Articles by Regional Reporter, Appalachia Katie Myers

Katie Myers reports on climate change in Appalachia through a partnership between Grist and Blue Ridge Public Radio in western North Carolina. She previously served as a climate solutions fellow at Grist, and as an economic transition reporter in eastern Kentucky with the Ohio Valley ReSource and WMMT 88.7 FM. Her freelance work has appeared in the BBC, NPR, Belt Magazine, and the New Republic, among others, and she has completed media fellowships with the Society for Environmental Journalists, the Heinrich Boell Foundation, America Amplified, and the Solutions Journalism Network.

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Featured Article

A man out standing in his field. — Luther “Sunny” Miller once worked at a rocket and missile factory in eastern Tennessee, an experience that left him leery of a state effort to bring a nuclear "renaissance" to a region that played a key role in the Manhattan Project.

Luther “Sunny” Miller is nearly 80, but in his younger days, he worked at Aerojet, a rocket and missile manufacturer located quite literally in his backyard. He can’t prove it, but he worries that his thyroid and bladder problems, and his wife’s kidney disease, can be traced to the plant.

Last year, national nuclear supplier BWX Technologies purchased the factory in Jonesborough, Tennessee, and announced plans for a significant expansion. The new facility will convert depleted uranium oxide supplied by the Department of Energy into high-purity depleted uranium. The 10-year, $1.6-billion contract will supply the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, with the material needed to maintain the nation’s nuclear weapons arsenal. Despite the company’s promise to bring 175 permanent jobs to the area, Miller and many neighbors were left irate.

“They’re going to turn over the most beautiful parts of Tennessee into a nuclear waste area,” Miller said.

Katie Myers Energy

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Floods can leave communities facing higher overdose deaths for years

Disrupted treatment, unstable housing, and lasting trauma can compound a disaster’s toll — a pattern now emerging in communities recovering from Hurricane Helene.

Katie Myers Health
A swarm of solar ‘bees’ are coming to western North Carolina community hubs

Small-scale solar microgrids for Appalachian communities could help keep communities warm and fed during future blackouts.

Katie Myers Energy
The nation’s biggest public utility just doubled down on coal, gas, and nuclear

In a revised energy plan, the Tennessee Valley Authority follows Trump administration directives and shies away from solar and wind.

Katie Myers Energy
In the Smoky Mountains, a volunteer effort aims to document every species — before it’s too late

For citizen scientists, counting lichens and bugs and other tiny species is one way to monitor climate change in America's most biodiverse national park.

Katie Myers Science