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EarthSolidarity!™ Initiatives are endeavors to which anyone can contribute in deed as well as in spirit, that
- minimize waste and environmental impacts
- increase community resilience
- respect and protect ecosystem processes and all forms of life
- contribute to good living conditions for everyone around the globe
- affirm and celebrate our interdependence and interrelatedness in the Web of Life!
Mitchie Takeuchi answering questions from the audience at Central Cinema on August 7. Wolf Naegeli/Hellbender Press
Screening of the feature-length documentary with Mitchie Takeuchi at Knoxville’s Central Cinema
Knoxville — As part of its Bearing Witness program to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atom bombings, the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance (OREPA) organized a viewing of The Vow from Hiroshima and conversation with its co-producer/writer Mitchie Takeuchi. Takeuchi is a second generation ‘hibakusha,’ the Japanese word for atom bomb survivors. Her father, Dr. Ken Takeuchi, was a military surgeon and founding president of Hiroshima’s Red Cross Hospital from 1937 to 1947. He was at the hospital and badly wounded, but survived.
The film follows the story of Setsuko Thurlow, who was 13 when she barely managed to crawl out from the rubble of her school before it was overwhelmed by the fire that burned most of her schoolmates alive. Setsuko became the foremost international proponent for the abolition of nuclear weapons. She was part of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons’ delegation that received the 2017 Nobel Peace Price in Oslo. In her acceptance speech, she said:
A 52-minute short version of The Vow from Hiroshima can be watched on PBS.
Bearing witness: Walk for disarmament and lantern ceremony
80th Anniversary events organized by the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance
Rally and walk action for disarmament
Saturday, August 9 | 10:00 a.m.
Gather at Bissell Park in Oak Ridge.
Join the walk to the gates of Y-12 for a rally with music, street theater and calls for nuclear disarmament.
Lantern Ceremony along the Tennessee River
Saturday, August 9 | 8:00 p.m.
Sequoyah Hills Park in Knoxville
Close the week with a reflective lantern ceremony along the water — honoring the lives lost and our continued commitment to peace.
Visit the OREPA website for details and more events.
Bearing witness to Hiroshima
80th Anniversary events organized by the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance
Moving personal accounts of time spent in Hiroshima
Friday, August 8 | 6:00–8:00 PM
First Presbyterian Church Knoxville
First, readings from hibakusha Hideko Tamura Snider’s book “One Sunny Day: Childhood Memories of Hiroshima.” Then, Utsumi Gyoshu, Rachel Stewart and author Emily Strasser will each give remarks about recent experiences in Hiroshima. Q&A will follow.
Visit the OREPA website for details and more events.
Bearing witness: The Vow from Hiroshima
80th Anniversary events organized by the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance
Film Screening: The Vow from Hiroshima
Thursday, August 7 | 6:00–8:00 PM
Central Cinema (TBC)
Join us for a powerful documentary followed by a conversation with co-producer/writer, Mitchie and discussion led by Ed Sullivan.
Visit the OREPA website for details and more events.
Editorial: As summer sizzles and pops, EPA makes a bad energy move
Written by Stephen Smith
The Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington, D.C. in the William J. Clinton Federal Building. The EPA is considering changes to pollution regulations intended to at least forestall some risks of global climate change. EPA
With a backdrop of record heat and floods, EPA moves to deregulate greenhouse gases that are heating the planet
Stephen Smith is the executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.
KNOXVILLE — July was brutal: As the Southeast sizzled under a stagnant heat dome, families still struggled to recover from hurricanes Helene and Milton, and communities reeled from catastrophic flash flooding in Texas. Yet in the face of this mounting climate crisis, the government has launched an unprecedented assault on the environmental protections that keep Americans safe.
This week, the new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Trump Administration moved to repeal the 16-year-old scientific finding that greenhouse gas pollution and emissions from power plants, the oil, gas and coal industries, and vehicle emissions endanger public health and welfare. Without this endangerment finding, the EPA will be forced to abandon its responsibility to set limits on the pollution that’s driving more frequent and severe heat waves, floods and storms.
