Thanks to the increase in rainfall this year — leading to wet, saturated conditions perfect for mosquito breeding — the community may need to take extra precautions to avoid them, say local health officials.
Tag: environment
Showing 106-126 of 387 results
So brazen, so bold: the groundhog
Tell me someone else has noticed that the groundhogs are plotting a takeover. In fact, it may already be underway. (Image via WikiCommons, author: D. Gordon E. Robertson)
Bugged out: Kids take part in Cradle of Forestry’s annual event
Families trickle into the Cradle of Forestry for Bug Day, an annual celebration of all things insect. A full day of crafts and bug hunts await eager children and their parents at the event, which gives community members the chance to better know oft-misunderstood arthropods — especially the subgroup of species we call “bugs.”
Local conference highlights renewable energy economy
Of the 30 utility-scale solar projects built in the Southeast last year, 21 were in North Carolina. That’s the kind of good news business leaders heard when they gathered June 19 in Asheville to celebrate the successes and discuss the challenges facing the rapidly growing renewable energy industry. (pictured: Ivan Urlaub of the N.C. Sustainable Energy Association; photo by Max Cooper)
Code Red: How this team helped stop MSD’s record April 30 sewage spill
Many more millions of gallons of sewage might have flowed into the French Broad River on April 30, but the Metropolitan Sewerage District’s “code red” team — staffers Mark Ferris, Mike Ball, Bob Triplett, Grady Brooks — had not voluntarily plunged into the pool of raw sewage surrounding the pumps to find the missing closure plate and shut off the culprit valve. (Photos by Max Cooper)
Conference will explore ‘Clean Energy in the Mountains’
A June 19 conference in downtown Asheville will explore how clean-energy technologies contribute to the local economy.
Landslide! In the debris field with geologist Rick Wooten
Standing at the pull-off on a gravel road near an unmarked trail in the Bent Creek Experimental Forest, geologist Rick Wooten tightens his black webbed utility belt — which holds a camera, a hammer and a Brunton compass. In the shade of his car’s open hatchback, he leans over a Panasonic Toughbook that’s displaying an […]
MSD receives notice of violation for April 30 French Broad spill
A notice of violation has been issued to the Metropolitan Sewerage District of Buncombe County by the N.C. Division of Water Quality, pertaining to the April 30 spill of raw sewerage into the French Broad River. The overflow of almost 6 million gallons was the result of a pump accident during a construction operation at the plant, resulting in the shutdown of its main pumps.
Dispatches from the March Against Monsanto
More than 1,000 people gathered at Pack Square in downtown Asheville on May 26 to protest Monsanto, a multinational agriculture biotechnology corporation, and the world’s largest producer of genetically engineered seeds and pesticides. The rally and demonstration were part of an international “March Against Monsanto,” involving 36 countries worldwide. (Photos by Jordan Foltz)
Forward momentum: A-B Tech’s Jon Snover brings people and technology together
Jon Snover thought he’d found his dream job at a fuel-cell company in 2001 — and that, as lead chemist for the company, he was going to change the world by developing advanced technology to solve society’s energy crisis
Strive Not to Drive: Bike tour highlights multimodal infrastructure
Cycling advocates guided local elected officials on a bicycle tour of Asheville, highlighting recent infrastructure improvements and encouraging progress to continue.
Local environmental controls likely to be whittled down by regulatory reform bill
Rich Ducker calls Senate Bill 612 “a real Christmas tree of a bill – all sorts of things hung on it.” But the biggest issue, says the public law and government specialist, may be a “sleeper issue to some people.” And that’s language that could prevent local environmental ordinances that are any more stringent than state law—something that would likely do away with Buncombe County’s steep-slope ordinance and other regionally specific rules.
Strive Not to Drive campaign aims to promote sustainable transportation
Today, May 12, marks the beginning of the annual Strive Not to Drive campaign, which features a series of local events designed to promote active and sustainable transportation.
RiverLink invites community to tour MSD wastewater treatment plant
After millions of gallons of raw sewage spilled into the French Broad River last week, RiverLink saw an educational opportunity surface. The nonprofit will host a tour of MSD’s wastewater treatment plant June 4 at 10 a.m. (Pictured: French Broad River Academy students visit the RiverLink office to learn about the urban water cycle, the focus of the upcoming tour. (Photo courtesy of RiverLink)
The lowdown on the low that’s got us down
Extensive rains across the region over the weekend caused numerous problems with flooded rivers, creeks, roads, downed trees and landslides. And we can look to a pesky area of low pressure that’s hanging out in our area as the instigator of all this trouble.
If April showers bring May flowers, we should be set
After a wet April, it looks like the large-scale weather pattern will not shift much as we head into this first week of May. And, while Asheville received above normal rainfall for the month of April, some locations west of the French Broad River Valley were soaked with over 14 inches of rain.
‘A horrible situation’: millions of gallons of raw sewage spill into French Broad ***UPDATED***
A malfunctioning pump at the Metropolitan Sewerage District plant sent millions of gallons of raw sewage into the French Broad River starting this morning. MSD crews hope to have the “horrible situation” repaired by early afternoon, said MSD Director of Engineering Stan Boyd, and shortly before 3 p.m. the leak was fixed. (Screenshot courtesy of a video uploaded by the nonprofit, French Broad Riverkeeper. The full video can be found in this post.)
Reduce meat consumption for sustainability
Absent from the April 17 flowchart and questionnaire, “Are You (Not) a Sustainability Guru,” was the most important lifestyle question of all: Have you reduced your consumption of meat and other animal products? As we all learned in freshman biology, at every step up the food chain, 90 percent of the potential energy is converted […]
Blue Ridge Parkway to reopen connection between Craggy Gardens and Mt. Mitchell
Just in time for the busy spring tourist season, the Blue Ridge Parkway will reopen a stretch of roadway connecting the popular Craggy Gardens and Mt. Mitchell State Park areas.
Blossoms, buds and a frost warning?
It seems like it took forever to get spring going this year. The wet and cool conditions we’ve experienced during the late winter and early spring in Western North Carolina made it feel like winter just refused to leave our region. (But — even now — there’s a possibility of frost Thursday night, April 25.) They say that good things come to those who wait, and it must be true, because many locations are enjoying gorgeous blooming trees.
Meet Transition Asheville
According to Transition Trainer and Organizer Dylan Ryals-Hamilton, “there are 458 official Transition Initiatives worldwide, and 137 of those are here in the U.S. We live in a world of volatile gas prices, extreme and unpredictable weather and an unstable global economy. To some the future may look bleak. We’re looking for the positive angle, designing and creating the future we want to see here in Asheville.”