Happy Holidays!

We're taking a break for the holidays and will be back after the New Year! Photo from Putnam County, WV courtesy of winterwanderland.com. I don't think we'll be having a white Christmas in Appalachia this...

NC Man Thinks Big with Sustainable Wood Furniture Business

In Western North Carolina, one man's wood furniture business is promoting both economic growth and sustainable forestry. The Asheville Citizen-Times wrote a lengthy article on Saturday about Appalachian Designs, the business of Lang Hornthal. Hornthal's commitment to the forest resources of the Appalachians has helped him build his business, and it's a model he is promoting through Root Cause, a marketing campaign for local wood products. He's even finding markets for overlooked woods like mountain laurel and rhododendron.  It's a promising story from a sector that's seen very hard times since the recession. But with Appalachia's enormous forest resources, it's a model to take a closer look at. Says the article, Like the trees populating the wooded mountains framed by his office window, it will take thousands of little efforts to change the landscape of the local economy. “…I’ve been able to maintain jobs and create new jobs that can be sustained,” he said. His big idea, however, is built of basic materials. “My plan is all about supporting local businesses, materials and being good stewards of the forest.” Click below to read the entire article.  Fairview craftsman aims to create jobs while maintaining region's forests Written by Carol Motsinger Lang Hornthal may be the owner of Appalachian Designs, but he’s not the boss. As the manufacturer of high-end custom rustic furniture, stairs and railings, Hornthal serves his materials. He relinquishes much of his artistic control to his local forest products, as the shape, color and texture of the wood...

Prestonsburg Meeting Digs Into Transition Conversation

A group of nearly twenty-five dedicated folks gathered in Prestonsburg, KY on Monday to dig deeper into the ideas of economic transition. With coal production in a prolonged decline and headed for a steep drop, the need for new opportunities for Appalachia is critical. The Alliance for Appalachia, which hosted the meeting, brought the group together to share knowledge and explore the potential for collaboration.  Breakout groups focused on entrepreneurship, forests and farms, youth and leadership development, renewable energy and energy efficiency, media, health, and a number of other topics. One common theme was the need for a new land ownership study; Carol Judy, a root digger and activist from east Tennessee said that it's hard to build a sustainable economy when you only have access to 20 percent of the resources. At the same time, Judy described the enormous potential in non-timber forest products like ginseng, ramps and goldenseal: an over $40-billion dollar a year industry where 400 of the roots grow in Appalachia.  Other discussions focused around the need to gather the research that shows the value of local economic development over attracting outside businesses; on how to keep young people engaged in the region; on how to tell our stories and spread the message of transition. It was a long, but productive day, and when it was over, participants described feeling "energized," "connected," and "inspired." As West Virginia activist Dianne Bady put it, "It feels great to be FOR something instead of just against...

Solar Predictions from SunRun: In 2012 Americans Will See Solar as a Way to Save, Not a Science Project...

With groups like the Kentucky Solar Energy Society, the Kentucky Solar Partnership, and businesses like Avery and Sun and Solar Energy Solutions working hard to support the availability, production, and installation of solar energy in Kentucky – these predictions could be true for us too!  Read on to see what SunRun sees for solar in America over the next year. As reported in TreeHugger: Home solar company SunRun has taken a look at what we can expect from the solar industry in 2012. According to SunRun, adoption among mainstream consumers will grow as solar prices continue to drop. At the same time, the industry will see significant consolidation and enduring leaders will emerge. Here is a list of SunRun’s predictions: Solar gets even cheaper: The installed cost of solar dropped by more than 30 percent in the past year and price decreases will continue. Module prices could drop an additional 20% by the end of 2012, putting solar in reach for more American families. A Darwinian year: Industry consolidation is inevitable in 2012 with incentives such as the 1603 Treasury Grant Program likely disappearing and oversupply pushing manufacturers to cut prices. While difficult, this consolidation will clarify the industry’s enduring leaders. Solar leasing options trump cash: As Americans learn they can install solar on their roofs without buying the panels, they prefer it.  This option, known as solar power service or solar leasing, was nearly 60 percent of the home solar market in California by the end of 2011...

Tapping Local Wealth: Community Foundations and Transition

Ivy Breshear wrote a piece yesterday for the Rural Blog featuring some of the great work being done by community foundations across Appalachia.  Specifically, community foundations like the Community Foundation of Hazard and Perry County are trying to tap the local resources and wealth held within Appalachian communities into funding longer-term pools of investment for the future of our communities.  This kind of long-term thinking is exactly what we need to support a sustained transition effort, and we're glad to see coverage of these ideas in both the Rural Blog and the Herald Leader! Breshear writes: Local non-profit community foundations, like the Community Foundation of Hazard and Perry County in southeastern Kentucky encourage local philanthropy and community development by tapping into local or expatriate wealth. Now, that group, with three other area non-profits, is using a $1 million grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to help 11 other counties establish community foundations as part of the newly created Appalachian Rural Development Philanthropy Initiative. The 11 counties are Bell, Clay, Elliott, Knott, Knox, Lawrence, Letcher, Lewis, Magoffin, Martin and Whitley. Tom Eblen of the Lexington Herald-Leader writes in his column the initiative's goal in those counties is to "tap into local resources and focus them in meaningful ways," like providing funds for education, the arts, health care, the environment and housing. There are about 700 community foundations across the U.S., mostly in large cities, though some in rural Iowa and Montana have been very successful. Eblen writes the initiative faces...

