Posts Tagged ‘sustainability’
Five Schools Switch to Landfill Gas Power
By Carvan Craft Five colleges are putting the saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” into practice with their initiative to use landfill gas for light and power. Hollins University, Emory & Henry College, Lynchburg College, Randolph College and Sweet Briar College are the first institutions in Virginia on track to meet all of…
Read MoreA Sustainable Habitat
By Sarah Kellogg Nestled in a mountain forest of oaks, poplars and rhododendron, a neighborhood of charming houses sits lightly on the land. These are the energy efficient homes of the GreenWood Community, a project of the Watauga County Habitat for Humanity. The neighborhood is the result of hard-working families and dedicated volunteers who share…
Read MoreBurning Wood: The Good, the Bad and the Misunderstood
As the push continues to seek alternative and renewable energy resources, utility companies are increasingly turning to an energy source from days gone by: wood. The growth of the biomass-for-energy industry has been particularly vigorous in the Southeast, with exports of wood pellets rising by 70 percent in just the past year. While this industry…
Read MoreKnoxville: “The Sustainable City”
By Nolen Nychay Knoxville, Tenn. ranks second in the nation for growth in green jobs and is one of only a handful of American cities to have fully bounced back from the economic recession, according to a recent Brookings Institute report. Since 2006, the city has reduced carbon emissions by 17 percent, and under Mayor…
Read MoreAnna George: Aquatic Activist
By Peter Boucher When Anna George was a child, she would pester her mother to take her to zoos and aquariums. As she grew up, she conducted research in a variety of aquatic environments — from the Dauphin Sea Lab on the Alabama coast to the Cayman Islands — and her incredible enthusiasm for animals…
Read MoreCharlie Jackson: Bringing Farms to Market
By Peter Boucher Charlie Jackson found a simple answer to the complex problems of regional agriculture. He founded the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project in 1995 to create new markets for mountain farmers who had lost their cash crop. Tobacco had sustained farms for nearly half a century, but in the late ‘90s, farms were rapidly…
Read MoreOnly God Should Move Mountains
By Nolen Nychay For Reverend Ryan Bennett, creation care is about encouraging environmental responsibility through the Biblical principles of stewardship. At Bethlehem United Methodist Church in Franklin, Tenn., Bennett uses the philosophy “love the Creator, love His creations” to discuss the looming threat of mountaintop removal, spurring a rising interest — especially amongst younger age…
Read MoreConsiderate Consulting: Andrew Grigsby’s Vision of Sustainability
By Brian Sewell Andrew Grigsby is a leading sustainability consultant with more than 25 years of experience in residential construction and green building. But ask him what motivates his work to foster a more ecologically and socially sane world, and he’ll likely go back to his upbringing in Culpeper, Va. “It’s just how I was…
Read MoreGreen Visions
Chattanooga’s high-tech advances are seeded with grassroots principles By Molly Moore As dusk falls on the north bank of the Tennessee River, streetlights turn on at Chattanooga’s Coolidge Park. Rows of gleaming bicycles wait for the next morning’s bikeshare riders, and the sun’s last rays fade from a park building’s green roof. If the streetlights…
Read MoreWilliamson, W.Va. – A Gateway to Sustainability in Central Appalachia
By Kate Cahow The Coal House, built in 1933 from its namesake rock, sits in downtown Williamson, W.Va., in the heart of Appalachia’s coal mining region. It is home to the Tug County Chamber of Commerce. Next door, construction of a high-tech “smart office” is underway in the lobby of the historic Mountaineer Hotel. The…
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