Smithfield announced last year that it will use covered lagoons and digesters on 90 percent of its hog finishing farms within 10 years, a move that could reduce greenhouse gasses, create renewable energy and open opportunities in the biogas sector. A man stepped out of the side door of his […]
Read MoreTag: Environment
P.A. Students Look for Creative Solutions to Water Infrastructure Needs in Central Appalachia
On a rainy, chilly fall day, a research team made up of graduate students from the University of Pennsylvania pack up and depart from a hotel lobby in Princeton, West Virginia. It takes about an hour to get to the Elkhorn Water Plant in McDowell County, where, outside, water from […]
Read MoreInside Appalachia: How Drinking Water Systems Are Failing Rural Residents
Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Listen to the full episode below. For many families in parts of eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia, the absence of clean, reliable drinking water has become part of daily life. In this episode of the podcast Inside Appalachia, we hear from folks like Blaine Taylor, a 17-year-old resident of Martin County, Kentucky, who […]
Read MoreStill Fighting: These Widows’ Stories Show Larger Effects of Black Lung Epidemic
Nancy and Rich Potter had the kind of marriage that made other couples jealous. He’d take her on spontaneous trips. She’d wear her Daisy Dukes just for him. Joyce Birman said her late husband, George, made a terrible first impression. It was his apology for it that made her fall […]
Read MoreScientists Call for Drastic Drop in Emissions. U.S. Appears to Have Gone the Other Way.
A report by a private research company found that U.S. emissions, which amount to one-sixth of the planet’s, didn’t fall in 2018 but instead skyrocketed. The 3.4 percent jump for 2018, projected by the firm, would be second-largest surge in greenhouse gas emissions from the U.S. since Bill Clinton was […]
Read MoreRural’s Connection to Environment Means Bigger Climate-Change Impact
Mainstays of rural American culture and economy – such as timber, agriculture, tourism, ranching, hunting, fishing, winter sports – could see major disruptions from climate change. The impact will be big enough to disrupt the national economy, a federal report says. Rural communities face clear economic and environmental risks from […]
Read More