The EPA has one job: to protect the people and places we love — our families, our communities, our children’s future. It defies logic and common sense to remove the foundational pillars of our pollution rules precisely when climate impacts are accelerating and we need protections and proactive solutions the most. Simultaneously, the Administration is also recklessly slashing funding and staffing at NOAA, the agency responsible for helping us prepare for disasters, and FEMA, the agency responsible for helping us recover from disasters.
The administration is gaslighting Americans by telling us that climate disruption isn’t a threat when we can see with our own eyes the parade of horribles of repeating record-breaking climate disasters. 2024 was the hottest year on record by a wide margin, flash flood warnings in 2025 have already exceeded previous records and American families — from Texas flood victims to Southeast hurricane survivors — are paying the price with their lives, homes and livelihoods.
Bearing witness: Peace Pilgrimage, Names and Remembrance ceremony
80th Anniversary events organized by the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance
Peace pilgrimage from the Great Smoky Mountains
Peace Walk: Bearing Witness to Hiroshima, August 4–9, 2025
Names and remembrance ceremony
Wednesday, August 6 | 6:00–9:00 a.m.
Location: Across from the Y-12 Security Complex main entrance way in Oak Rige
Join us to honor the victims of Hiroshima with a morning of names and remembrance, bell ringing and a visual tribute of paper cranes; please be sure to bring a chair.
Photo Lecture & Artist Panel
Wednesday, August 6 | 6:30 p.m.
Addison’s Bookstore, 126 S. Gay Street, Knoxville
An evening with Yvonne Dalschen, Black Atticus and guest artists reflecting on the legacy of Hiroshima through art, storytelling and music.
Visit the OREPA website for details and more events.
Bearing witness: Hiroshima, Nagasaki and the end of nuclear weapons
Join us for the first 80th Anniversary event organized by the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance
First Friday at the Birdhouse — August 1, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Birdhouse Neighborhood Center, 800 N 4th Ave, Knoxville, TN 37917
This casual OREPA gathering for a special First Friday sneak peek of Yvonne Dalschen’s photo exhibit will include light refreshments and an opportunity to engage with powerful images exploring themes of peace and resistance. All are welcome!
Helene: Erwin plastics company will face no criminal charges in worker deaths
Written by JJ Stambaugh
This still image from video shot by a victim of the flooding at Impact Plastics in Erwin illustrates the terror of the flood that killed six employees of the plant at the height of Tropical Storm Helene in September 2024. Family of Johnny Peterson via WSMV
Attorney for families says evidence ignored; some cases will move to civil court
ERWIN — Prosecutors decided that no criminal charges will be filed in connection with the deaths of six employees of a Unicoi County manufacturing facility during last year’s catastrophic Hurricane Helene.
District Attorney General Steven Finney of the First Judicial District — whose office oversees cases in Washington, Carter, Unicoi and Johnson counties in northeastern Tennessee — announced the decision nine months after asking the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to determine what happened on September 27, 2024, when six employees of Impact Plastics lost their lives as unprecedented flooding from Hurricane Helene, downgraded to a tropical storm at that point, swept the region and killed hundreds.
It remains unclear what the future holds for communities devastated by the hurricane, many of which are still struggling to rebuild. It’s believed that 252 people lost their lives due to Helene, and officials have estimated the storm caused nearly $80 billion in damage.
Help tally bumblebees for a regional atlas at Harris Farm
ROCKFORD — Join Foothills Land Conservancy staff the morning of Friday, July 25, 2025, at the Harris Farm as we work on our 2nd survey for the SE Atlas Bumble Bee Survey efforts this summer.
This free event (with a suggested donation $10) is a great opportunity to explore the Harris Farm, visit our native pollinator meadows, and assist our team for a great cause!
Be sure to save-the-date for our August survey, which will be held the morning of Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, at the Harris Farm.
What is the Bumble Bee Atlas?
The Atlas is a community (aka citizen or participatory) science project aimed at gathering the data needed to track and conserving bumble bees. The current data suggests that many species of bumble bees face an uncertain future, and there is a lack of data needed to implement effective conservation measures, especially at the regional scale. “Community science” means anyone is welcome to participate and help contribute to a better understanding of bumble bee needs.
