What Remains

Thank you to Alicia Carter and Lucas Pruitt, two UNC Chapel Hill students, for creating this short documentary What Remains.

What Remains looks at the Walnut Cove Community's fight against coal ash pollution and Duke Energy through the lens of activist Caroline Armijo and her grief process after the loss of her close friend in November 2019 to cancer, Danielle Bailey-Lash. Coal ash, a hazardous waste product, has impacted the community for over a decade as they have tirelessly led campaigns, rallies, and environmental clean ups to take ahold of the issue and influence policy. Danielle Bailey-Lash was one of the group's fiercest leaders, and her loss showed just how big her impact was.

A monumental date in history, on January 2nd, 2020 Duke Energy agreed to dig up nearly 80 million tons of ash in North Carolina and move it to lined storage – it will be the largest coal ash cleanup in U.S. history. Armijo wonders what's ahead after and motivates the community to keep fighting, ensuring Duke Energy fulfills their promise.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta Visits Belews Creek

This past May, Dr. Sanjay Gupta visited some of our community members to discuss the health impacts they have been facing over the last several decades. We were eager to see the report.

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Concerns are rising for residents living near coal ash ponds after Andrew Wheeler, the acting administrator of the EPA, rolled back regulations on the storage of the toxic waste. CNN's Sanjay Gupta reports.

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The video was released in late July after the announcement of Trump's new head of the EPA and Scott Pruitt's replacement, Andrew Wheeler. Wheeler was a coal lobbyist and has already put in place new federal rules that remove groundwater monitoring around any coal ash ponds that do not have off-site contamination. Groundwater causes the pollutants to continuously move. Even if there is no contamination at this point in time, the toxins will likely spread in the near future. 

A more detailed story including the voices of additional Belews Creek residents is also found online. 

Pocket Parks' Potential

I was excited to walk into this FOX8 interview last week talking about the potential for pocket parks in Downtown Greensboro, highlighting the Historic Hamburger Square. After our interview, I shared that I actually know a lot about art in parks! Many people believe that I am involved with this project. I am not currently, but would love to be. Perhaps a great site for some art made out of coal ash!