Water Refugees

Water Refugees

Like most Americans, I always took the clean water running out of my tap for granted. That changed in January, when West Virginia American Water (WVAW) sent out an all points alert to stop drinking, cooking, washing, or doing anything else with the H₂O flowing into my...
A Recipe for Better Disaster Movies

A Recipe for Better Disaster Movies

It’s hard not to love mediocre, bad, or even awful movies that portray a post-apocalyptic or utterly dysfunctional future. If you’ve watched Logan’s Run, Water World, The Day After Tomorrow, AI, or Soylent Green more than once, you’ll know what...
Another Chapter in Coal’s Trail of Pollution

Another Chapter in Coal’s Trail of Pollution

As a West Virginian, I have one question for you — is coal pollution in your water, too? The answer might surprise you. Here in West Virginia, thousands continue to wonder whether their water is safe after a recent coal chemical spill just upstream from the...
The Perils of Watered-Down Regulations

The Perils of Watered-Down Regulations

“There’s a folksy saying my grandma taught me: ‘If it smells like licorice and tastes like licorice, it must be licorice.’ Now it has a corollary: ‘Or it could also be a 4-methylcyclohexane methanol spill into your water supply, so grab...