Environment

Commentary: New Uses For Former Mine Lands Stop at Economic Potential, But Appalachian Species Are Thriving on Rehabilitated Sites

“Hey! We’ve got something!” There’s excitement in the college student’s voice as they call me to an overturned log in the forest where we’re spending the afternoon. Instead of our usual menu of field trips to off-campus nature preserves and parks across southwest Virginia, COVID-19 has forced my Vertebrate Zoology […]

Read More

House Dems Looking to Restore Obama-era Policies on Public Land Oil & Gas Leases

The Democratically controlled House of Representatives is continuing its push to essentially reverse the Trump administration’s rollback of environmental regulations, this time focusing on a policy that has largely impacted rural and native populations in the U.S. The House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held its third hearing last […]

Read More

Rallies, Legal Action, Grassroots Movements – A Year of Debate Over Proposed W.Va. Plant

This summer will mark one year since thousands of residents in Jefferson County, West Virginia, started a movement to rally against a Denmark-based company called Rockwool. The company’s proposed West Virginia plant would manufacture stone wool insulation across the street from an elementary school. The issue has sparked contention throughout […]

Read More