http://www.mountainx.com/ Local, significant, verifiable, fair and respectful en-us Mountain Xpress Sat, 25 May 2013 04:38:02 -0400 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2012/031412green-scene-analysis-paralysis South Asheville’s Robinson Creek has been a PLAY SPACE for generations of kids in the once-rural Mills Gap Road community. But these days, residents warn their kids to stay AWAY FROM the stream. In recent decades, both Robinson and Dingle creeks — along with soil, air and ground water NEAR the former CTS of Asheville plant — have REGISTERED high levels of toxic chemicals, including benzene, vinyl chloride and trichloroethylene, WHICH HAS BEEN LINKED TO SEVERAL KINDS OF CANCER. The former electroplating plant closed its doors in 1986 and was demolished last December. Worries about human health and environmental impacts… Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:00:51 -0400 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2012/031412green-scene-analysis-paralysis http://www.mountainx.com/features/2012/020812green-scene-environmental-antacid The cloud of acid rain that's been hovering over Western North Carolina for decades may turn out to have a silver lining after all. A seven-year lawsuit against the Tennessee Valley Authority ended in a negotiated settlement last June. In 2004, North Carolina joined Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee in suing TVA over air pollution emitted by its coal-fired power plants. The settlement consolidates complaints filed by environmental groups over the last two decades asserting that the federally owned corporation had failed to control emissions of greenhouse gases and particulate matter. Besides endangering human health and the environment, this was… Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:00:53 -0500 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2012/020812green-scene-environmental-antacid http://www.mountainx.com/features/2012/012512green-scene-dam-your-ash A coalition of local and national environmental groups announced plans Jan. 19 to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to force the release of long-awaited rules regulating coal ash as hazardous waste. Despite evidence of leaking ponds and poisoned ground water, the EPA has delayed issuing new rules for nearly two years. Meanwhile, local environmentalists have recently urged Progress Energy to create a lined, capped, dry-storage facility for the coal ash produced by its Skyland power plant. This would help prevent toxins from leaking into the environment, and perhaps head off a massive spill like the one that flooded Kingston,… Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:59:32 -0500 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2012/012512green-scene-dam-your-ash http://www.mountainx.com/features/2012/011112green-scene The local Sierra Club chapter has another big idea for 2012: bolstering Progress Energy’s coal-ash ponds in Skyland to avoid a disaster like the massive spill at Kingston, Tenn., back in 2008. The local utility’s two coal-ash ponds are unlined and contained by earthen dams; activists worry that toxic contaminants are leaching into local ground water and the nearby French Broad River. “We need to get those ponds lined and covered,” says WENOCA Sierra Club leader Judy Mattox, “and to stop coal ash from blowing into neighbors' homes and yards.” Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:00:38 -0500 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2012/011112green-scene http://www.mountainx.com/features/2012/011112green-scene Buying only new tires puts more scrap tires into the waste stream; reuse is the highest form of recycling. Lots of folks can’t easily afford a set of new tires, and as long as they’re inspected for safety and tread depth, they’re often a good choice for the budget-minded. I don’t think it’s wise to throw usable tires away. Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:00:35 -0500 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2012/011112green-scene http://www.mountainx.com/features/2012/011112green-scene If we want to have an immediate, affordable, doable effect on the environment, Asheville needs lots more trees planted to combat the hot summers we've been experiencing, while helping clean the air. The DOT has removed hundreds of trees along the highways, and we need to take a proactive role in adding more trees back into our environment. Teams of volunteers are needed to spread out across the community, planting shade trees at libraries, fire stations, community centers, parks and along roadways. We also need people to water and care for them. Property owners can add to the tree canopy… Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:00:34 -0500 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2012/011112green-scene http://www.mountainx.com/features/2012/011112green-scene As a native of Asheville, I want to help most of my friends and neighbors save money and finally move toward getting off the grid. Thank God, it's now not that hard to move toward a solar generator. I was miserable for seven days during the blizzard of 2009. I bought a gas generator afterward, but that didn't cut it. What happens when the fuel runs out? I couldn't find a good solar generator online, so I built one, called the "Sunshine Simple Generator." Since talking about it on the radio, people across the country have asked me to build… Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:00:32 -0500 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2012/011112green-scene http://www.mountainx.com/features/2012/010412green-scene1 The local Sierra Club chapter has another big idea for 2012: bolstering Progress Energy’s coal-ash ponds in Skyland to avoid a disaster like the massive spill at Kingston, Tenn. back in 2008. The local utility’s two coal-ash ponds are unlined and contained by earthen dams; activists worry that toxic contaminants are leaching into local ground water and the nearby French Broad River. “We need to get those ponds lined and covered,” says WENOCA Sierra Club leader Judy Mattox, “and to stop coal ash from blowing into neighbors' homes and yards.” Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:01:00 -0500 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2012/010412green-scene1 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2012/010412green-scene Light pollution is something many of us don’t think much about, but for stargazers, migrating birds and folks passionate about energy conservation, dark skies are a resource worth protecting. Buncombe County will be approving new outdoor-lighting standards in 2012, particularly commercial and industrial lighting, and some local activists see it as an opportunity to strengthen light-pollution controls. “It’s a very good ordinance, but there are several things that would improve it,” says Bernie Arghiere, president of the Astronomy Club of Asheville, who’s studied the proposal. In its current form, the ordinance calls for “fully shielded down lighting” to limit the… Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:00:59 -0500 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2012/010412green-scene http://www.mountainx.com/features/2012/010412green-scene Amid growing concerns about how stormwater runoff is affecting waterways near large developments and agricultural fields, ECO is launching Rapid Response Teams that will activate during storm events to assess turbidity and sediment flow, so we can better understand how runoff affects stream health. These tests will help establish a base line on how effective such efforts as implementing best-management practices are in limiting sedimentation and erosion. Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:00:58 -0500 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2012/010412green-scene http://www.mountainx.com/features/2012/010412green-scene • Create a trail from the back of 12 Bones to Smith Bridge that opens up these 30 acres for performances and sculpture exhibits. • Get our tire store properties at Pearson Bridge transitioned into Asheville Outdoor Adventure with boat, bike and fishing excursions as well as retail operations for all kinds of outdoor-sports equipment adventures. • Help 75 homeowners control and direct their stormwater through our WaterRICH programs. • Install eight overnight campsites in the French Broad watershed and complete the handbook, signage and site maps. • Officially start the phytoremediation plantings and monitoring at Karen Cragnolin Park. •… Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:00:58 -0500 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2012/010412green-scene http://www.mountainx.com/features/2012/010412green-scene-dont-tread-on-me They wear out; they pile up in scrap yards and landfills, turning up in the French Broad River and along its banks. And of all the things Buncombe County residents throw away, few are more persistent than old tires, which don’t readily biodegrade. Someone’s been dumping them in Asheville's River Arts District lately, each one cut neatly across the tread with a saw or similar tool. Asheville GreenWorks' staffer Eric Bradford got on the case last month, working with some volunteers to clean up piles of discarded tires someone had dumped along Lyman Street near the river.Re-tired Looking to dispose… Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:00:16 -0500 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2012/010412green-scene-dont-tread-on-me http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/122111green-scene-the-walls-fall With asbestos abatement completed, a Buncombe County contractor began demolishing the former CTS of Asheville plant in south Asheville earlier this month. But while neighbors of the derelict structure have applauded the move as a long-overdue first step in cleaning up the contaminated site, resident Tate MacQueen, who’s played a key role in efforts to expose the problems and push for appropriate action, sounds a less enthusiastic note. “Unfortunately, this is just a token gesture toward a real cleanup,” says MacQueen, adding, “Buncombe County taxpayers will be picking up the tab instead of the responsible party.” Xpress broke the story… Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:00:53 -0500 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/122111green-scene-the-walls-fall http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/120711green-scene-the-root-of-the-problem The Blue Ridge Mountains are known the world over for the quality and diversity of their plant life, particularly ornamentals and medicinal herbs. Harvesting these treasures has been a fixture of life here for centuries, but assorted experts at the recent Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere Conference in Asheville said our forest products are being loved to death. It all probably started sustainably enough: Native Americans were collecting small amounts of medicinal herbs well before white folk arrived. Shipping logs from the early 1770s show English ships arriving on these shores filled with tea and departing with their holds… Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:00:05 -0500 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/120711green-scene-the-root-of-the-problem http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/110911green-scene-into-thin-air Recent attempts to undermine air-quality protections at both the federal and state levels could increase health risks for North Carolina residents, especially those with asthma and other lung conditions. Earlier this month, seven Southern states joined other states in filing a brief urging a federal court to delay a new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule regulating mercury emissions. The EPA introduced the proposal, known as the Utility MACT Rule, back in March after more than 20 years of delays and revisions, aiming to set the first national standards for emissions of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants by coal-fired power… Tue, 08 Nov 2011 13:59:32 -0500 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/110911green-scene-into-thin-air http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/102611green-scene-at-your-service As consumers, we’ve all heard the phrase “The customer is always right.” But what happens when the state agency charged with protecting human health and the environment starts calling the companies it’s supposed to regulate “customers”? A recent meeting in Asheville hosted by officials from the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources provided a glimpse. On Oct. 11, DENR officials held the seventh in a series of “listening sessions,” part of an ongoing effort to streamline the agency’s operations in response to budget cuts and complaints from regulated businesses. Input from the sessions will guide the department in developing… Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:44:21 -0400 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/102611green-scene-at-your-service http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/092811green-scene-superneighbor "Would you like a bottle of water?" asks Larry Rice as we complete a brief tour of his family’s property off Mills Gap Road in south Asheville. Rice’s parents bought the property adjacent to the CTS of Asheville plant in the mid-’70s, and for years, the family got its water from a natural spring on their property. The little wetland is still there, but it's now surrounded by a 6-foot chainlink fence; signs warn people not to drink or have any contact with the water. Over the years, neighbors have complained of many serious health problems, including rare tumors, immune… Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:59:30 -0400 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/092811green-scene-superneighbor