Green Jobs—Not Just for Blue States

Posted today on RenewableEnergyWorld.com by Kristin Tracz The Climate Bill is dead. Comprehensive action on energy and climate change issues is not likely to come from the federal government any time soon. One of the oft-repeated opposition mantras is that times are too tough to think about climate action – and the costs that curbing emissions might impose would heavily impact those who can afford additional costs the least. But in fact, it is exactly because of the economic landscape and the massive shedding of jobs in historically significant sectors that makes now the ideal time to make strategic public investments in our shared clean energy future. Without leadership from the feds, states are taking matters into their own hands. And it’s not just the usual suspects that are or can make progress in clean energy development. Like many parts of the US, the Great Recession has not spared my state of Kentucky. The state has lost 101,000 jobs since the recession began—40,000 in the manufacturing sector and nearly 19,000 in construction. Just since December 2007, the state has lost 16% of its manufacturing jobs and 23% of its construction employment. The loss of these jobs has contributed to keeping Kentucky at or above 10% unemployment for much of the last two years. This impact is especially devastating for Kentucky’s working families, who have relied heavily on factory and construction work to provide decent, family-sustaining incomes. Even as the economy recovers, the viability of these sectors is questionable—the housing...

Access to Capital for Small Businesses in Tennessee

Entrepreneurs in Tennessee should check out the Rural Small Business and Entrepreneurship Loan Fund of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. The purpose of the loan fund is to help small businesses throughout rural Tennessee grow and maintain their businesses. The loan fund provides an alternative source of capital to business owners who can’t get conventional bank loans and don’t want to use credit cards. Technical assistance is also provided. Typical clients are small businesses that -have five or fewer employees, including the owners.-have more than one year in business.-generate enough business income to support their expenses.-have good or mixed credit. Loans can be used for business expansion, equipment and machinery, inventory or working capital, tenant improvements, and commercial business vehicles. Amounts range from $500 to $10,000 for a term of 6 months to 5 years. The website includes a handy loan calculator that allows users to estimate the monthly payment by changing the loan amount, interest rate, and years. Click here for information on how to apply for a loan. About Kristin TraczKristin Tracz served MACED’s Research and Policy team from 2009-2012 working on clean energy policy, energy efficiency programs and the Appalachian Transition Initiative. She joined MACED after finishing her Master of Environmental Management degree at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. She now lives and works in Washington,...

Broadband: Four Legislative Steps To Ensure Economic Growth

Reposted from the entry at West Virginia Blue, originally posted there on 12/20. Broadband: Four Legislative Steps To Ensure Economic Growth by: Fabiola Carrion PSN (Hi, West Virginia Blue community! As the FCC is about to issue a long-awaited ruling on the regulation of high-speed internet, broadband expansion will be a critical issue for West Virginia state legislators in the coming session. The following diary was originally posted at ProgressiveStates.org. Please leave any thoughts in the comments below!) A middle-school student needs to do her homework: she needs the internet. A small business owner needs to purchase supplies for his inventory: he needs the internet. A recently laid-off head of a household needs to file for unemployment benefits: he needs the internet. And they just don't need the internet. They need high-speed internet, otherwise known as broadband. Dial-up access may have been sufficient for a 20th-century economy. But as our nation becomes more and more reliant on the internet in everyday life, dial-up doesn't allow a middle-school student to download museum files from her rural home in Arkansas, a small business owner to purchase needed supplies from a vendor, or a father who was just laid-off to apply easily for unemployment benefits to feed his family. Still think that broadband is a luxury? Think again. Broadband is the infrastructure needed for our nation's economic survival. More than one-third of the U.S. population is currently digitally disconnected. Our country languishes in 15th place in the world in broadband penetration. If...

Roadmaps to New Power: WMMT Radio Brings Together Coal Miners and Tree Huggers on the Airways...

More in the "Roadmaps to New Power" series author Jeff Biggers has been chronicling Huffington Post. We are thrilled to see our allies — like Appalshop — featured in national media and hope to keep the conversation going! This post originally appeared on December 17, 2010. by Jeff Biggers [HuffPo] Editor's note: "Roadmaps to New Power" will be a series of interviews with activists, residents, entrepreneurs and industry analysts about current plans and visions for a just transition to clean energy and sustainable economic development in coalfield communities around the nation. Marking its 25th anniversary last month, Appalshop's WMMT-FM radio transmits from Pine Mountain in eastern Kentucky as the voice of the central Appalachian coalfields. As one of the most unique community radio stations in the nation, that "voice" is neither bound by its regional border or limited to a singular view. From traditional Appalachian music and its bluegrass offspring to Americana, Celtic, Kid's Radio, jazz, blues, big band, gospel, hip-hop, ska, punk, zydeco, and rock, Whitesburg, KY-based WMMT also serves as a rare forum for often differing views on coal mining and politics, and the growing recognition for a just transition toward sustainable energy development in the region. Instead of faltering to the neat'n'tidy cultural divide by the outside media that pits coal miners against environmentalists, WMMT listeners and volunteer programmers are shaping one of the most important discussions in the coalfields and across on the nation for new power trends by celebrating their shared love for Appalachian...

