Unnatural Disaster Podcast

Unnatural

We tell stories of man made unnatural disasters. A landfill in the Birthplace of Country Music is poisoning residents. We're digging into the story and it's not as clear as you might think.

Episodes

  1. the Roadless Rule is under attack

    SEP 17

    the Roadless Rule is under attack

    Take Action to Protect the Roadless Rule The USDA is moving to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule, which safeguards nearly 60 million acres of national forests that provide clean water, wildlife habitat, and recreation opportunities. The public comment period is closing this Friday September 19th, and this may be our only chance to speak up. Use the links below to submit your official comment and contact your representatives. With environmental law, a win is temporary — but a loss is permanent. Make your voice heard today. Submission of a comment takes 5 minutes.   You can submit comments on the Roadless Rule by visiting the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov and searching for docket number FS-2025-0001  View full proposal & public docket: FS-2025 Roadless Rule Docket https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FS-2025-0001 Key Federal Contacts in Tennessee Contact Senator Marsha Blackburn (TN) via her email form: https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/email-me Find your U.S. Senators (TN or any state): Senate.gov contact page  https://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/ Find your U.S. House Representative by ZIP: Congress.gov “Find Your Member”  https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member*Here is an easy outline for submission Subject: Keep the Roadless Rule in Place I am writing to strongly oppose the proposed rescission of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The Roadless Rule is one of the most successful conservation measures in our nation’s history. It protects nearly 60 million acres of national forests that provide clean drinking water, safeguard wildlife habitat, store carbon, and support billions of dollars in recreation and tourism. These lands are the headwaters of many rivers and are essential to the health of our communities. The Forest Service already maintains over 380,000 miles of roads—eight times the size of the interstate highway system—with a shrinking budget. Expanding this road network would be fiscally irresponsible and would undermine the agency’s ability to maintain the roads we already have. More roads also mean greater wildfire risk, since the vast majority of wildfires are human-caused. Contrary to claims made in support of rescission, the Roadless Rule already allows for wildfire management, public safety measures, and other necessary activities. What rescinding the rule would actually do is open the door to expanded logging and mining in some of our most ecologically sensitive and beloved landscapes, for the short-term benefit of private industry at the long-term expense of the American public. This rule was developed in 2001 after an unprecedented democratic process—600 public meetings and 1.6 million comments. It reflects overwhelming public support for protecting our shared natural heritage. It should not be discarded now through a rushed process heavily influenced by special interests. I urge the USDA and Forest Service to keep the Roadless Rule in place. Protect our forests, our waters, our climate, and the public interest for generations to come. Sincerely,  [Your Name]  [City, State] unnaturaldisasterpodcast@gmail.com

    24 min
  2. Nolichucky River and the CSX Rail Line

    11/15/2024

    Nolichucky River and the CSX Rail Line

    In this episode, we dive into a pressing environmental crisis unfolding right now on the Nolichucky River, as told by Dennis Ashford—a professor of Chemistry @ Tusculum University, kayaker, and tireless advocate for the protection of one of the most iconic rivers in the Southeast. Dennis and I have crossed paths over the years in Johnson City, with a shared passion for the Nolichucky and its surrounding region. But today, we’re talking about something far more urgent: an ongoing disaster that is threatening the river's future—and it’s happening as we speak. Dennis has been on the front lines of recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Helene, helping with rescue missions in the aftermath of the catastrophic flooding that devastated western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. But now, he's focusing on a different kind of crisis—one that is largely being ignored, despite its devastating impact on the environment and local communities. The Nolichucky River, a vital natural resource and recreational gem, is being slowly destroyed by preventable practices, and the clock is ticking. This isn’t just another environmental issue; this is a call to action. The river’s degradation is happening right before our eyes, and it’s not too late to make a difference. Tune in to hear how we can all take a stand before it's too late. Please share this important message and help us spread the word. Please see the Google Drive Doc below for contact info of officials that can make a difference.    Please email me for any thoughts or comments. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oC8kr8WfLe02xjfrDsdxrXMT_OjG9AzfHLdcHW1vdS0/edit?usp=sharing https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Article/view/article_id/OzuqNQSj9cK0ootdD4qCs/ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61568460330466 unnaturaldisasterpodcast@gmail.com

    37 min
  3. Bristol landfill episode #5

    02/10/2023

    Bristol landfill episode #5

    In this episode I sit down with my friend and guest Brad as we discuss wastewater. Brad knows quite a lot about the regulatory environment related to water quality and wastewater requirements. We discuss how the wastewater treatment process normally works and how it's NOT working as intended in this case as related to the leachate and wastewater being produced by the landfill in Bristol VA. SPOILER- it's a very bad situation that will affect people even if they can't smell the landfill gasses.  500,000 gal/day of toxic liquids are coming out of the landfill everyday. Some links here for reference: What is an NPDES permit?      https://www.epa.gov/npdes/npdes-permit-basics What is pretreatment?       https://www.tn.gov/environment/permit-permits/water-permits1/npdes-permits1/npdes-pretreatment-program.html Discharge permit to Bristol TN from BVU https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P91uEpRDcFK2d49hEYgSI-i3Qx9h5RNd/view Bristol wastewater treatment center permit https://dataviewers.tdec.tn.gov/dataviewers/f?p=2005:34051:2695843727769:::34051:P34051_PERMIT_NUMBER:TN0023531 VADEQ freedom of info records request page: https://www.deq.virginia.gov/get-involved/about-deq/freedom-of-information-act/online-records Hope for Bristol Community Meeting 1/6/23 w Lois Gibbs & Stephen Lester   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5u-x_hAp-U https://hopeforbristol.org/      -- with more documents posted here in the future unnaturaldisasterpodcast@gmail.com

    1h 16m

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

We tell stories of man made unnatural disasters. A landfill in the Birthplace of Country Music is poisoning residents. We're digging into the story and it's not as clear as you might think.