Category: Science
In Alabama, What Does It Take to Shut Down a Surface Mine Operating Without Permits?
Nearby residents and environmental activists complained to state regulators without redress about an unlicensed sandstone quarry along Rock Creek. Alabama officials initially fined the company, but now it has signaled a green light ahead. Read more.
JeffCo Considers Forgiving Development Group’s Debt, Moving Coroner’s Office to Park
A resolution moved to the agenda of Thursday’s Jefferson County Commission meeting would forgive more than $1 million owed to the county from Jefferson County Economic and Industrial Development Authority.
The county would also execute a purchase agreement with JCEIDA for land in the Lakeshore Jeffmet Park for the new office space of the Jefferson County Coroner/Medical Examiner. The purchase agreement for the land, valued at $700,000, would not be a cash transaction but would help offset the remaining JCEIDA debt being forgiven.
County Manager Cal Markert called the authority “one of the most successful economic development groups in the state, if not the most.” Read more.
Meet the Tiny Fish That Call Only Jefferson County Home
Though the creek water at Turkey Creek Nature Preserve in northeast Jefferson County is crystal clear, and thousands visit the preserve each year, it’s highly unlikely most will see three unique fish species that swim alongside them. They are the endangered watercress, rush and vermilion darters
“This is kind of like a ‘Where’s Waldo,’” said preserve manager Charles Yeager, wading through the center of Turkey Creek, looking for the darter. Read more.
A Year After the Moody Landfill Fire: “We Need Just as Much Help Now”
Around Thanksgiving a year ago, a landfill near Moody caught fire, blanketing the surrounding area with smoke. The fire burned for months before the Environmental Protection Agency covered the landfill with dirt to extinguish the flames, but there have been flare ups since. To understand what things are like now, WBHM talked with one nearby resident. Read more.
US Regions Will Suffer a Stunning Variety of Climate-Caused Disasters, Report Finds
Extreme temperatures; worsening wildfires, hurricanes and floods; infrastructure problems; agricultural impacts: The way you experience climate change will depend on where you live. Read more.
Why Trees Are an Environmental and Health Swiss Army Knife
Cool Green Trees, a project of Cawaco RC&D, plants trees in under-resourced communities in the Birmingham area to help mitigate climate change and advance environmental justice initiatives. Read more.
Place, Erased: How a Drowned Alabama Town Still Holds Lessons 60 Years Later
Some Southern towns have been erased by environmental disasters — whether natural or man-made. One Alabama town offers lessons on the hidden cost of progress. Read more.
An Alabama Coal Plant Once Again Nabs the Dubious Title of the Nation’s Worst Greenhouse Gas Polluter
In West Jefferson, everything happens in the shadow of Alabama Power.
Fewer than 500 people live in the town of less than one square mile, located just a 20-minute drive northwest of Birmingham. There’s little in the way of excess. Modest homes dot the landscape, with residents waving as cars pass by. There’s a Dollar General, a Baptist church and an elementary school — the staples of a small Southern community. But in this town, a plant looms large. Read more.
10 Medicaid Holdout States Scramble to Improve Health Coverage
The Republican-led states that have refused to expand Medicaid are trying a variety of strategies to save struggling hospitals and cover more people without full expansion, which was one of the key provisions of the Affordable Care Act. In Alabama, a single parent with two children can’t qualify for Medicaid if he or she makes more than $4,476 per year. Read more.
EV Charging Station — BPA’s First — Opens at Avondale Village
Birmingham Parking Authority celebrated the opening of its first electric vehicle charging station Wednesday at its Avondale Village parking lot.
“This charging station is an important milestone not only for the Birmingham Parking Authority but for the city of Birmingham as well,” said Andre Davis, executive director and CEO of the BPA. “This is the first EV charging station in any BPA parking facility, and it’s the first EV charging station in the city funded in partnership with the Alabama Clean Fuels Coalition.”
The Level 2 EV charging station at 109 41st Street South can charge as many as four vehicles at one time. Read more.
