Saving the Smokies

Yesterday, US District Court Judge Lacy Thornburg ordered the Tennessee Valley Authority to begin installing new pollution control technology on coal-fired power plants in east Tennessee and north Alabama in order to improve air quality in the North Carolina mountains. Now, I've lived here most of my life and I'm not the only one who has noticed that the Great Smokies are smokier than the mountains of my childhood. TVA has until 2013 to fully comply. Let's hope this is a step in the right direction to preserve the mountain landscape for future generations.