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Join Our List
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Photo by Danny Allgeier. Williamsport, PA. April 2010.
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Mountain Demon of the Week
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Tommy-Knockers
The Tommy-Knocker is an American mining creature
that supposedly originated in England. They are about two feet
tall with a disproportionately large head, long beard, and wrinkled
skin. They dress in 18th century mining clothes and carry pickaxes.
They are usually invisible to humans so the only way they typically
are detected from the sound of their tapping.
The Tommy-Knockers can sometimes be helpful.
There are stories of them warning of imminent dangers in a mine or
even helping miners collect more ore. However, they can also
have an unpredictable temper, stealing tools or even causing
explosions. These events often follow sightings of the
Tommy-Knockers for they are private creatures and do not like being
seen.
There are versions of Tommy-Knockers throughout
Europe: Wales- Coblynau, Germany - Kobolds or Wichtlein
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Greetings!
The ECRR Summer Practicum is almost upon us! We still
have space in most of our courses available with scholarships,
however registration will close this Friday. Please email any
registrations to our Program Coordinator, Cynthia Wildfire at program@easterncoal.org right
away.
Hope to see you at training,
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NEWS
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California's
photovoltaic push
Rather than construct
a central solar power station, Recurrent will scatter a dozen
five-megawatt installations around two cities in Sacramento County.
Each installation will be located near an existing substation, which
means that the solar arrays can be plugged directly into the grid
without requiring any expensive transmission upgrades. Full article.
Gutting the Clean Water Act
As the Cumberland River's murky waters lapped the doors
of the Grand Ole Opry concert hall in May, the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers described the flooding in and around Nashville, Tenn., as a
fluke--the result of a "1,000-year rain event." True, the
region was inundated with 13-plus inches of rain in one weekend. The
ensuing flood not only caused more than $1.5 billion in damage to
buildings and their contents, but also was a factor in the death of
more than 20 people.
Full article here.
Ten Nations at 'Extreme Risk' Because of Water
Shortages, Report Says
Ten countries worldwide, including five African nations,
are at "extreme risk" because of limited access to clean,
fresh water, according to a new global water security index. And the
effects of climate change and population growth will exacerbate the
stress on these water supplies, potentially threatening stability in
many regions, according to the analysis by Maplecroft , a UK-based
consulting group. Full article here.
Google Energy's Big Green Power Purchase
Google is officially in the green energy business. The
search giant announced on Tuesday that its Google Energy subsidiary
signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with NextEra Energy. Google
will begin buying 114 megawatts of electricity from an Iowa wind farm
on July 30. Full article here.
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GRANTS
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Bayer USA Foundation
In order to meet its
mission, the Foundation has developed a strategic grantmaking plan
that welcomes proposals from 501(c)(3) organizations whose
programming matches at least one of the following areas:
1. Education and Workforce Development
2. Environment and Sustainability
3. Health and Human Services
4. Arts and Culture
More details here.
Cracker Barrel Foundation
Cracker Barrel Foundation seeks to strengthen and
preserve community by supporting programs in the areas of education,
human services, cultural affairs and the environment. Special
consideration is given to programs that address children, youth and
family issues, and emphasize traditional values such as hard work,
education and self-reliance. More details here.
Grassroots Environmental Programs Funded
The Patagonia Environmental Grants Program provides
support to small, grassroots activist organizations with provocative
direct-action agendas, working on multi-pronged campaigns to protect
the environment. Patagonia funds local groups working to protect
local habitats in the United States and Canada, as well as in
targeted countries around the world. The company is most interested
in supporting organizations that work on the root causes of problems
and that approach issues with a commitment to long-term change. Most
grants are in the range of $3,000 to $8,000. Proposals are accepted
through the Patagonia website during the months of April and August
each year, and must be submitted by April 30 or August 31. More
information here.
Great Wetland Grant Opportunity
The Small Grants Program is a competitive, matching
grants program that supports public-private partnerships carrying out
projects in the United States that further the goals of the North
American Wetlands Conservation Act (Act). These projects must involve
long-term protection, restoration, and/or enhancement of wetlands and
associated uplands habitats for the benefit of all
wetlands-associated migratory birds. Full description here.
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EVENTS
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2010
Appalachian Summit
This regional summit
from August 11-13 will include participants from the Appalachian
counties of Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West
Virginia. The purpose is to bring together diverse organizations and
policy makers to build a stronger Central Appalachia through
respectful discussion and sharing of ideas. More information here.
Registration Open for 2010 Watershed Celebration Day
The West Virginia Watershed Network (WVWN) Invites the
State's Watershed Stewards to a Celebration of the Mountain State's
Volunteers! Twin Falls State Park, WV. Tours, Friday, November 5th;
Celebration Day, Saturday, November 6th. Click here for more
details and registration.
Volunteer Monitoring Abstracts Wanted
The North American Lake Management Society (NALMS) is
looking for some additional presentations focused on volunteer
monitoring for its fall international symposium. This year's
conference will be in Oklahoma City, OK from November 3rd - 5th. The
symposium theme "The Water Cycle: Managing the Challenges in
Water Resources" is particularly relevant to volunteer
monitoring, a significant partner for water resource managers during
these budget challenged times. Thus the program chair is keen to fill
out a session addressing the many uses of volunteer data!
Please see http://www.nalms.org/nalmsnew/ for
more information.
32nd Annual Conference for National Association of
Abandoned Mine Land Programs
The 32nd Annual National Association of Abandoned Mine
Land Programs (NAAMLP) Conference will be in Scranton, Pennsylvania,
September 19-22, 2010. It will be hosted by the Pennsylvania Bureau
of Abandoned Mine Reclamation and will be held at the Hilton Scranton
& Conference Center.
More details.
Submit Your Session Proposals for Brownfields 2011
The 14th National Brownfields Conference is headed to
Philadelphia on April 3-5, 2011. The National Brownfields Conference
is the largest, most comprehensive conference focused on cleaning up
and redeveloping abandoned, underutilized, and potentially
contaminated properties in the nation. More details.
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