John Skinner will be assisting the FLC staff with this survey. John is a retired Professor and Extension Apiculture Specialist in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at the University of Tennessee. John’s knowledge and instruction is super helpful and we are excited that he can join us this year too.
A happy ending and new beginning after a sad story at Appalachian Bear Rescue
Written by Hellbender Press
Rosemary Bear (class of 2022) cools off in a cub tub (all to herself this time, thank you) on a hot July day at Appalachian Bear Rescue in Townsend. The center entered a new agreement with licensing authority Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency that calls for improved sanitation, regular pen rotation and burnovers and other management techniques. TWRA euthanized 13 bears in December 2024 following fatal and persistent strains of pneumonia. The center has been closed since; ABR director Greg Grieco said on July 22 the facility expects to complete renovations and be ready for the next crop of orphaned and injured bears by spring 2026. Appalachian Bear Rescue
TWRA and bear rescue center reach agreement to resume rehab services at Townsend facility next year
This is a joint release from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and Appalachian Bear Rescue.
NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) and Appalachian Bear Rescue (ABR) have reached a new partnership agreement for black bear rehabilitation in Tennessee.
During the course of 2023 and 2024, the presence of pneumonia raised initial concerns about the health of bears being housed at ABR. After a difficult decision in December 2024 to euthanize 13 bears, the agency temporarily paused the placement of bears at the facility.
In the months that followed, TWRA staff sought input from bear managers, wildlife veterinarians and disease pathologists in other states on best management practices and pen sanitation measures such as discing, burns and leaving pens empty on an annual rotational schedule. ABR staff immediately started working to implement extensive modifications and upgrades to the facility to align with the recommendations of these professionals.
TWRA leadership also began working with ABR to draft an official operating agreement to strengthen the relationship between the two entities, set clear expectations for best management practices for bear rehabilitation and provide transparency to members of the public invested in wildlife conservation.
Dust to dust: Bull Run stack hits the deck as TVA kicks coal to curb
Written by Ben Pounds
The regionally famous Bull Run smokestack was demolished this summer by the Tennessee Valley Authority as the federal utility phases out the use of coal to generate electricity. Climate activists are alarmed by TVA’s plans to replace coal with natural gas, itself a powerful greenhouse gas pollutant. Tennessee Valley Authority
What’s next for mammoth utility after demolition of Claxton, Tenn. landmark stack?
CLAXTON — In a matter of seconds, the old smokestack fell like a giant tree, heaving clouds of dust as it hit the ground. Workers set off the implosion with a loud boom at the base of the towering smokestack on June 28, at Bull Run Fossil Plant just outside of Oak Ridge. Minutes earlier, the shorter and more modern ‘scrubber’ bit the dust in similar fashion.
UPDATED 6/25: More details emerge after Trump cuts bleed UT Agriculture Institute of $31 million
Written by Cassandra Stephenson and Ben Pounds
The University of Tennessee burial mound on the agriculture campus in Knoxville dates to 644. The mound was constructed by native tribes of the Woodland Period and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Wikipedia Commons
DOGE bites off $37.7 million in science and other funding from University of Tennessee system; cuts include climate initiatives and pesticide safety education
This story was originally published by Tennessee Lookout. Highlighting added by Hellbender Press. The original story continues below. This story will be updated.
KNOXVILLE — The Trump administration has paused or defunded many programs at American universities, including some notable cuts in agriculture grants at the University of Tennessee.
Systemwide, a total of 42 grants to UT valued at $37.65 million ended, Melissa Tindell, UT’s assistant vice president of communication said, consistent with statistics she’s given other outlets. Eight of these terminated grants were going to the UT Institute of Agriculture and totaled $31.19 million.
Also, across the system, she said, the college had received a total of nine partial stop work orders, meaning students and staff cannot complete portions of those projects, though the total award amount hasn’t been impacted at this time.
“The most immediate impact has been the need to transition students and staff supported by these affected projects to alternative funding sources,” Tindell told Hellbender Press, reiterating a statement for Tennessee Lookout. “Essential work such as reporting, compliance and other research operations continue with adjusted support.”
