Sustainability (498)
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Sustainable Development Goals (912)
The Sustainable Development Goals are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere. The seventeen Sustaiable Development Goals (SDG) were adopted by all UN Member States in 2015, as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which set out a 15-year plan to achieve the Goals.
Updated: Your — once in 20 years — opportunity to influence the livability of Knox County
Written by Wolf Naegeli
You can still share your own ideas to improve and protect our community Advance Knox
Updated again on May 4: Hundreds of ideas, complaints and comments, many of them with map locations, have been posted on the Advance Knox website.
As announced in Hellbender Press earlier, Advance Knox held a series of public input events across Knox County during its Ideas Week at the end of March.
If you missed those in-person gatherings and could not attend the virtual session, we hope you recorded your preferences and opinions online at the Advance Knox website.
You can now see what others had to say about your neighborhood and your favorite places.
And, even if you already participated, you may have had new ideas or important thoughts not recorded yet. Please let us know,
— what you treasure in Knox County
— what you miss
— what you think is most important to consider as the county keeps growing.
The interactive facility to submit ideas will remain open online through May 10, as suggested at the last Advisory Committee meeting.
TWRA to establish prime trout fishing opportunities at Big Soddy Creek Gulf
Written by TWRAStep up for fresh produce at New Harvest Park
KNOXVILLE — The New Harvest Park Farmers Market kicked off in East Knoxville on April 14 and will be open from 3-6 p.m. every Thursday through Sept. 29.
The market will feature 15 small, locally owned businesses and showcase a wide variety of seasonal produce, meats, eggs, plants, prepared foods, and artisan crafts, and will grow to 20 vendors during peak season, according to a release from Knox County.
A community booth will house the Nourish Moves walking program in which market patrons can track their steps and redeem them for Produce Bucks to be spent at market on fresh fruits and vegetables. New Harvest Farmers’ Market Nourish Moves is a free, weekly walking program for adults and children 2 years or older. To participate, stop by our Community Booth to pick up a pedometer. Each participant receives $3 in Produce Bucks per visit that can be spent on any fruits, vegetables, and food-producing plants at the market.
Nourish Knoxville will continue to offer SNAP & P-EBT processing and doubling at the market through the Double Up Food Bucks Program. SNAP & P-EBT purchases will be doubled, up to $20 per day in Double Up Food Bucks tokens that are redeemable at the market for free fresh fruits and vegetables.
Get put together well: Ijams Nature Center hosts sustainable fashion show
Written by Cindy Hassil
The Fleurish fashion show will feature sustainable and stylish clothes to reduce your big old footprint on Earth. Courtesy Fleurish/Ijams Nature Center
Help rock the catwalk at Ijams’ display of sustainable clothing
Cindy Hassil is a writer for Ijams Nature Center.
KNOXVILLE — Clothes can be a burden to both bear and wear. Ijams Nature Center offers fashionable alternatives with sustainability cred this month.
Ijams and Natural Alternatives Salon and Spa will present Fleurish: A Sustainable Fashion Event, from 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday, April 24.
“Fleurish is a runway show focused on how sustainability, conservation and beauty intertwine and affect our lives … and our future,” Fleurish Creative Director Ben Prager said. “This event engages the audience in ways that will help the average consumer make changes in their day-to-day lives to better impact the planet while never losing sight of the beauty of nature and the human experience.”
Twelve local designers, along with hair stylists and makeup artists, are coming together to create looks using both recycled and natural materials.
Fire, fog, floods: Scientists probe climate-change impacts in Smokies
Written by S. Heather Duncan
Many climate-change related issues have appeared since publication of this vintage map of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Library of Congress
Invasive insects are among the vanguard of noticeable climate changes in America’s most-visited national park
GATLINBURG — Ants scurry beneath the carpet of last year’s leaves in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The native ants are busy spreading the seeds of violets and bloodroot, preparing a new carpet of spring wildflowers to draw thousands of visitors.
But the local insects aren’t alone under there. They have become prey to venomous Asian needle ants that also prowl the leaf litter.
These invaders dine on termites, other ants and insects, while stealing habitat from them. Unlike invasive fire ants, needle ants can live in pristine forests and build large colonies with hundreds of queens. But like fire ants, needle ants have a painful sting that can trigger an allergic reaction.
