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Millions of gallons of water are used to literally fracture the earth to get at the natural gas below. And below is the operative word – hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking, as it’s commonly called, aims at natural-gas reserves anywhere from 5,000 to 20,000 feet beneath the earth’s surface. The good news is that natural gas…
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Column by Aaron Dorfman Submit guest columns: [email protected] When those who speak for regular folks – you, me and everyday working people – are outspent in Washington, even the most welcome legislation tends to serve the rich and powerful. As the country anticipates President Obama signing financial reform legislation, the scorecard is so starkly…
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Column by Frank Knapp Jr. Submit guest columns: [email protected] The South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce and small business organizations and owners across this country want Wall Street Reform. But you wouldn’t know that from the attention the media gives to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which…
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Edited by Chris Graham [email protected] The newly formed Virginia-North Carolina Interstate High Speed Rail Compact held its inaugural meeting Monday at the NCDOT Transportation Building in Raleigh. The compact, which was authorized by Congress and established through legislation enacted by the Virginia and North Carolina state legislatures, will work to advance high-speed rail initiatives…
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Column by Kathleen Rogers Submit guest columns: [email protected] When President Obama spoke to the nation about the Gulf Coast oil spill, he gave us needed straight talk for holding BP accountable and helping those affected by the spill. But, when it came down to talking about clean energy, he disappointed. This was his moment…
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Edited by Chris Graham [email protected] Good news for farming, sorta, kinda: The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services reported today that loss of farmland to development appears to be slowing in the Commonwealth. According to the recent numbers from the Farmland Information Center, between 1997 and 2002, Virginia lost 81,500 acres of agricultural…
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Column by Madeline Ostrander Submit guest columns: [email protected] Dave Rauschkolb took on the oil industry when it got personal—it threatened his beach and his business. Rauschkolb is not an environmental lawyer or professional Sierra Club-type. He’s an avid surfer and owns a pizza bar on the northwest coast of Florida, within range of the…
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Virginia’s three top state elected leaders are holding to their support for exploratory oil and natural gas drilling off the coast of Virginia in the wake of the ongoing disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. “We will learn from Louisiana. We will have additional federal regulations. We will have new technology. Once we get some…
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Edited by Chris Graham [email protected] The Community Foundation of the Central Blue Ridge announces awards of nearly $50,000 in scholarships to 38 area students. “We are so excited and thankful to be able to offer these scholarships that potentially open doors that may have otherwise remained closed. By minimizing the financial concerns of these…
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Column by David Reynolds Submit guest columns: [email protected] I will keep Part One short. Give. There are needs out there. It is the American way to take care of those needs. Whether you have fifty cents or a thousand dollars to spare for a good cause, do it. Just do it. Give it away….
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