The Solarize rate of $2.45 per watt of electricity generation is roughly 9% cheaper than the statewide average of $2.67 per watt listed by EnergySage, an industry website. The program, spearheaded by the nonprofit Blue Horizons Project, is able to offer the discount through bulk purchasing of solar equipment for Buncombe County residents.
Local projects target carbon through agriculture
“What is emerging is the idea that we’re now able to quantify what’s happening,” says Jennifer Harrison, agriculture and land resource director for Buncombe County, about the ability of farmers to combat climate change through practices like cover cropping and rotational grazing.
Racial justice in the local arts community, one year later
Local artists and arts leaders discuss the state of racial justice in the creative community, one year after George Floyd’s murder and the Black Lives Matter protests.
Green in brief: American Chestnut Foundation, EBCI plan long-term restoration work
“I hope that one day in the future — 200, 500, 1,000 years from now — those generations can stand next to a 6- or 8-foot diameter chestnut tree in our mountains and be able to trace the story of that tree back to today,” said Joey Owle, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians secretary of agriculture and natural resources, in a press release announcing the agreement.
Local stores take different tacks to pandemic-era bulk sales
Bulk sections, where customers bring their own containers, can cut substantial plastic waste from the shopping experience. Yet concerns over coronavirus transmission have led some co-ops to change how they offer bulk products or even stop them altogether.
New translation of the Tao Te Ching applies ancient wisdom to 21st-century experience
In early April, Mars Hill University professor of religious studies Marc Mullinax debuted his new book, Tao Te Ching: Power for the Peaceful, a translation and interpretation that blends a scholarly awareness of the text’s original historical context with an accessible connection to the contemporary American experience.
Smith Mill Works companies envision a resilient future Asheville
Smith Mill Works is a sprawling, formerly abandoned greenhouse complex in West Asheville. The property’s revitalization began with in 2014 with the involvement of Michael Klatt. Now home to a diverse array of resilient businesses, the facility provides insight and inspiration toward a sustainable future for Asheville and the region.
Local bands persevere through pandemic shakeups
Local bands have sustained and grown their fan bases through various creative means during the COVID-19 pandemic.
From Asheville Watchdog: Can Asheville become more than beer and bears?
Asheville could prosper, believes Mack Pearsall, by monetizing a unique yet little-known asset: Its federal archive of climate and weather data — the largest such collection among all the nations on Earth — curated by a local talent bank that includes several Nobel laureates and scores of climate scientists.
Cooperative purchasing offers new ways to save
The WNC Purchasing Alliance, along with Solarize Asheville-Buncombe, promise to lower costs and shift how consumers choose to spend their dollars.
Robert Eidus protects Appalachia’s medicinal plants
“[Ginseng] has tremendous benefits to the human body,” says Eidus.
Regional land trusts celebrate major donations
On April 22, the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy shared news of a 7,500-acre donation in the Roan Highlands. That same day, Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina announced a 332-acre donation along Wilson Creek.
Taking Action: Maayan Chelsea is nourishing the soul
“There’s a desire to grow food that is deeply nourishing and has all the minerals and love in it that humans need to survive,” says Maayan Chelsea of Soul Gardens. “We find that just taking it back into our own hands is the best way to achieve food sovereignty.”
Talking trash: As Asheville grows, its waste does too
All signs indicate that the area’s growth isn’t going to slow down anytime soon. Making good on waste-reduction goals has become significantly harder with more people entering the equation, but local waste management teams say that just means it’s time to double down on their efforts.
Adam Warwick is on fire
For decades, the prevailing narrative around fire has been one of destruction and devastation. Adam Warwick, stewardship manager for the Nature Conservancy of North Carolina’s Southern Blue Ridge chapter, is working to break that misconception.
Trout in trouble: Habitat protection key for brook trout in warming climate
Ongoing habitat loss and warming temperatures present an existential threat to Western North Carolina’s only native trout species, the brook trout.
Climate change sparks mental health concerns
For activists like Victoria Estes, environmental scientists and others, the existential threat of climate change is taking an increasing toll on their mental health and well-being.
Local artists work to inspire a picturesque America
For over a decade, local artists Scott “Doc” Varn has been searching out sites depicted in the 1870s publication Picturesque America. In more recent years, he’s put together a coalition of artists to reinterpret these sites as a way to draw greater attention the conversation movement.
Carolina Beer Guy: Breweries join recycling co-op
To help reduce industry waste, Sierra Nevada has partnered with American Recycling of Western North Carolina to create the WNC Brewery Recycling Cooperative, a drop-off site in Candler.
Taking action: Stephanie Hickling Beckman
The Different Strokes managing artistic director discusses her theater company’s plans to sustain momentum built during summer 2020’s BLM protests and enact lasting change.
Asheville’s new hotel system awards points for sustainable lodging
Asheville, home to more than 8,465 hotel rooms and counting, is providing a pathway for hotel operators to rack up some major brownie points by incorporating sustainable features and practices in plans for new hotel construction.