Climate change is expected to make it easier for invasive species like needle ants to upset the delicate balance of this temperate rainforest full of rare plants and animals. That’s just one example.
- great smoky mountains
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- needle ant
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- daniel malagon
- ana barro
- jason fridley
- paul super
- ipcc
- climate precipitation change
- smokies science
- national ecological observatory network
- neon
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- invasive species
- change in precipitation
- importance of cloud to water balance highelevation ecosystem
- biodiversity
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- sampling plot
Quaff a recycled brew and check your waste line this weekend
Written by Paige M. Travis
The city of Knoxville has started a pilot composting project for residents and restaurants. Come meet cool people and learn more about limiting food waste and sip some beers April 9 at Crafty Bastard Brewery. City of Knoxville
Learn how to reduce food waste Saturday at Crafty Bastard Brewery
Paige Travis is a public information specialist for the city of Knoxville.
KNOXVILLE — The Waste and Resources Management Office invites the public to learn how to reduce food waste and drink a special brew Saturday, April 9 at the culmination of Tennessee Food Waste Awareness Week.
“The city of Knoxville is committed to reducing the amount of food waste that we put into our landfill,” said Waste and Resources Manager Patience Melnik, whose department recently launched the Knoxville Compost Pilot Project.
Hellbender Press previously reported on efforts to reduce food waste at the University of Tennessee.
Keeping energy inside: Grant to install 3-D printed walls at Knoxville’s oldest public housing complex
Written by S. Heather Duncan
This is a possible result of ORNL/KCDC energy efficiency improvements set for Knoxville public housing funded by a Department of Energy grant. The project will include the Boys & Girls Club. © 2016 urban design association
Energy-efficiency upgrades based on ORNL walls set for Knoxville public housing
KNOXVILLE — A city public housing project almost a century old is going to receive 3-D printed energy efficiency upgrades thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will partner with Knoxville’s Community Development Corporation to retrofit eight to 12 buildings at Western Heights using 3-D printed exterior “overclad” panels equipped with heat pumps and heat recovery systems. The Boys & Girls Club building at Five Points in Morningside will receive the same treatment.
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- energy conservation
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Fly away on an adventure at Avian Discovery Days
Written by Thomas Fraser
Chattanooga Audubon SocietyCHATTANOOGA — Birds of a feather are called to flock together this week at Chattanooga Audubon Society’s Avian Discovery Days April 5-7. This is the third year of this event at the Audubon Acres sanctuary, and reservations are required.
Call (423) 892-1499 or check out Avian Discovery Days for more information.
Participants will learn about birds during four activities, including bird walks specifically designed to teach identification skills. They will also learn how birds survive migration in the Great Migration Challenge game.
Empty halls, full hearts: Farragut students and teachers adapted with aplomb to pandemic challenge
Written by Ivy Zhang
An empty corridor at Farragut High School. Ivy Zhang/Hellbender Press
Despite COVID restrictions, Farragut High students still sought their shine
Hellbender Press intern Ivy Zhang is a junior at Farragut High School. She plans a career in journalism and digital media.
KNOXVILLE — For the 2020-2021 school year, Knox County Schools provided two choices for families: virtual learning or in-person schooling. Many students chose to do virtual school and participated in less extracurricular activities.
Students felt isolated. School clubs halted for the entire school year. The disruption caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) affected the whole world, as well as local communities.
Farragut High School, No. 2 in Knox County rankings, is a great example of how the COVID-19 pandemic affected students.
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Marie Kurz: Helping science on watersheds flow across disciplines
Written by Kristen Coyne
Marie Kurz is seen at a pond on the campus of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Carlos Jones/ORNL
From California canyons to German creeks: Science is personal and practical for ORNL scientist Marie Kurz
Kristen Coyne is a writer for Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
OAK RIDGE — Spanning no less than three disciplines, Marie Kurz’s title — hydrogeochemist — already gives you a sense of the collaborative, interdisciplinary nature of her research at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Still, those six syllables only hint at the vast web of relationships encompassed in her work.
Kurz studies how rivers flow through landscapes; what kinds of nutrients, contaminants and other material sail through them; and how they transform along the way. As an experimentalist, her favorite part of the job is getting into the field. Depending on the season, Kurz can be found clad in tights, gloves reaching her shoulders, a neon vest and a ponytail-taming cap as she sloshes in olive hip waders through the particular stream under her scrutiny. The getup, she said, always makes her feel a bit like the Michelin Man.
