Even More Press on Appalachia’s Bright Future

In the week following the Appalachia's Bright Future conference, we've seen a lot of great media about the event. Here's a quick roundup of the latest. From Making Connections News comes a radio story, "Building Appalachia's Bright Future:" In late April, leaders from across eastern Kentucky and Central Appalachia came together in the heart of Harlan County, at the Harlan Convention Center, to talk about the future of mountain communities.  Called Appalachia’s Bright Future, the conference was sponsored by Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, and aimed to build a new conversation about the unique opportunities and challenges the region faces at this pivotal moment in time.  A common theme articulated throughout the event was that, as our counties face more lay-offs and an uncertain future, everyone needs to be a part of the conversation for what comes next.  Here we’ll share just a few of the many voices from the weekend. Click here to listen! From the Lexington Herald-Leader, an op-ed called "Building a path to a just transition away from coal:" Citing the development of newly abundant and cheap natural gas and the depletion of easily accessible coal reserves, several dozen panelists called for a just transition away from coal. Workshops explored building local economies through arts and culture, a local food economy, land and stream reclamation, supporting entrepreneurship, sustainable forestry, expanding broadband internet access, and affordable housing. From the Louisville Courier-Journal, a column titled "Appalachia’s Bright Future Longtime Coming:" Though I live miles from the region, its beauty...

“Maybe we need a little crazy!”

What a weekend! The Appalachia's Bright Future conference was a huge success – over 200 people sharing ideas, strategies, hopes and projects that will help to build the Appalachian economy into something more homegrown, inclusive and resilient. These ideas ranged from supporting local farmers to developing eco-tourism infrastructure to worker-owned cooperatives. We heard from Brendan Smith, a fisherman from Newfoundland where the fishery collapse caused suffering much like the coal bust in Central Appalachia, who said, "Some of these ideas may seem crazy. But this is a time of transition – maybe we need a little crazy!" The "little bit of crazy" is also one of our biggest obstacles. It's clear we need to think differently about our economy, about what Appalachians are capable of, about what our future can be. "Deeply entrenched lowered expectations" hold us back, said Amelia Kirby, co-owner of Summit City Lounge in Whitesburg. Her sentiment was echoed throughout the weekend, as folks expressed frustration about all those people who say it's not possible – to any new idea, no matter what it is. We always hear "East Kentucky can't, East Kentucky won't," said Justin Maxson, president of MACED, "When did we start believing it – and why?" Gerry Roll, director of the Foundation for an Appalachian Kentucky, said it quite eloquently: "Our biggest challenge is imagining ourselves differently and then believing that it's worth it."  The conference was filled with people who believe that Appalchia is worth it, and now those folks are home and...

Sharp Decline in Coal Severance Tax Revenue Underscores Need for Economic Plan...

We are pleased to share with you this important piece from Jason Bailey at the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy:  New data showing that eastern Kentucky lost 4,000 coal jobs last year should raise alarm among public officials about the longstanding need for an economic transition plan. So should the big drop in eastern Kentucky coal severance tax receipts, which are 33 percent lower over the last 12 months than the previous year.   The coal severance tax is one potential resource for investments that help transition the regional economy. But from April 2012 through March 2013, eastern Kentucky generated only $154 million in coal severance tax revenue compared to $228 million the year before. The steep drop in the region’s severance tax revenue began last spring, as the graph below shows. Source: KCEP analysis of data provided by the Kentucky Department of Revenue and the Kentucky Department of Energy Development and Independence. Declining production is the major force behind lower severance tax receipts. In 2012, 28 percent less coal was mined in eastern Kentucky than in 2011. Several factors are driving this decline. Eastern Kentucky coal is becoming more expensive to mine due to diminishing reserves. Also important is natural gas, which has become a cheaper alternative to coal as a fuel for electric power. Rules dealing with coal’s impact on the air and water play a role as well.   When the coal severance tax was established in 1972, public officials should have dedicated most of its...

Local Leaders Discuss Solutions on Radio Show

It's clear that we can no longer ignore or wish away the staggering drop in coal employment in the region. While our elected leaders in Frankfort might not have any true solutions to offer, some of our local community leaders do. Recently, a few of them sat down with WMMT, the community-owned and operated radio station in Whitesburg, KY, to discuss what might be next "after coal" for Eastern Kentucky and Central Appalachia.  WYMT Mountain News, out of Hazard, covered the radio broadcast:  “We all have great ideas and big visions but when you get right down to it is the small day to day things that matter and that accumulate over time,” said attorney Tim Belcher.   Small business owner Amelia Kirby says those businesses have proven to be successful in Whitesburg.   “There's just that kind of energy that people think, ‘this place is not dying this place is alive and we want to be part of it,’” said Kirby. They say without some kind of economic development, the region's future is at stake.   “This is home, and it's a place where those of us who grew up here don't want to have to leave. And so it's on us to figure out what's next and figure out what has to work,” said Kirby. You can watch video of the show at the link above, and be sure to listen to the whole show here....