Among the various research programs with terminated funding are several environmental projects.
- doge cuts
- trump cuts
- trump science cuts
- trump cuts to ut
- University of Tennessee Agricultural Institute
- cattle and climate change
- ut extension outreach
- ut ag campus cuts
- ut indian mound
- tennessee pesticide safety education program
- excet
- grasslands initiative utk
- climate smart grasslands
- doge science cuts
- the grasslands partnership
- climatesmart commodity
- climate smart grassland
- soil health
- biodiversity
Despite blowback and historical revisionism, Juneteenth is cause for grand celebration
Written by Angela Dennis
A ribbon commemorating Juneteenth drapes a historic marker in one of Knoxville’s multiple cemeteries where enslaved people are buried. Angela Dennis
East Tennesseans find ways to celebrate Juneteenth amid crackdowns on DEI
This story was originally published by Tennessee Lookout.
KNOXVILLE — As cities across Tennessee prepared for Juneteenth celebrations with banners unfurling, vendors setting up and leaders finalizing programs honoring Black liberation, a deeper question lingers: What does it mean to celebrate freedom in a state restricting how that freedom’s history is taught?
In Tennessee, state lawmakers have gutted DEI programs, banned books by Black authors and restricted how teachers can talk about race and history in the classroom.
This year’s celebrations have also come with cutbacks. Across the country, Juneteenth events have been scaled back due to shrinking DEI funding, canceled federal grants and retreat from corporate support for racial justice initiatives.
For many Black educators, organizers and students, the policies feel like a modern day echo of the delayed freedom Juneteenth was created to mark. It represents a continued struggle for true freedom and liberation.
Take an inventory of life on a summer walk in a (possible) Harriman park
Written by Shelby Lyn Sanders![Foothills Land Conservancy Harriman tract]()
This is one of the views from a 1,000-acre tract of undeveloped land in Harriman. The Foothills Land Conservancy hopes to acquire and transfer the land to the city of Harriman. Foothills Land Conservancy
Harriman tract eyed for preservation as city park boasts both biodiversity and beautiful views; biological survey set to document life
Sweet nectar of spring flows at annual UT pollinator festival
Written by Lauren Tolley
Pollinators play a vital role in maintaining our ecosystems, economies and agriculture. Here’s a bee in flight at the UT Gardens in Knoxville. R. Lazarian/UTIA
Get your buzz on in Knoxville or two other locations in the state during Pollinator Week June 16-25
Lauren Tolley is a University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture marketing and communications associate.
KNOXVILLE — The University of Tennessee Bee Campus Committee, a group comprised of UT faculty, staff and students, in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority and UT Gardens, invites communities across the state to celebrate national Pollinator Week at a series of “Garden Buzz” pollinator events on June 17.
Pollinator Week is an annual celebration in support of pollinator health, initiated and managed by the Pollinator Partnership. This year’s theme is “Pollinators Weave Connections” — highlighting the essential roles pollinators play in creating and expression of human culture, the food we enjoy and the beauty that surrounds us. Pollinator Week is June 16-25.
Similar to UT and TVA’s collaborative Garden Buzz celebrations in previous years, the 2025 Garden Buzz celebrations will offer participants opportunities to learn more about pollinators in Tennessee through educational activities. Attendees can also learn how to start their own pollinator gardens with locally grown plants that help support a thriving ecosystem.
More...
Hellbender Press receives three first-place awards for Helene reporting
Written by Thomas FraserTeam coverage of Sept. 27 disaster spanned three devastated East Tennessee watersheds
KNOXVILLE — Hellbender Press continued its tradition of excellence in journalism in 2024 with award-winning coverage of the unprecedented disaster spawned by Tropical Storm Helene in the Southern Appalachians.
Editor and Publisher Thomas Fraser and writer and reporter John Stambaugh accepted the awards at an East Tennessee Society of Professional Journalists downtown banquet in May.
The society sponsors the competition each year to recognize the best journalism in East Tennessee published in 2024. This year’s contest was judged by the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists.
