Bringing Rural Areas Up to (Internet) Speed
http://appvoices.org/2017/10/11/bringing-rural-areas-up-to-internet-speed/ By Otto Solberg A Tennessee electric cooperative and a Kentucky municipal utility are working to bring high-speed broadband internet to rural customers who otherwise may not have the options that urban areas have. The Tri-County Electric Cooperative has been planning to bring broadband internet access to rural Trousdale County, Tenn., since 2014. Tennessee law…
Crossbills, Conifers and Calls
A nomadic bird travels Appalachia searching for the best conifer cones http://appvoices.org/2017/12/06/crossbills-conifers-and-calls/ By Otto Solberg The red crossbill is an elusive finch that can be found feasting in the conifer trees of the Appalachian Mountains during any time of the year—but finding exactly where can be a challenge for even the most experienced birders. Red…
FirstEnergy and Murray Energy Face Bankruptcy
http://appvoices.org/2017/10/11/firstenergy-and-murray-energy-face-bankruptcy/ By Otto Solberg The Murray Energy Corp. is in danger of bankruptcy if the federal government does not intervene to save their customer FirstEnergy Corp. The disclosure comes from a letter written by founder and CEO Robert Murray to the White House and was revealed by the Associated Press. Murray Energy sells approximately 65 million…
Historic Eastern Kentucky Sites Added to National Register
http://appvoices.org/2017/10/11/historic-eastern-kentucky-sites-added-to-national-register/ By Otto Solberg Three locations in Eastern Kentucky were added to the National Register of Historic Places in August as official sites worthy of preservation. This distinction may qualify the owner of the sites for tax exemptions to help preserve their significance. First is the Middlesboro Jewish Cemetery in Middlesboro, Ky., established in 1904 for Jewish…
Monsanto Herbicide Threatens Nearby Crops
http://appvoices.org/2017/12/05/monsanto-herbicide-threatens-nearby-crops/ By Otto Solberg This summer, 3.1 million acres of soybeans in the United States were damaged by dicamba herbicides that drifted from their intended targets. Monsanto developed a genetically modified soybean, Xtend, which is resistant to their dicamba herbicide. However, the new dicamba spray is more likely to evaporate and drift to other fields,…
North Carolina Protects New Natural Area
Oct 12, 2017 By Otto Solberg A new state natural area has been added in McDowell County, N.C. The 2,900 acres of mountain lands formerly known as Bob’s Pocket is now Bobs Creek State Natural Area. Unlike a state park, a state natural area only allows low-impact recreation such as hiking, and will keep the…
Pennsylvania Protects Stream
http://appvoices.org/2017/10/11/pennsylvania-protects-stream/ By Otto Solberg The Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board confirmed on Aug. 15 that Pennsylvania’s Clean Streams Law and the Pennsylvania Constitution do not allow mining permits to be granted if irreversible damages will be made to a stream. This precedent was set when the hearing board recently rejected a revised 2015 permit issued by the state’s Department of…
Unique Solar Applications
http://appvoices.org/2017/10/11/unique-solar-applications/ By Otto Solberg Although solar fields generate large amounts of renewable energy, the ground underneath is commonly planted with turf grasses that do not effectively drain rainwater and require carbon-wasting maintenance. These innovative applications of solar energy are minimizing those negative impacts and creating more benefits for incorporating solar. Sun-Raised Sheep To maintain the…
Virginia Announces Cleanest Air in 20 Years
http://appvoices.org/2017/12/05/virginia-announces-cleanest-air-in-20-years/ After years of work to improve the air quality in Virginia, the Department of Environmental Quality announced that the summer of 2017 was the cleanest ground-level ozone season in the commonwealth in the past 20 years. In the 1990s, many areas in Virginia regularly struggled to meet the old ozone health standards of 120…
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