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- sediment
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- microbiology
- watershed modeling
- polyfluoroalkyl substance
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USGS
New York Times: Evolving native predation may help stem invasion of Burmese python
The proliferation of the exotic and invasive Burmese python in the swamps and wilds of Florida is demonstrably bad for native birds and mammals.
Researchers now have evidence the best solution might have been there all along.
A bobcat was captured on a trail camera by the U.S. Geological Survey eating python eggs and challenging one of the gigantic snakes. It was the first instance of natural, native predation on the snake’s eggs. Bobcats are already known to target reptile eggs, including those of sea turtles.
“While it is possible that this interaction was just an isolated incident, it is also possible that native species are beginning to respond to the presence of the python,” the New York Times reported.
“‘Most cat species adapt their diet to what is available, so bobcats predating on python eggs is actually not that surprising’” said Mathias Tobler, a wildlife ecologist at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.”
New digital maps outline precious pockets of remaining US biodiversity and the threats they face
Written by Dave Russell
The endangered Indiana bat is among threatened and endangered species in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Southern Appalachians show red as a warning on new detailed biodiversity maps
This story was originally published by the Sylva Herald.
SYLVA — Great Smoky Mountains National Park has long been known for its abundance of different species of flora and fauna.
Credit old mountains in a warm, sunny and wet region with varying types of climate, soil and stone for that large number.
“The park is almost certainly the most biodiverse national park in North America,” said Paul Super, national park science coordinator. “And certainly the most studied of any national park.”
A group of environmental organizations recently put together a series of maps illustrating the regions with the biggest threats to their biodiversity, and the area around Jackson County and the national park showed up in the red, showing risk. One such map, based on NatureServe data, is among the most detailed maps of endangered and threatened species ever produced.
After cleanup, what’s the future of the South Knoxville Superfund site?
Written by S. Heather Duncan
The Montgomery Village public housing complex in South Knoxville is separated only by railroad tracks from the Smoky Mountain Smelters Superfund site (and the Witherspoon dump site). S. Heather Duncan/Hellbender Press
A better use of the SMS/Witherspoon properties in Vestal may be constrained by toxic legacy and uncertain ownership
An imminent cleanup of a Superfund site in Vestal could pave the way for redevelopment and new life for the highly polluted property. But its future is complicated by muddy ownership and contradictory visions for its use.
The Smoky Mountain Smelters company left behind soil, groundwater and surface water pollution when it shuttered in 1994. But federal infrastructure funding is now slated to finish off a cleanup begun by the federal Environmental Agency at the Maryville Pike tract. Groundwater contamination below the surface is the most significant remaining problem.
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- drugrelated crime
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- joe hultquist
- smokey mountain smelters
- world’s fair park to mcghee tyson airport light rail
- david witherspoon
Infrastructure funding to cover South Knoxville Superfund site cleanup
Written by S. Heather Duncan
Aerial view (ca. 2002) of Smokey Mountain Smelters Superfund site, located between two rail lines. At left is the overpass of Maryville Pike, at right a section of Knox County Development Corporation’s Montgomery Village Apartments. The large smelter hall and a few of the apartment buildings have since been removed. Image from TN Dept. of Health
Knoxville’s most polluted former industrial site is slated for a massive cleanup soon thanks to funding from the bipartisan infrastructure bill Congress recently passed. The Smokey Mountain Smelters site in Vestal has spent more than a decade on the National Priorities List, commonly called the “Superfund” list, of the most contaminated properties in the U.S.
The work could start within just a few months, said Rusty Kestle, Environmental Protection Agency project manager for the site. He said it’s the top priority in the Southeast for the infrastructure funding because it’s among the most affordable and ready for action.
The digital Hellbender Press has been here a year. These are your favorite stories so far.
Written by Hellbender Press
Hellbender Press (Est. 1998) is ready to fight
We’ve got our sea legs after a maiden year-long digital voyage. Thanks to those who saw us through and made our latest digital endeavor a success.
Hellbender Press has a long way to go, and we hope y’all help push us along. Expect more news and features and an enhanced website moving forward.
The Environmental Journal of Southern Appalachia plans a main news dump every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but will update the site daily as possible, and when breaking news requires it.
Also stay tuned for regional environmental news on our social media at Facebook and Twitter.
