A Quest to Protect At-Risk Bats
Researchers and conservationists found and saved the land where a colony of endangered Virginia big-eared bats roost.
Hello there! I'm the Digital Editor for the Association of Health Care Journalists. I have also worked with the award-winning news app SmartNews, The Appalachian Voice, The Knoxville News Sentinel, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and The Knoxville Mercury. Want to work with me or share a terrible pun? I'd love to hear from you! Just click Contact in the menu.
Featured
The Appalachian Pipeline Resistance Movement: “We’re Not Going Away”
Residents along the paths of the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines have made it clear that fracked-gas projects are not welcome.
N.C. Families Contend With Mounting Bills
Faced with the threat of utility disconnection and even eviction in the pandemic, many North Carolinians are forced to decide between essentials.
The Appalachian African-American Cultural Center
Ron and Jill Carson have made it their mission to preserve the African-American community's history in Southwest Virginia.
Workers Push for Pay After Bankruptcy
After Blackjewel and Revelation Energy declared bankruptcy in July, the companies retroactively withdrew paychecks from their former employees’ bank accounts, triggering a nearly two-month long protest and several court battles.
Gov. Jim Justice's Barren Mine Lands and Unpaid Taxes
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice made nearly $2 billion off Appalachia's coalfields, but his family's mines owe back taxes in multiple states. They have also accrued hundreds of environmental violations, and many idled mines are still unreclaimed.
Battling for Black Lung Benefits
The deadly disease is on the rise, but funding for healthcare will be halved unless Congress acts this year.
Knoxville's Brass Wizard
Whether it's a bent trombone slide or dented trumpet, Jim Gadd's your guy.
The End of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline
Duke Energy and Dominion Energy canceled the Atlantic Coast Pipeline due to ever-increasing costs and legal battles — and similar hurdles remain for the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
Energy Burden in a Pandemic
Many families in Appalachia already struggled with high energy bills — and COVID-19 is making it even worse.
An Experiment in Revitalizing Old Mine Sites
A federal grant program aims to bring economic opportunity to long-abandoned mine lands. But as some sites are seeing progress, others are finding more obstacles.
Following Cherokee Footpaths
The story of a man who has made it his life's journey to catalog and protect the network of ancient Cherokee foot trails webbed across the Southeast.
The Impacts of Coal Bankruptcies
With industry projections trending downwards, questions continue about whether the mine reclamation system can handle ongoing bankruptcies.
It’s Not Your Imagination — Utilities Are Seeking More Rate Increases
Utilities may be requesting more rate hikes, but more and more legislators are refusing utility money, and communities continue to protest rate hikes.
A High Price for Low-Quality Water
Residents of Martin County, Ky., and many other rural communities often deal with contaminated water despite exorbitant monthly bills.
Preserving Historic African-American Cemeteries
Communities across the region are working to document and preserve historic African-American cemeteries to keep them from becoming lost to history.
That Time I (sort of) Got Published by The New York Times
I made a dumb joke on Facebook. It got some attention.
The Black Lung Association Responds to the Deadly Disease’s Rise
The Black Lung Association has a storied history of fighting for miners’ rights to occupational healthcare. Today, that fight continues as rates of the disease continue to climb.
Contending with Contamination in Minden, W.Va.
Minden, W.Va., residents have been plagued with toxic PCBs for decades. Now the town is on the Superfund list and residents are once again calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to relocate the entire community.
The Problem with Monopoly Utilities
Much of America’s energy system still runs like it did in the early 20th century, but times are changing.
Logging and Prescribed Burns: Healthy or Harmful?
The use of timber harvests and prescribed burns on national forest land is hotly debated by conservationists and forest users.
People in the Path of Pipelines: Cletus and Beverly Bohon
Cletus and Beverly Bohon value their wooded acreage at the end of the road for its privacy. But the Mountain Valley Pipeline is widening their road, burying a creek and cutting a swath through their trees.
Hemp and Medical Cannabis Make Joint Gains
Industrial hemp could soon be legalized nationally under the 2018 Farm Bill, and Virginia could soon have up to five medical cannabis oil dispensaries in the state.
Sparking Petrochemical Valley?
Plans for cracker plants and a gas liquids storage hub could lead to a toxic plastics industry in Appalachia.
Decades in the Making: A Mine Reclamation Backlog
A set of graphics for which I gathered the data. These were paired with "The Ongoing Cleanup of Abandoned Mine Lands" in the Feb/March 2018 issue of The Appalachian Voice.
