns as to who exactly they’re representing. The hearing seemed staged to give committee members yet another opportunity…
Read MoreThe Unhealthy Culture of Coal
The latest in a round of studies on health and well-being in the coal-bearing regions of Appalachia was released in mid-February, with the puzzling conclusion that, while coal mining may not directly contribute to health problems in Appalachia, it still plays a significant role in the health problems in Appalachia. Borak’s study claims that the…
Read MoreNuclear Confusion
The Complicated History of the Atom in Appalachia By Paige Campbell Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. sits on 66 acres between the Nolichucky River and the south end of Erwin, Tenn. This part of Erwin is the very picture of a small, blue-collar town. Within a quarter-mile of the fence surrounding the industrial site, there’s a…
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