Even as the half-century old Allen Steam Plant in Memphis continued to consume coal to create electricity for the Mid-South, TVA officials gathered at the other end of the state to dedicate the new John Sevier Combined Cycle Plant near Rogersville, TN.

The sleek new plant burns natural gas, and when added to the several other recently-added plants the Tennessee Valley Authority is now producing only one-third of its power from coal-fired facilities - a big change from fiscal 2011, when coal accounted for 52 percent of TVA's power generation.

The shift away from coal is part of a larger national trend, spurred on by the availability of cheap natural gas deposits that are now extracted by new shale-fracturing processes.  Federal air pollution standards have become increasingly stringent as well, contributing to the move to cleaner-burning natural gas.

(WMC-TV) - Have you ever considered cloth diapers?  Are the first images that pop in your head large swaths of fabric, pins and plastic pants?  If so, then you need to find out how different modern cloth diapers are now.

The modern cloth diaper systems are pin-less, easy to use and better for the environment.  Another important factor to busy parents is that modern cloth diapers are easy to wash.  The fabrics used now are soft, colorful and comfortable on the delicate skin of babies.  They are also easier on the environment. 

In the United States alone, 49 million diapers per day (18 billion per year) are thrown away.  Disposable diapers go into landfills in which (under ideal conditions) it is estimated that it would take hundreds of years to decompose.   Each baby in cloth diapers will help to divert many of these diapers from municipal landfills.