The symptoms of Chronic Wasting Disease in deer read like something out of a horror movie: emaciation, a lolling head, an odor of rotting meat, and—invisible until autopsy—a spongy degeneration of the brain. CWD is a prion disease affecting cervids—elk, moose, and our own white-tailed deer. Like mad cow in cattle and Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease in […]
Environment
Green happenings: Charlottesville environmental news and events
Each week, C-VILLE’s Green Scene page takes a look at local environmental news. The section’s bulletin board has information on local green events and keeps you up to date on statewide happenings. Got an event or a tip you’d like to see here and in the paper? Write us at news@c-ville.com. Green party: Snow’s Garden […]
Charlottesville environmental organizations make the case for renewable energy
Local environmental groups have teamed up to challenge the long-term plans of the state’s largest power provider, Virginia Dominion Power, citing a report released last Tuesday by third-party energy think tanks. The report, commissioned by Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition, which includes local organizations Appalachian Voices and the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), claims that […]
Green happenings: Charlottesville environmental news and events
Each week, C-VILLE’s Green Scene page takes a look at local environmental news. The section’s bulletin board has information on local green events and keeps you up to date on statewide happenings. Got an event or a tip you’d like to see here and in the paper? Write us at news@c-ville.com. Hawk [...]
Sammons cemetery gets historic status; could affect Bypass route
A federal official’s announcement last week that a cemetery and house site in the path of the planned Western Bypass is eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places has become the latest hang-up for the road project, and has some questioning the process the Virginia [...]
Local Food Hub helps small farmers prep for big changes to food safety laws
The first major update to food safety regulations since the 1930s is coming down the pike for America’s farmers, and the impacts could be big for produce growers—including those in Central Virginia. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) puts what was previously a voluntary and [...]
McGyvering the garden: Late summer tips and tricks for the veggie patch
Come late summer, many gardeners are about ready to throw in the towel. Squash bugs have decimated the melons and cucumbers, drought has baked the soil, and a quick week at the beach has left things nearly unrecognizable. But this summer has been truly unusual. Ample rain and cool temperatures [...]
Green happenings: Charlottesville environmental news and events
Each week, C-VILLE’s Green Scene page takes a look at local environmental news. The section’s bulletin board has information on local green events and keeps you up to date on statewide happenings. Got an event or a tip you’d like to see here and in the paper? Write us at news@c-ville.com. [...]
Foragers hit the trails in search of food that’s fresh, local—and wild
What’s green, local, and tastes great in a soup? A whole lot more than you might think. Several area environmental groups are collaborating to raise public awareness of the many edible plants that grow in Charlottesville and the benefits of eating wild food. Members of Transition [...]
Shenandoah officials says ‘no’ to new park entrance for Madison County
Madison County has waited 80 years for its own entrance to Shenandoah National Park, and park officials told county administrators on July 29 that they would have to keep waiting. A proposal by the Madison County Board of Supervisors to upgrade Rapidan Road and establish a new entrance for [...]
Green happenings: Charlottesville environmental news and events
Each week, C-VILLE’s Green Scene page takes a look at local environmental news. The section’s bulletin board has information on local green events and keeps you up to date on statewide happenings. Got an event or a tip you’d like to see here and in the paper? Write us at news@c-ville.com. [...]
Green Scene: The forward-thinking garden
Even though summer temperatures have finally climbed to average and above-average highs, it’s definitely time to think about what to plant for the lovely fall growing season. If you haven’t planted a fall garden before, let me review why it’s awesome: Cooler temperatures support the growth of [...]
Green happenings: Charlottesville environmental news and events
Each week, C-VILLE’s Green Scene page takes a look at local environmental news. The section’s bulletin board has information on local green events and keeps you up to date on statewide happenings. Got an event or a tip you’d like to see here and in the paper? Write us at news@c-ville.com. [...]
UVA professor helping develop powerful forest mapping satellite
Hank Shugart has been waiting a long time for a view from space. Shugart, UVA’s W.W. Corcoran Professor of Environmental Sciences, is a global forest ecologist whose work has made him a key consultant on Earth-mapping projects. He was with a crew of researchers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight [...]
Ivy Creek experts offer tips on after-dark bug hunting
Last week, two volunteer naturalists offered visitors to the Ivy Creek Natural Area’s Education Center a new take on local nightlife. In an evening lecture at the preserve off Earlysville Road, Ivy Creek Education Programs Coordinator Bruce Gatling-Austin and volunteer guide and Master [...]
Ask Betty: Your burning recycling and energy questions answered
Teri Kent runs Charlottesville’s Better World Betty, a non-profit organization and online resource for locals looking to shrink their impact on the environment. Every month, Betty—Kent’s ’50s-housewife-meets-earth-goddess alter ego —answers the most burning eco-questions from our readers about [...]
Dominion rolls out solar purchase program
Dominion Virginia is wading into the renewable energy credit market, and it’s offering its customers a way to cash in. Andy Bindea, co-founder of Waynesboro-based residential and commercial solar installation company Sigora Solar, said Dominion’s new solar power purchase program, launched June [...]
Keep your garden producing as the weather heats up
The rainy, mild spring has finally given way to summer temperatures. We’re still enjoying tender spring lettuces, peas, carrots, and greens, but as the mercury climbs, they won’t last long. This short season will soon turn into the early summer doldrums in the garden—our arugula long since [...]
City approves master park plan with five-mile commuter loop
The City of Charlottesville acquired the last parcel of a 40-acre tract of parkland along Meadow Creek early this year, and with City Council’s go-ahead, trail planner Chris Gensic can’t wait to get his hands on it. Last week, Council unanimously approved the Department of Parks and [...]
Green happenings: Charlottesville environmental news and events
Each week, C-VILLE’s Green Scene page takes a look at local environmental news. The section’s bulletin board has information on local green events and keeps you up to date on statewide happenings. Got an event or a tip you’d like to see here and in the paper? Write us at news@c-ville.com. [...]
Ask Betty: Recycle me!
Teri Kent runs Charlottesville’s Better World Betty, a non-profit organization and online resource for locals looking to shrink their impact on the environment. Every month, Betty—Kent’s ’50s-housewife-meets-earth-goddess alter ego —answers the most burning eco-questions from our readers about [...]
The case against fracking in the George Washington National Forest
Trivia question: What do the Appalachian Trail, Sherando Lake, Crabtree Falls, Ramsey’s Draft Wilderness, and Cold Mountain all have in common? Answer: Each of these popular recreational sites is found within the George Washington National Forest, known to its friends as the GW. The GW hosts [...]
Green happenings: Charlottesville environmental news and events
Each week, C-VILLE’s Green Scene page takes a look at local environmental news. The section’s bulletin board has information on local green events and keeps you up to date on statewide happenings. Got an event or a tip you’d like to see here and in the paper? Write us at news@c-ville.com. Fun [...]