The Southern Environmental Law Center congratulates this year’s Reed Environmental Writing Award winners — Emily Strasser, David Folkenflik, Mario Ariza, and Miranda Green — who all demonstrate the power of writing to capture some of the most important environmental issues facing Southern communities. 

Emily Strasser receives the Reed Award for “Half-Life of a Secret: Reckoning with a Hidden History.” In the book, Strasser examines the toxic legacy of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, one of three secret cities constructed by the Manhattan Project for developing the first atomic bomb. She exposes a suppressed history that forever impacted her family, a community, the nation, and the world. 

David Folkenflik with NPR, and Mario Ariza and Miranda Green with Floodlight, receive the Reed Award for their story, “In the Southeast, power company money flows to news sites that attack their critics.” Their investigation digs into a consulting firm working on behalf of electric utility giants in Alabama and Florida. The team uncovers how money flows from the firm to influence local news sites to push the utilities’ agenda​s​ and attack their critics. 

Everyone is invited to join for a celebration honoring the winners and the 30^th anniversary of the Reed Award in person or virtually on March 22 at 5:00 p.m. The in-person event will take place at the CODE Building, located at 225 West Water Street on the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville, VA.

The Tennessee Valley states (TN, AL, MS) are among the most irresponsible in their languid pondering about climate change mitigation.  Illustration from the 5^th National Climate Assessment

Urgent investments in local solutions are needed now more than ever as climate impacts grow across the South

The 5^th National Climate Assessment, released this week by the U.S. Government, reports on the current climate trends, impacts and solutions across the country. It underscores the urgency and opportunities for meaningful climate action.

This year, it includes a chapter highlighting how climate is impacting our Southeastern landscape and communities, plus what trends we can expect in the years ahead. 

The report substantiates what we’ve been witnessing on the ground: Extreme heatwaves are already more common, sea level rise is encroaching into coastal communities and throughout the region, we’re seeing more flooding from increasingly unpredictable, volatile storms. According to the report, the country now sees a billion-dollar weather disaster every three weeks on average. In the 1980s, that average was every four months. 

The Impacted Communities Against Wood Pellet Coalition (ICAWP) organized the protest and says the company has been ignoring the concerns of impacted communities while receiving millions of dollars in subsidies and tax breaks from the state.  ICAWP

This week Enviva, which is the world’s largest wood pellet manufacturer, saw its stock price fall by more than 90 percent from its height earlier this year following a grim financial report from the company. The company’s money problems show the massive flaws with the biomass energy industry and are due in part to the company being held accountable for its polluting pellet plants.  

Enviva operates pellet plants across the South. These dirty facilities release huge amounts of air pollution, dust and fine particulates that can cause asthma and respiratory illnesses in nearby communities. The hazardous plants are often times sited near communities of color that are already overburdened with industrial pollution. 

Enviva’s current financial crisis is due in part to the company being forced to internalize the environmental costs of its dirty operations, rather than pushing them off onto nearby communities. SELC, along with community partners across the region, have scored major victories against Enviva and other pellet companies, forcing them to install pollution controls and better protect people living nearby.  

“Enviva’s wood pellet plants have caused long-lasting damage to communities across the South. The company’s financial problems are partially caused by communities standing up and pushing back on this dirty industry,” said Heather Hillaker, Senior Attorney for SELC.

For decades, the Endangered Species Act has served valuable in preserving species and making our region so unique

Dec. 28 marks the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act — an important legal tool for protecting imperiled Southern species and their habitat. Since its passage in 1973, we’ve seen a nearly 99 percent success rate in preventing the loss of animals and plants protected under the law, including the iconic bald eagle and American alligator.