Interesting implications for forestry management programs here in Appalachia — like the Appalachian Carbon Partnership and the Appalachian Forest Research Center. Technology like Google Earth has great potential to help show big picture, cumulative impact imagery to help our communities better understand the choices we have in managing our resources. Originally posted December 15, 2010 on the Nonprofit Quarterly by James David Morgan. December 14, 2010; Source: Mercury News | The decisions made at last week's UN climate summit in Cancun, Mexico, have made headlines, but one important announcement by Google may have passed by most readers. Earth Engine, new software developed by Google, will map forest conditions worldwide, and make the data available to anyone with Internet access. Google's satellite imagery will provide states, nonprofits, and researchers with data on deforestation, the practice that accounts for nearly 15 percent of greenhouse gas emissions each year. The software will make it easier and less costly to implement forest-monitoring programs, a prerequisite for the summit's plan to restore and preserve forests where they are the most essential to combating greenhouse gases. In the video below, Google describes Earth Engine as an environmental watch program that anyone can use. The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and Google's philanthropic arm are funding the program, which not only assists nonprofits, but also is a product of their making—nonprofits from around the world, including climate advocates and universities, collaborated with Google. Additionally, Google is donating 10 million computing hours per year for the next...

EPA Seeks Comments on New Web-based Tool for Accessing Wastewater Pollutant Discharge Information...

EPA Seeks Comments on New Web-based Tool for Accessing Wastewater Pollutant Discharge Information: “Beta” Version Now Available The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a “beta” version of a new web-based tool that allows anyone to search and identify the amount, type, and location of wastewater pollutant discharges and the identity of the discharger. EPA is seeking comments on how to improve this tool and on the accuracy of the discharge monitoring data supporting it. This new tool supports the Agency’s Clean Water Act Action Plan, which seeks to improve transparency of information and public knowledge about pollutant releases that may cause water quality impairments. See the Plan at: http://www.epa.gov/oecaerth/civil/cwa/cwaenfplan.html. EPA has designed the tool for two main audiences: (1) members of the general public (concerned citizens, researchers), and (2) technical users (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit writers, watershed modelers, and regulatory agencies). The increased access to wastewater pollutant discharge data will allow for better transparency of wastewater pollutant discharges and enhanced utility of the data. Specifically, technical users of the new tool can enhance their development of NPDES permit effluent limits, improve their watershed pollution budget plans, and refine their modeling of watersheds. EPA will accept comments on the new tool through February 4, 2011. This two-month period will also allow reviewers to submit requests to EPA to correct any data they suspect is in error. To access the “beta” version of the tool go to: http://www.epa.gov/pollutantdischarges/. For more information, contact Carey Johnston at . About...

Reason to Believe in Environmental Justice: Coalfields Hero Judy Bonds...

As part of Jeff Biggers' on-going look at New Power efforts throughout the Coalfields, he profiles the efforts of the great Judy Bonds. This story originally appeared on Huffington Post on December 15. Reason to Believe in Environmental Justice: Coalfields Hero Judy Bonds   by Jeff Biggers   As the White House convenes the first ever forum on environmental justice today, millions of pounds of explosives detonating across the historic ranges and communities in our nation's first frontier of Appalachia, it might be easy to slip into a state of despair over the future of besieged coalfield residents. Yet, as we head into another winter of discontent in the coalfields, Judy Bonds, the indefatigable Goldman Prize-winning activist in the Coal River Valley of West Virginia, always gives me a reason to believe in the still small possibility of environmental justice in America. (from Americans Who Tell the Truth) Failed attempts at improved mine safety legislation last week have been shamelessly matched by the failure of the hand-wringing Obama administration this year to halt reckless mountaintop removal operations that have left parts of Appalachia in ruin. Mountaintop removal coal provides less than 8 percent of our nation's coal production–and yet, it provides one of the most enduring examples of environmental crimes, economic ruin and human rights violations in our times. Nearly two years ago on a bitterly cold day in Washington, DC, Bonds riveted a huddled crowd at the Capital Power Plant by calling on our nation to envision a...

New Census Data: Telling Stories Block by Block

New data released by the American Community Survey (ACS) reveals information about county level data, such as income levels, educational attainment rates, and housing patterns. As reported in the Courier-Journal, “Kentucky has 13 counties, mostly in the eastern part of the state, whose median household incomes are below $25,000 — including Owsley County, which also has the nation's smallest percentage of bachelor's degrees, new U.S. Census Bureau data shows.” Ron Crouch, the director of research and statistics for the state’s Office of Employment and Training told the Courier-Journal, “the median income recorded in Eastern Kentucky is lower because many aren't reporting their earnings or aren't employed at all. Instead, Crouch said, many are working in an “underground economy” that relies on cash payment for odd jobs, construction and other work.” The New York Times has developed a tool overlaying the ACS data from 2005 – 2009 on an interactive map that allows for searching by zip code, city or census tract.The resulting map reveals powerful information about local areas and shows the disparities and differences even among neighboring towns in our region.A look at the Hazard, KY area on the NYT map shows a wide swing of income changes since the 2000 Census.Some areas are practically unchanged, with only a slight loss or gain.But some of the communities surrounding Hazard have changed significantly with a 20% or more increase in household median incomes, like Bulan, Busy, Chavies and Vicco.Other communities have not been as fortunate, experiencing 20% or more...