Earth Talk | Thinking green

Roddy Scheer

Dear EarthTalk: What kind of job opportunities might be opened up by the new federal emphasis on green projects? – Dick Wetzler, St. Paul, Minn. If it’s a U.S. industry that has the potential to be cleaner and greener, chances are the Obama administration has already set aside some stimulus money for it. In February…

Page Shields | Can coal be clean?

Letters

With all of the controversy surrounding the construction of a coal plant in Wise County, VA it bears repeating that coal is not clean energy. The phrase “clean coal technology” fosters hope that scientists will find a way to take harmful elements, especially carbon, out of coal. Unfortunately this is a lost hope as the…

No more big bangs?

Chris Graham

We may have seen the last community Fourth of July celebration in Staunton. At least that’s what I’m hearing. “Our committee is going to meet at the end of the month to make decisions about whether this festival goes on next year or not,” America’s Birthday Celebration organizer Terri Corey told me before Saturday’s big…

McDonnell flip-flops on debates

Chris Graham

“This letter is nothing more than grandstanding by a struggling campaign,” the campaign manager said regarding a letter from a political rival issuing a challenge for a series of debates across the Commonwealth. “For a politician who claims to be all about straight talk, this letter is more about publicity than public service,” the campaign…

Billy Parish | The first step is the hardest

Contributors

The House recently passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act , an important step toward protecting our environment and building a clean energy economy. ACES has generated a lot of strong opinions, for and against, especially in the environmental community. Now, I’m not a scientist or a policy wonk, but I did help start…