Dear members,

Thanks for being a friend of Appalachian Voices -- we appreciate the time you devote to staying updated and taking action on environmental issues in the region!

We’re gearing up for Artists for Appalachia, a special annual membership meeting and 15th anniversary celebration June 21 in Charlottesville, Va., and you're invited.

Throughout the evening, we'll celebrate Appalachia’s natural and cultural heritage with a host of special guests, including renowned environmental defender Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., country music legend Kathy Mattea, Michael Johnathon of internationally syndicated Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour, singers and songwriters Daniel Martin Moore and Trent Wagler, the producer and director of the award-winning film The Last Mountain, Clara Bingham and Bill Haney, Charlottesville folksingers The Honey Dewdrops, and more!

Receive a ticket to Artists for Appalachia by becoming a member of Appalachian Voices or renewing your membership for $35. Special reserved seating is available for an additional $15 donation, but these seats are limited and expected to go quickly. Click here to purchase a ticket and membership.

We hope you can join us in Charlottesville, Va., June 21, to celebrate the region we all love and to prepare for the next 15 years of protecting Central and Southern Appalachia.

For the mountains,

Willa Mays
Executive Director

There's Coal Ash in the Transportation Bill?

That's right. The U.S. House voted to attach a provision to their version of the Transportation bill that would stop the EPA from ever issuing minimum safeguards on coal ash, leaving us with a dangerous version of the status quo. Hopefully the Senate will see that coal ash doesn't belong in our Transportation bill -- or in our nation's waterways.
 [ Read more and contact your senators. ]

Dominion Needs a Brighter Idea

Dominion Virginia Power, the Commonwealth's largest utility, is seeking approval for a 15-year plan that fails to even meet the state's conservative benchmarks for energy efficiency and renewable energy. We need Virginia residents - especially Dominion customers - to let the commission know that you expect more from Dominion! [ Make your voice heard at our Rally for a Clean Energy Future in Richmond on May 8 and submit a public comment to the state demanding that Dominion make plans for a clean energy future!]

Coal Lobby Delays Mountaintop Removal Ban

In Tennessee, the coal lobby once again successfully delayed efforts to protect mountaintops and Appalachian communities. Despite the request for an up-or-down vote on the Scenic Vistas Protection Act, an unfriendly motion killed the bill by sending it to "summer study," where the Committee is charged with taking an in-depth look at the impacts of surface mining’s impact on Tennessee. [ Learn more about the Tennessee legislature's coal-fueled cowardice. ]

Appalachian Voices Roundup....

 

KY WATER CHECK-UP: Our Appalachian Water Watch team recently met with members of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth to help with baseline water quality monitoring in Harlan County and acid mine drainage sampling in Floyd County. [ Read more about these water quality tests. ]

SOUTHEAST TO NORTHWEST: Our Appalachian Treasures team is out West with Amber Whittington of Ameagle, W.Va., educating new friends about mountaintop removal. Before heading back East, the team has a few more presentations in Washington state. [ Check out the tour schedule. ]

ABOVE BOARD: Our amazing Board of Directors members are staying busy outside of their great work for Appalachian Voices. Latest accomplishments include: Van Jones releasing his exciting new book, Reclaim the Dream, Dot Griffith placing as a finalist in the 2011 Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition, and Silas House co-writing and publishing a moving coming-of-age-novel, Under the Same Sun. Congratulations to all three!

Boone, N.C. • Charlottesville, Va Washington, D.C. • Nashville, Tenn.