http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/092111green-scene-rules-of-the-game In the years leading up to the 1972 Clean Water Act, pollution had rendered the French Broad River “too thick to drink and too thin to plow,” as acclaimed local historian Wilma Dykeman wrote. For generations, the river had been used as an open sewer, and sedimentation due to development, heavy metals, other industrial pollution and sewage waste routinely spurred massive fish kills. But in recent years, the river has been making a comeback, thanks to increased regulation and the efforts of many individuals and groups. To recognize those efforts, the Land-of-Sky Regional Council has for many years presented annual… Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:00:51 -0400 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/092111green-scene-rules-of-the-game http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/091411green-scene-the-past-is-prologue Who says there’s nothing new under the sun? Inspired by the days when isolated homesteads dotted Western North Carolina, a team of Appalachian State University students has designed a self-sufficient, “zero-energy” homestead that embraces the future. And this month, their creation goes head-to-head with 18 other entries in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon. The ASU entry features a compact, 864-square-foot home; outbuildings like those found on old-time homesteads expand solar-collection possibilities and overall square footage. The highly respected biennial competition challenges collegiate teams from around the world to design and build innovative, solar-powered dwellings. Each team must create… Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:00:52 -0400 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/091411green-scene-the-past-is-prologue http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/090711green-scene-two-if-by-sea Two local nonprofits, one shared vision: a series of campsites enabling paddlers to explore the 117 miles of French Broad River in Western North Carolina without having to retreat to civilization each night. RiverLink and the WNC Alliance are pursuing separate but complementary approaches to realizing the dream of a “paddle trail” from Rosman, N.C., to the Tennessee line. Currently, multiday paddle trips are difficult, because the river mostly flows through private land. The challenge is finding landowners willing to provide a small area where boaters can camp overnight. French Broad Riverkeeper Hartwell Carson, a staffer at the Alliance, recently… Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:00:53 -0400 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/090711green-scene-two-if-by-sea http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/083111green-scene-green-scene-the-creepy-crawlies Increasingly, local gardeners say they’re raising plants they couldn’t as little as 10 or 15 years ago. “I’m finding I can grow some Mediterranean crops — artichokes, lavender, okra — with ease now,” notes Asheville gardener Nan Chase, the author of Eat Your Yard! That may be a treat for passionate backyard growers, but it also throws a spotlight on a hotly debated topic in plant circles: zone creep. Lending urgency to the discussion is the pending release of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new Plant Hardiness Zone Map, due out later this year. A useful tool for professional plant… Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:00:53 -0400 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/083111green-scene-green-scene-the-creepy-crawlies http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/081711green-scene-natural-selection If the dog days of summer have left your home place looking a little tired, the Aug. 20 Green Home Tour just might provide some inspiration (see box, “The Grand Tour”). Organized by the Environmental & Conservation Organization of Hendersonville, the annual event aims to show local homeowners how they can enjoy a comfortable, attractive living space while saving money on their monthly bills. The self-guided tour, says Executive Director David Weintraub, will “showcase beautiful homes demonstrating that building green or renovating green doesn’t have to cost a lot and can save big-time in the long run.” ECO’s self-guided Green… Tue, 16 Aug 2011 15:00:51 -0400 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/081711green-scene-natural-selection http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/080311green-scene-starting-over Energized by Power Shift — an annual gathering of youth-led clean-energy and climate groups nationwide — UNCA students are hatching an ambitious vision of environmental justice and clean energy for all. It’s a daunting agenda, but the group is employing some time-tested grass-roots strategies — and learning as they go. Earth studies major Elizabeth Goyer says she returned from her first Power Shift in 2009 ready “to get UNCA completely off coal,” she recalls wryly. The group’s fervor cooled a bit in the face of hard realities (it’s tough to run a modern research program or a campus cafeteria without… Tue, 02 Aug 2011 21:00:53 -0400 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/080311green-scene-starting-over http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/072711green-scene-an-open-question A recent bid by neighbors of the contaminated former CTS of Asheville plant on Mills Gap Road to have the property condemned has taken a step forward. A group of residents requested the move at the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners’ June 21 meeting (see “On Retainers,” June 29 Xpress). Action by state and federal agencies to remediate the site has proceeded at a snail’s pace for decades. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering placing the abandoned electroplating plant on its National Priorities List, which would rank it among the nation’s most contaminated sites and might provide federal funding… Tue, 26 Jul 2011 21:00:54 -0400 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/072711green-scene-an-open-question http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/071311green-scene-a-glowing-report The imminent release of a report by the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future has revived fears of a high-level radioactive-waste repository in Western North Carolina. In the 1980s, local activists fought such a proposal to a standstill; mindful of that, concerned residents are tracking the commission’s activity. Established by President Obama last year, it’s charged with evaluating alternatives and making recommendations for storing, processing and disposing of spent fuel from nuclear power plants and related high-level waste. The draft report is due out July 29 (see box, “Sneak Peek”). But fears of an imminent WNC waste dump are… Tue, 12 Jul 2011 21:00:53 -0400 http://www.mountainx.com/features/2011/071311green-scene-a-glowing-report