Hellbender Press received three first-place awards in the digital-only category, all related to Helene: Hurricane Helene Breaking Coverage; Deadline/Breaking News Reporting; and Series/Package/Project Writing.
Two of the judges drew parallels with news coverage of other historic events.
Editorial: Clean energy jobs under attack and imperiled in Southeast
Written by Stephen Smith
Macon-based Blue Bird is among Southeastern manufacturers that invested heavily in electric vehicle development thanks in large part to parts of the Inflation Reduction Act. The Biden-era IRA is facing blowback from the Trump administration, and the GOP-led Congress is trying to claw back billions already committed by the law. Blue Bird
After DOGE, thousands of jobs still threatened and climate action under assault by GOP-led Congress
Stephen Smith is the executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and chairs the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Global Sustainability, of which Hellbender Press is a project.
KNOXVILLE — As we navigate the complex landscape of America's energy transition, the Southeast finds itself at a critical juncture where federal policy decisions are attempting to block and reverse our region's clean energy future—and push up your monthly utility bills. This is not hyperbole; it is a sad reality that needs a strong response from those of us who want a clean, safe, vibrant future in which we all thrive.
The GOP-backed bill that moved from the House to the Senate threatens to undermine $73 billion in clean energy investments across our region by abruptly blocking federal policy support that has unleashed America’s clean energy economy, grown manufacturing and investments in the Southeast, and given citizens across our region ways to save money on energy while protecting human and environmental health.
If passed, this legislation could trigger utility rate increases nationwide, hitting households already struggling with rising costs. The timing couldn't be worse, as utility companies across the Southeast are rushing headlong into expensive and risky ventures—from nuclear plant construction to powering energy-hungry data centers—without adequate planning, regulation, or public input. Georgia Power's latest Integrated Resource Plan process and TVA’s rush to build new small nuclear reactors exemplify this troubling trend, proposing changes virtually guaranteed to increase customer bills while maintaining heavy reliance on polluting fossil fuels.
UT-Battelle, industry partners energize Oak Ridge High School STEM program
Written by Stephanie G. Seay
Oak Ridge High School student Kira Colston demonstrates how to use a CNC machine at the Wildcat Manufacturing iSchool. Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
Tech-heavy Wildcat Manufacturing iSchool functions as a student-run business
Stephanie Seay is a senior science writer and communications specialist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
OAK RIDGE — UT-Battelle, which manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the Department of Energy, has contributed up to $475,000 for the purchase and installation of advanced manufacturing equipment to support a program at Tennessee’s Oak Ridge High School that gives students direct experience with the AI- and robotics-assisted workplace of the future.
Through the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, UT-Battelle donated $225,000 toward the purchase of equipment for the school and has committed up to $250,000 in ORNL staff time to assist with installation and calibration. Industry partners, including Lincoln Electric, ABB, Amazon Robotics and NAVUS, are also making in-kind contributions to the program.
The gifts support the school’s award-winning iSchool curriculum that began with a state grant as part of Tennessee’s Innovative School Models program launched in 2021. Oak Ridge High School’s Wildcat Manufacturing iSchool functions as a student-run business, offering experience in AI-generative design, additive manufacturing and robotics for local organizations, while students earn college credit.
Are you ready for Beaver Creek Flotilla on May 31?
Written by Legacy Parks Foundation
The Beaver Creek Kayak Club, in partnership with Knox County Parks & Recreation and Legacy Parks Foundation, are excited to hold the 8th annual Beaver Creek Flotilla!
Over 400 boats and 600+ people are expected to float down Knox County’s signature water trail. Participants will enjoy a fun-filled morning of recreation — don’t miss the opportunity to help support the Beaver Creek cleanup and showcase your company or organization at one of the best outdoor events!
All Flotilla event proceeds are dedicated to the continued improvements on Beaver Creek including debris clearing, creek bed cleanup and installation of public access docks.
Through our partnership with Legacy Parks Foundation, sponsorship donations are tax deductible and earmarked directly into the Beaver Creek Preservation Fund.
Each participant must register in advance to float the Beaver Creek Water Trail. A $10 per person registration fee and signed waiver is required.