(Un)Well Water
For these two families and many others, clean well water is nothing but a pipe dream.
Some of My Other Work
Support Grows for Mine Reclamation Bill
Numerous Appalachian coal-bearing communities have passed resolutions calling on federal legislators to pass a bill that would reauthorize a program that funds cleanup of abandoned mine lands.
Black Lung Healthcare Legislation Sees Progress
Congress temporarily reinstated a tax on coal companies that funds black lung benefits for miners and their families in December. Advocates continue to push for further protections for coal workers.
Seeking a Path to 100% Clean Energy
Localities across Appalachia and the nation have pledged to fully convert to green power — but restrictive policies and monopoly utilities are holding them back.
Appalachian Power Restricts Solar Savings in Virginia
Public schools and other government entities in Virginia are unable to take advantage of the cost-saving benefits of solar due to restrictive policies put in place by Appalachian Power.
Keeping Eyes on Coal’s Impact
Citizen scientists surveil water quality near active and former coal mines to hold companies accountable to the law.
A Pilot Program’s Uncertain Record
Some projects receiving federal funds for economic development near abandoned mines have strong community support; others, not so much.
Cost of Coal Mine Cleanup
Despite problems with the current system, coal companies are being granted more leeway in paying for mine reclamation.
Coal Mining Under Trump
While Central Appalachian coal jobs saw a slight bump in President Donald Trump's first year in office, not much has changed on the national level.
Taking on TVA
Communities are resisting the Tennessee Valley Authority’s frequent cost increases and lack of transparency and clean energy.
TVA Faces Criticism Over Coal Ash, Transparency
The Tennessee Valley Authority and its contractor Jacobs Engineering are facing a new lawsuit regarding their cleanup of the 2008 Kingston coal ash spill. Additionally, state and federal lawmakers are backing a U.S. House bill that would require more transparency from the monopoly utility.
Eastern Kentucky Community Groups Pursue Solar
Four community-led organizations in Letcher County, Ky., plan to install solar arrays to combat rising electricity costs.
Building a Better Economy
Communities across Appalachia are striving to build a more resilient and sustainable economy.
Power to the People
In Appalachia and across the country, people are reclaiming their power from electricity monopolies that weren’t serving their needs.
Q&A with Nantahala-Pisgah Plan Stakeholders
I asked conservationists, recreational users, a Cherokee tribal member and more what they most want to see from the new Nantahala and Pisgah National Forest Plan.
Groups Aim to Reshape Nantahala-Pisgah Plan
Conservationists, recreation enthusiasts, the timber industry and more have played a major part in the U.S. Forest Service's ongoing effort to make major changes to the Nantahala-Pisgah National Forest Management Plan for the first time since 1994.
Seeking Cooperative Change
Jeff Lewis lost the election for Powell Valley Electric Cooperative’s board, but he hopes they will take his concerns to heart.
Environmental Protection Agency Aims to Deregulate Coal Ash
The Trump administration’s proposal to roll back federal coal ash safeguards gives more leeway to states — and advocates worry that would put drinking water at risk.
The Ongoing Cleanup of Abandoned Coal Mines
A key federal mine reclamation program is up for reauthorization in 2021 — and the work is far from finished.
Mountain Advocates Stand Against Racism
After white supremacists made national headlines at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., environmental advocacy groups and community organizers in Appalachia spoke out against racism.
Communities Aim to Solve the Opioid Epidemic
Opioid abuse has had a meteoric rise in Appalachia in recent years. As communities tackle the problem, they put new methods to the test and address the stigma surrounding people suffering from drug addiction.
1,000 Days on Bottled Water
Jan. 11 marked the 1,000th day that hundreds of North Carolinians living near Duke Energy’s coal ash basins have relied on bottled water for drinking, cooking and countless other everyday tasks.
Turning Trash into Fuel
Gasification plants reroute trash and chicken manure, but also raise air pollution concerns.
Hydropower Storage: All it’s pumped up to be?
A new pumped storage energy facility in Southwest Virginia could potentially reuse an old coal mine — or raze a hillside.
Seeking Opportunities in Solar Energy
As of January 2017, the amount of people employed by the solar industry is nearly double that of the coal, oil and natural gas industries combined. Groups across Appalachia are working to make sure that mountain communities aren't left in the dark.
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