Great press on upcoming Appalachia’s Bright Future Conference...

Word is getting out about the "Appalachia's Bright Future" conference happening in Harlan on April 19-21. The program is full of great speakers, artists and workshops – you really don't want to miss it. The Hazard Herald just wrote a great article about the conference, here's an excerpt:   The community action organization Kentuckians for the Commonwealth will host the Appalachia’s Bright Future conference at the Harlan Center April 19-21. Gerry Roll, director of the Community Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky, a non-profit located in Chavies tasked with building local capacity for development, is a scheduled speaker during the Saturday sessions. She said she hopes this conference will serve as a jumping point to begin a dialogue about where Eastern Kentucky as a region is heading into the future.   “My hope is that lots of people with lots of different ideas will come together to think about what our future looks like, and to honor our past and where we’ve come from,” Roll said. “We have to acknowledge what the coal industry has done for us, what our leaders have done for us, what our community has done for us. We can look at what isn’t working now and what can work for the future, or what changes that might have to come that we may not have even thought about yet.” Be sure to read the whole article. And then go here to register if you haven't already! ...

New Opportunity School Changing Lives for Appalachian Women

After all the depressing news from the last post, here's something much more uplifting. The New Opportunity School for Women has been helping Appalachian women build their education, skills and self-confidence for 25 years now. Making Connections recently profiled this inspiring work on their radio program. Here's what they have to say: Women in Central Appalachia are more likely to struggle with unemployment and a lack of educational opportunities than are their male counterparts or women in many other parts of the country. But a small non-profit called the New Opportunity School for Women has spent the past quarter century working to assist women from Central Appalachia overcome the various obstacles that stand in the way of a college education and a career. Listen to the whole report...

Eastern Kentucky Hemorrhaging Coal Jobs – Where’s the Plan?...

Eastern Kentucky lost over 4,000 coal jobs in 2012, and production is down to its lowest levels since 1965. This news comes from the Kentucky Department of Energy Development and Independence, according to a press release issued by MACED today. And you can't blame the so-called "war on coal," because Western Kentucky coal employment stayed steady and its production actually increased 2.5%. The fact is, Central Appalachian coal is more expensive to mine, and its low sulfur content is no longer an advantage, now that most coal plants have adopted modern pollution-control technologies. The federal Energy Information Agency predicts that by 2020, Central Appalachian coal production will decline 70.8% from 2011 levels. These jobs are not coming back. So what's next? First and foremost, we need leaders who are willing to do the hard work of economic diversification. These layoffs, while tragic, are not a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention to energy trends. Too many of our elected officials seem to think that if they pass enough coal-friendly laws, Eastern Kentucky coal jobs will magically return. But you can't legislate thicker coal seams or flatter topography. You can't pass laws to make Powder River Basin coal more expensive.  MACED president Justin Maxson says it well in the press release:  "We recognize the serious hardship that these layoffs mean for many workers and communities in the region. It is abundantly clear that Eastern Kentucky needs strong leadership and more focus on growing a different economy," said Justin Maxson,...

Hazard Herald continues call for diversification

If it seems like we post a lot of editorials from the Hazard Herald, it's only because they have some great things to say about the need for economic diversification in Eastern Kentucky. This latest piece focuses on the upcoming closure of the Big Sandy coal-fired power plant in Lawrence County. The closure will have a big impact not just on coal-plant jobs, but also on mining jobs. The Big Sandy plant gets its coal exclusively from coal mines in Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia, and it used a lot of it. The editorial quotes the Lawrence County Judge-Executive: “Coal is Kentucky. Coal is West Virginia. I mean that’s just what we live off around these parts," but goes on to say: In reality, therein lies the problem. Our local economy is a single-minded one…. In Western Kentucky, according to our own reporting, there was a concerted effort to attract more jobs to the coal counties there. As of February 2013, of the counties in the Western Coalfields, only Muhlenberg recorded an unemployment rate of higher than 10 percent. The Western Coalfields’ average rate is 8 percent. And while their coal industry is doing better than ours, they don’t rely solely on coal to prop up their economy. And neither should we. How long do we have to repeat this refrain before our leaders start taking action? ...