The New Faces and Issues of North Carolina

THE NEW FACES For the first time since 1870, the Republican party controls both the executive and legislative branches in North Carolina government. With the General Assembly sporting veto-proof majorities in both its chambers, and Pat McCrory’s election making him the state’s first Republican governor in 20 years, the political landscape in North Carolina has…

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New NC DENR Boss Isn’t Sure About Global Warming

By Tabitha Lundsford Red, White and Water intern, Spring 2013 Watch as John Skvarla, North Carolina’s new head of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, sidesteps a question about climate change (near the end of the video) and supports the continuance of fracking. As the state pursues more controversial forms of energy production, he…

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Political winds shifting for renewable energy in Virginia?

Late last week, the U.S. Department of Interior announced plans to sell leases for the development of wind energy 27 miles off of Virginia’s shores and another lease block off of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. If constructed, these would be the first offshore wind generation facilities in the United States. While Virginia is far from…

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A 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…

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Welcome to Virginia’s Energy Conference, with your host King Coal

Last week, Appalachian Voices and members of the Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition attended the Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell’s Energy Conference. Looking at the agenda, we were prepared for what would surely be a biased conference. But we didn’t know it would be this bad. At every stage of the conference, the coal companies and…

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New Report Details How Duke Energy Can Save the Carolinas Billions

This is a repost from Greenpeace’s Quit Coal blog, written by their NC Organizer, Monica Embrey.. Amidst a whirlwind of controversy this past month, the new Duke Energy has an opportunity to lead the country and act in the best interest of its ratepayers, shareholders and the planet. Today, Greenpeace released our report (PDF) that…

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Raleigh Legislature Hosts Citizens’ Lobby Day for Renewable Energy

There’s just something fitting about North Carolina renewable energy advocates getting up ahead of the sun – and this is exactly what they did on Tuesday June 12th as they rolled out of bed for the 7:00 AM convening of the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Society’s Citizen Lobby Day. Why such an early start? Renewable…

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Working Together for a Clean Energy Future in Virginia

I’ve been thinking a lot about the future lately. Our family has a set of newborn twins expected home from the hospital within another week or two, and it’s funny how babies simultaneously awaken you to the present moment and highlight the importance of preparing well for the coming decades and beyond. Kids transform the…

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