Dig deep
New funding to turn former mines into ecological, development opportunities Continue reading Dig deep
‘Demise’ of a community
Belle Mina residents fear proposed quarry will cause irreversible damage Continue reading ‘Demise’ of a community
SHOR Act on the rocks
Fishing advisory bill stalls two years in a row Continue reading SHOR Act on the rocks
New PFAS testing shows ‘forever’ chemicals throughout Coosa River basin
Expanded testing sets baseline understanding for education, advocacy on PFAS chemicals. Continue reading New PFAS testing shows ‘forever’ chemicals throughout Coosa River basin
Environment in the classroom
Program teaches kids about science, justice in Africatown by Sydney Cromwell Healing gardens. Sea kayaks. Drone soccer. They’re all part of STEMMing the Tide, a project that aims to change school curriculum and get middle schoolers engaged in science and environmental issues — right in the midst of a community that has faced some of the greatest environmental injustices in Alabama. ‘LOST IN THE PIPELINE’ … Continue reading Environment in the classroom
Faith for the future
Religious climate activists focus on energy, justice in the Southeast by Sydney Cromwell Climate anxiety. Crisis fatigue. Whatever you call it, spend enough time thinking and reading about the realities — and the immediacy — of climate change, and it’s easy to let it get you down. For Rhoda Vanderhart, a Mobile resident and one of the founders of Gulf Coast Creation Care, that moment … Continue reading Faith for the future
Greening Union Springs
Proposed solar campus would bring job training, renewable energy to Black Belt town by Sydney Cromwell When Herb Ferrette looks at his family’s 25-acre property in Union Springs, he sees green. Right now, it’s just green fields and forests, but in the future he envisions green energy, green jobs, green produce — and greenbacks. Ferrette’s plans for the Little USA solar campus would bring together … Continue reading Greening Union Springs
Up in smoke
Auburn researcher studies connection between forest fires, greenhouse gasses by Sydney Cromwell If a tree falls in the forest and there’s nobody around to measure it, how do we know how much carbon is stored inside it? If that information doesn’t seem useful to you, consider that the next time a fire travels through the forest, that fallen tree will burn and release its carbon … Continue reading Up in smoke
An entire world in a puddle
Researchers study relationships between wetlands, microbes, greenhouse gasses by Sydney Cromwell Every ecosystem has its own life cycle, its own rhythms. Few, though, are as changeable as the small wetlands scattered across the Tanglewood Biological Station, south of Tuscaloosa. In dry seasons, these tiny wetlands — some less than an acre in size — seem to disappear entirely, their waters absorbed into the ground or … Continue reading An entire world in a puddle
Come together
Small towns need funding, partnership in the face of climate disasters by Sydney Cromwell The tornado siren in the town of Parrish hasn’t worked for at least three years. Probably longer. It was broken when Bubba Cagle was elected mayor of this town of less than 1,000 people in Walker County. He was told that the needed part had been ordered. Three years later, it … Continue reading Come together
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