“The primary purpose of zoning laws should be to mitigate these externalized costs, to prevent development from being a burden on the community.”
Tag: environment
Showing 22-42 of 390 results
Letter: Ullman offers qualifications and experience
“In my years as a reporter, a Council member and a city voter, I’ve not seen a more qualified and experienced entrant to the Asheville political scene.”
Letter: Insist that local government takes the long view
“Buncombe County as a whole is actively ‘paving paradise to put up a parking lot.'”
Letter: Dare to vote
“This means that Super Tuesday’s results, your vote, may very well decide whether we have candidates who have the wisdom to preserve civilization or send it tumbling into violent, freedom-less, ecologically demolished chaos.”
Letter: ‘Conserve’ doesn’t reflect actions
“However, I get confused applying the term conserve, as stated by Mr. [Carl] Mumpower, to a few of the 95 regulations the current administration has rolled back.”
Readers shared views on development, politics, the environment and more in 2019
How did Xpress readers process all the local news and changes this year? Here’s a look at the topics that generated the most commentaries, letters to the editor and online comments in Xpress in 2019.
Flurry of activity
ASHEVILLE, N.C.
Letter: Go local and organic to help environment
“These and many other reasons speak against plain going vegan and feeling great about it; it speaks for education, and mostly it speaks for going local.”
Letter: Whose side is McHenry on?
“His records show consistent support for extreme legislation and nullifying of standards that have been put in place to protect the environment and our public health and safety.”
The gross is always greener
ASHEVILLE, N.C.
Byron Ballard’s latest book gives a prophetic warning
In her new book ‘Earth Works: Ceremonies in Tower Time,’ Byron Ballard forecasts dark days ahead as patriarchy gasps its last breaths. But she also offers hope with practical strategies for rebuilding from the waste.
Birds have heard
ASHEVILLE, NC
Tragedy of errors
ASHEVILLE, NC
Letter: We must rekindle the fire of resistance
“To prevent the demise of our democracy, we must participate in it.”
Making the grade: WNC’s college dining programs get high scores for sustainability
Increasingly, U.S. colleges and universities are working to make their institutions as environmentally sustainable as possible. These efforts cover a broad spectrum, from a recycling initiative at Stanford University that diverts 65 percent of the school’s solid waste away from landfills to Cornell’s plan to be carbon-neutral by 2035, as noted in The Princeton Review’s annual ranking […]
Despite environmental concerns, salt still most effective de-icer
To keep cars from slipping and sliding — and crashing and smashing — when weather conditions turn roads icy, the city of Asheville and the N.C. Department of Transportation treat local motorways with salt. While the substance can impact water quality and the health of wildlife, officials say they mostly succeed in balancing environmental and traffic safety concerns.
Letter: Thanks to commissioners for renewable energy vote
“Brownie Newman, Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, Al Whitesides and Ellen Frost voted in favor, and the three Republicans made speeches about how they support the environment before voting no.”
Last days to give to Give!Local nonprofits
Those wishing to help Give!Local nonprofits need to do so by midnight Dec. 31. Donors can choose any of 37 local nonprofits and give any amount, from $1 on up, doing so with just one online transaction at givelocalguide.org. The 37 nonprofits are organized according to their areas of focus: community, youth, animals, arts, environment, […]
WNC residents rail against Duke rate hike
A banner drop across from a Sept. 27 public hearing of the N.C. Utilities Commission signaled Asheville’s rejection of Duke Energy Progress’ plan to raise rates almost 15 percent. “Go 100% renewable. No rate hikes for Duke’s dirty energy,” read the banner. A lineup of 44 speakers echoed those sentiments over the course of a nearly four-hour hearing.
White nose syndrome is devastating WNC bat populations
The bad news for bat populations throughout the United States continues, and Western North Carolina is no exception. In one large Haywood County mine that was home to 4,000 bats in 2011, researchers found only 30 this winter.
Letter: Environmental protest deserved coverage
“I know there is an element in our area which hopes to eliminate the voices of the people. Yet I would have thought the news media would acknowledge such a large gathering.”