We are working on an RSS/newsletter feature so you can digest the newest news bits at your leisure.
Big plans, but we need your help. Donations and grants to Hellbender Press are tax-deductible via Foundation for Global Sustainability, and we would love to feature your science, environment or natural history journalism, from the Cumberland Plateau to Chilhowee Mountain and Cataloochee. Hit us up via email at Hellbender Press if you want a platform for your work to advance science, truth, social justice and environmental conservation and preservation. Also hit us up with story ideas or news tips.
Please consider riding for the Hellbender brand as best you can.
Meanwhile...
Thanks to all who graciously shared their talents to get us under way, including everybody on the editorial board.
Here are the most-viewed stories since we went live in February 2021. It’s just a raw numbers rundown. It’s not weighted for social media vagaries, and many of the stories likely had more views than recorded.
It’s still a solid approximation of what you liked best. We appreciate you.
More...
Is TVA providing the best prices for energy consumers? Congress wants to know.
Written by Amy Rawe
The Tennessee Valley Authority's fossil plant at Kingston. TVASouthern Alliance for Clean Energy: TVA is not coming clean in Congressional inquiries
Tennessee Lookout: TWRA delays clearcut in Cumberlands as tourism official files suit
Written by Anita Wadhwani
Marvin Bullock, president of the Sparta-White County Chamber of Commerce, opposes deforestation efforts in the Bridgestone-Firestone Centennial Wilderness Area to create quail habitat. John Partipillo/Courtesy of Tennessee Lookout
Oak Ridge Rep. John Ragan joins bipartisan pushback against state plans to raze forest for quail habitat
This story was originally published by Tennessee Lookout.
SPARTA — For decades, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has kept the profits from the sale of timber and other natural resources on publicly owned lands, folding the payments from logging companies into the agency’s annual operating budget.
A bipartisan bill introduced in the Tennessee Legislature this week seeks to bring that practice to an end. The measure, introduced by Rep. John Ragan, R-Oak Ridge, and Sen. Heidi Campbell, D-Nashville, would require TWRA officials to transfer all proceeds from the sale of the state’s natural resources into Tennessee’s general fund — the process typically followed by other Tennessee agencies that generate income.
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- marvin bullock, president of the spartawhite county chamber of commerce
Knoxville Area Transit navigates length, depth and breadth
Written by Cittlali Onate
With their zero-emission drive, these quiet buses operate with 100% electric propulsion. Each electric bus helps prevent nearly 300,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions in our community annually. That’s like planting 2,283 trees. 
Knoxville Area Transit
Shut up and get on the bus
KNOXVILLE — Everyone needs to be everywhere at once: School, work, the grocery story, the mall and back home.
Locked into a society run by time, we tend to prefer methods of transportation that make for the quickest journey from place to place.
The modern car, usually powered by gasoline, provides individuals with quick transportation, which saves time. Private transportation embodies convenience.
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Foothills Land Conservancy saved some green in 2021
Written by Foothills Land Conservancy
Maryville-based FLC is finalizing this year’s remaining land preservation projects
131 acres in Jefferson County, TN, now preserved!
Left: Outstanding views atop this recently preserved property with cosmos blooms in foreground.
Middle: Spring-fed pond on the property.
Right: Mature forest on the west side of the property. Touch here for additional images
To date in 2021, FLC has worked with landowners to assist in the conservation of over 1,300 acres. It anticipates a few thousand more acres protected by year's end.
Highlights from the past year
Glenn and Katie Savage are two of FLC’s newest friends and partners in land conservation.
They recently placed a conservation easement on their 131-acre property, affectionately named Dancing Winds Wildlife Sanctuary and Arboretum, which is “dedicated to the preservation and protection of God’s glorious creations — plants and animals.”
Glenn has cultivated over 400 different types of trees which are planted across the property and lovingly tends his home garden full of a variety of beautiful and unique flowers.
The Savages have several fields planted in corn/grain sorghum as well as a variety of oaks and other mast-producing trees to supplement the diet of the countless white-tailed deer and turkeys that call their property home.
Glen and Katie are also avid birdwatchers and provide many types of feeders for their winged backyard visitors. The Savages say that protecting their beloved property and knowing that it will forever remain a safe haven for wildlife has given them peace of mind, and Glenn hopes in the future to convince some of his neighbors to partner with FLC to protect their land, too.
Tap here for additional images
