U.S. Renewable Energy Production Surpasses Nuclear in 2011

For the first time since the late 90s, energy produced by renewable sources (biomass, hydroelectric, wind, geothermal and solar) has surpassed the amount of energy produced by nuclear plants in the U.S., according to the most recent Monthly Energy Review from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Link to the report. The report shows that…

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Our Bright Energy Future — Are We There Yet?

In Bonneville, Wash., some residents using wind power are facing an unusual problem: Too much energy. Now the Bonneville Power Administration is asking customers to volunteer their appliances to help balance supply and demand. A story in the New York Times on Friday described the pilot project: When excess supply threatens Bonneville’s grid, an operator…

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Viewpoint

Please Don’t Trash the Outdoors Dear Editor, For my school service project, I picked up trash around the forest. I picked up trash at campsites and on the forest roads. I found a lot of things like beer cans, milk containers, soda bottles, food wrappings, and someone even threw away a broken camp chair. I…

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The Business of Building Green

What’s good for the earth is good for the bottom line By Molly Moore When dentist Kendalyn Lutz-Craver decided it was time to move out of her leased, musty office and build her own structure, she had three building goals in mind. She didn’t want the building to be square, she wanted all patients to…

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Energizing the Clean Economy

Political speeches, the nightly news and newspaper headlines are filled with reminders of the battered economy and the millions unemployed or underpaid. But as energy efficiency and renewable technologies advance, more domestic jobs are created that foster a sustainable economy, save money at home, and benefit human health and the environment. It’s an ambitious goal,…

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NY Times on Coal River Wind Project, Editorial Too

This month, the New York Times ran a story in the front page of the Business Section about the battle over Coal River Mountain. This mountain, the last standing in the Coal River Valley, is slated for a 6,600 square mile mountaintop removal mine. But local residents, led by grandmother Lorelei Scarbro, has a different…

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Strong Support at Wind Stakeholders Meeting

Appalachian Voices recently partnered with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and Catawba College Center for the Environment to host a successful North Carolina Wind Energy Development Stakeholders meeting. Participants came to the meeting to address concerns about developing wind energy in North Carolina. They represented groups from a variety of interests, including, landowners, county…

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Lawsuit Puts Bat Concerns on Wind Industry’s Radar

By Marsha W. Johnston Developers say the future for wind energy in Appalachia remains bright despite a federal court decision that has imposed requirements under the Endangered Species Act. In 2009, the Animal Welfare Institute sued to stop a project on Beech Ridge in Greenbrier County, W. Va., which it said posed a threat to…

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