Recognizing Transition Leaders: Lauderdale and Maxson Making a Splash...

It has been a good week for two of the leading voices in the Appalachian Transition dialogue. Kentuckians For The Commonwealth Executive Director Burt Lauderdale has been invited to address the mid-year graduates of Berea College and receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters from College President Larry Shinn.  In announcing the decision to honor Lauderdale, Berea College notes "As executive director of KFTC for nearly two decades, Lauderdale has been a driving force behind numerous effective legislative and grassroots campaigns which have helped improve the quality of life in Eastern Kentucky and the commonwealth while growing the organization to 7,000 members in more than 90 counties." Another Transition voice, KFTC's Organizing Director Lisa Abbott, has this to say about her colleague Burt: “He is one of those rare individuals who are both visionary and deeply committed to democratic process and collaborative leadership,” says Lisa Abbott, director of organizing and leadership development for KFTC. “His entire career has been dedicated to developing grassroots leaders and building democratic organizations in order to bring about social change and a higher quality of life in Appalachia and across Kentucky.” We are proud of you Burt! And if that wasn't enough, MACED's President Justin Maxson is featured as part of Grist's Change Gang, featuring "profiles of people who are leading change on the ground toward a more sustainable society and a greener planet".  In interviewing Maxson, Grist's Andrew Leonard observes: Even though only about 1 percent of Kentucky's labor force is employed in the...

Put Appalachia on the Map!

One of our favorite energy journalists (and native Tennesseean) David Roberts posted two great maps from consulting firm Black & Veatch in his column yesterday on Grist.  The first looks at non-hydro renewable energy projects installed across the United States as of 1970: Roberts observes three things about this map: "One, there weren't very many! Two, they weren't very big. And three, they were all biomass. In other words, in 1970, renewable energy in the U.S. was effectively nonexistent. Some of the biomass projects even in the early days take place in central and southern Virginia, and on the West Virginia/Virginia border.  Other parts of the Southeast also show up with biomass projects.  But the rest of the country catapults past these pioneering renewable energy projects from the 1970s on. The second map shows a more recent picture, illustrating non-hydro renewable energy projects that are built or planned today: It is definitely a more robust picture, with lots of different kinds of technologies being installed across the country. But if you look closely, there's a pretty big corridor in Central Appalachia that doesn't have much to show in the way of renewable energy projects.  It is a big difference from the sea of purple showing wind farms in Texas, or the boxes of yellow showing solar installations in the Southwest.  Even the Northeast shows a mix of technologies popping up with such frequency that the map shows them on top of each other. We need to put Appalachia on...

Webinar: Got Broadband? Building Businesses on Rural Broadband Investments...

USDA invites you to join us on Wednesday, December 14, to learn more about the opportunities presented by new broadband investments made through USDA Rural Development’s broadband programs in rural communities across the country. You will hear from several USDA representatives as well as representatives from innovative companies that are taking advantage of broadband to attract and develop businesses in rural America. Who Should Attend Rural entrepreneurs or business leaders interested in how they can leverage new broadband connectivity to start a business or grow their existing business. Local elected officials and economic development specialists interested in examples of how they can attract business investment and stimulate their economies through domestic sourcing. Presenters Doug O’Brien, Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development, USDA Dallas Tonsager, Under Secretary for Rural Development, USDA Jonathan Adelstein, Administrator of Rural Utilities Service, USDA Judith Canales, Administrator of Rural Business Service, USDA Matthew Kazmierczak, Senior Vice President, Tech America, a leading national technology trade association. Joe Burmester, CEO, Ruralogic, Rural-based domestic provider of information technology and business process consulting services. Jim “Griff” Griffin, Sr. Manager of Community and Development, eBay, connecting millions of buyers and sellers across the globe through eBay, PayPal, GSI and other technology-based businesses. Webcast Logistics When: December 14 Time: 11:30 a.m. ET Webcast Access Preregistration is not required. You can join the webcast with the following information. Meeting ID: 714 213 707 Pass code: United To join the online meeting 1. Go to https://rurdev.webex.com/rurdev/j.php?ED=166646542&UID=0&PW=NMmViNjNjYzc3&RT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D 2. Enter your name and email address....