Office workers in the Public Service Building on Wall St. reported feeling a marked shaking as an earthquake rippled through the area just before 2:00 Tuesday afternoon; other folks didn’t notice the temblor. UNC-Asheville geologist Bill Miller explains—and says area residents needn’t be surprised if another earthquake moves this mountain metropolis.
Photo by Jonathan Welch.
Author: Susan Andrew
Showing 85-105 of 186 results
Hidden wonders
Each year, some 40,000 visitors walk the loop trail that ambles beneath Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest’s majestic canopy. Trees up to 400 years old tower over a rich carpet of ferns and wildflowers. A recent rededication ceremony marked the memorial’s 75th anniversary
Green 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 […]
Bee the Change: Honeybees point the way to a better world
It’s National Honeybee Day this Saturday, Aug. 20, and in spite of the threats facing honeybee populations in many areas, the Asheville-based Friends of Honeybees wants to celebrate. Taking its name from the familiar quote from Mahatma Gandhi, FOHB’s new “Bee the Change” campaign plans to donate a portion of its income to other non-profit causes, whether or not they relate directly to honey bees.
Not so fast on Superfund status: EPA reports delay in decision on CTS site
Superfund status for the CTS site likely won’t be decided in September: EPA officials recently told residents that placing the contaminated Mills Gap Road site on the federal National Priorities List — a key move toward Superfund status and cleanup — may be delayed.
Photo by Jonathan Welch
Bent Creek Experimental Forest burn set for Thursday, Aug. 11
The Forest Service says it will conduct a prescribed burn it’s been planning at Bent Creek Thursday, Aug. 11. The targeted area includes forest stands near the Lake Powhatan Recreation Area, adjacent to Forest Service roads 479 and 664. The burn will take place if weather and other environmental conditions continue to favor it, according to an agency checklist; the desired conditions are in the local weather forecast for Thursday.
Photo by Jonathan Welch
Green 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 […]
Chevy Volt arrives in Asheville; City and County flag efforts to shrink our carbon footprint
Leaders from Asheville and Buncombe County governments and a host of nonprofit organizations gathered at the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce Thursday morning, July 28, for the Land-Of-Sky Regional Council’s unveiling of the 2011 Chevy Volt, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, which General Motors boasts has lower emissions and is less expensive to operate than a regular hybrid vehicle, such as the Toyota Prius. Xpress’ environmental reporter Susan Andrew was invited to take the Volt for a spin.
Green 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 […]
Asheville-based National Climate Data Center turns 60
_thumb.jpg)
Weather Channel junkies, you are not alone. People have been obsessed with weather — and recording weather observations — for quite some time. Retro outfits and mod hairdos are no longer on view, but the Asheville-based National Climate Data Center celebrated its 60th birthday last week, and the center wants folks to know about the fascinating weather and climate information it has collected over the years.
Forest Service identifies general time for prescribed burn at Bent Creek, week of July 25
If you see smoke in the Bent Creek area this coming week, it’s likely part of a research project: If weather conditions remain safe, the USDA Forest Service says it will conduct a prescribed burn sometime during the week of July 25. The burn is being done for research purposes on the Bent Creek Experimental Forest near Lake Powhatan, southwest of Asheville, say officials at the Southern Research Station of the USDA Forest Service.
Photo by Jonathan Welch
Deadly bat disease suspected in Buncombe County
The deadly bat disease known as white-nose syndrome is probably present in Buncombe County, according to a new report from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. The news raises the number of affected counties in Western North Carolina to four. Since its initial appearance in a New York cave in 2006. the fungal disease has killed bats at a startling rate. Biologists worry that mortality from the disease is so high, we may be witnessing an extinction event.
Photo by Jonathan Welch
“No Nukes — No Kidding,” demonstrators proclaimed Friday, July 15
A group of around 50 protestors, accompanied by a small marching band and a large, mock nuclear waste cask, carried signs from a rally at Pritchard Park to the Federal Building late Friday afternoon, July 15. Their message: nuclear waste is not welcome traveling on area roadways, nor in a repository once proposed for north Buncombe County.
Photos by Jerry Nelson.
Contaminated former CTS site moves closer to condemnation
A recent bid by residents near the contaminated former CTS of Asheville plant on Mills Gap Road to have the property condemned has taken a step forward. A Buncombe County inspection from last week reveals numerous holes in the roof, missing doors and window glass, and related damage that “doesn’t seem feasible to repair.”
Photo courtesy of EPA.
Green 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, […]
There’s a glow in the Smokies tonight: Nuclear waste and WNC **UPDATED**
Our research on the past and present of nuclear waste in WNC dug up two interesting campaign items from a 1980s citizen-based effort to keep radioactive waste out of the community. The campaign, which resulted in Madison County commissioners adopting a resolution against nuclear waste transit on county roadways, featured a photo of local music producer Steven Heller wearing a hazmat suit and seated on a tractor, as if plowing a field of contaminated soil. The photo was part of a campaign that appeared on billboards with the catch-phrase, “Don’t think it can’t happen here.” Heller produced a piece of music written to support the campaign (listen to it within); go ahead and sing along as “…the bears in the park/Are glowing in the dark/There’s a glow in the Smokies tonight.”
Look for a full report on nuclear-waste facts, fiction and fears in the July 13 Mountain Xpress.
Green Scene: Good news, bad news
Women in several Western North Carolina counties aren't living as long as they used to. The details come in a new report, “Falling Behind: Life Expectancy in U.S. Counties from 2000 to 2007 in an International Context,” which appeared June 15 online at PopulationHealthMetrics.com. “For women, you have barely any counties [in the Deep South […]
Green Scene: Smoke gets in your eyes
Most visitors to our national forests probably worry about things like getting lost or perhaps having a close encounter with a snake or bear, but a May 26 news release from the National Forests of North Carolina calls attention to another potential hazard: “While only a fraction of the National Forest System lands are affected […]
Green Scene: Up in smoke
For longer than many of us can remember, the U.S. Forest Service’s Smokey Bear campaign has featured the paternal bruin, in his ranger’s hat, delivering the emphatic warning: “Only YOU can prevent forest fires.” Maybe so, but the Forest Service is also pitching in: Hundreds of millions of public dollars are spent annually in an […]
SEE Expo ends after 10-year run
Organizers of the annual Southern Energy & Environment Expo announced yesterday that the exhibition is ended, after a 10-year run for the three-day event. They also announced the closing of Our Southern Community Center, opened earlier this year to provide year-round public access to sustainability tools and information. The center will close June 11, when it holds a ‘gone out of business’ sale offering solar products and office furniture.
Green Scene: What’s new, pussycat?
Cougar brothers The WNC Nature Center’s cougar exhibit reopened last month with some new energy: two eight-month-old cubs. Born in the wild in Oregon, wildlife-agency found the then-six-week-old brothers after they had apparently been abandoned by their mother. At first, the cougars stayed at the Oregon Zoo in Portland, home of the Association of Zoos […]