This month, the New York Times ran a story in the front page of the Business Section about the battle over Coal River Mountain. This mountain, the last standing in the Coal River Valley, is slated for a 6,600 square mile mountaintop removal mine. But local residents, led by grandmother Lorelei Scarbro, has a different vision: a 328 megawatt wind farm. Appalachian Voices and Google Earth Outreach teamed up with the Coal River Wind project to create an interactive Google Earth tour and an accompanying video of the mountain’s plight. The tour was displayed at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen last summer.

Two days later, the New York Times came out with its most strongly worded editorial opposing mountaintop removal.

Read:
NYT Times Article: Beyond Fossil Fuels: A Battle in Mining Country Pits Coal Against Wind
NYT Editorial: A Mountain in the Stream

Watch:

LINK TV is an online TV program supported by notables like Danny Glover and Harry Belafonte, recently ran a piece about mountaintop removal in their news program. Its a very dramatic piece and will get you fired up. But my only wish is that they showed more of the middle ground, less of the anger and more of the sustained passion that so many people have. Not that anger is not justified or have its place, but there are more nuances to this mountaintop removal movement. As a movement, we need to learn to talk to those who support mountaintop removal, because, most people want the same things- security for their families.

We do need to attract economic options to Appalachian coal regions that does cost people their health, their mountains and their communities. But it will be difficult to do that when mountains are blasted, streams are buried and polluted, and drinking water is orange from heavy metal and smells like sulfur. But we will prevail- we have a national movement. If you are not already, please join us today.

Kentuckian focuses on the need to end mountaintop removal, improve safety

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Learn more about Music on the Mountains here

The Music on the Mountaintop festival is only a few short weeks away… Have you got your tickets?!

Yes? You’re Amazing. No? Go get em!

This year the all-star lineup includes Stillwater, New Jersey natives Railroad Earth. Borrowing their name from the Jack Kerouac short story “October in the Railroad Earth,” the group thrives in a live environment. Combining bluegrass, rock, jazz, and celtic textures, the act makes good use of improvisation, while respecting classic song structures and thoughtful lyricism. It all adds up to thrilling and captivating performances and they’re coming to Boone!

Hear em for yourself via Facebook

Not only are the members bonafide musicians, they’re also doing their part to raise awareness about environmental issues. They’ve even got their own environmental blog called The Forecast on their website! Very cool.

Music on the Mountaintop is also doing its part to promote the environment. The are organizing a river clean up on the New, employing solar staging technology, shuttling festival goers, composting trash, and hosting a food drive. Yea! In addition, Appalachian Voices is honored to be receiving a percentage of the festival’s 2010 proceeds!
Learn more about the festivals green cred here

And get those tickets!

Railroad Earth currently includes Todd Sheaffer (guitar, vocals), Tim Carbone (violin, accordian, electric guitar, vocals), John Skehan (mandolin, bouzouki, vocals), And Goessling (acoustic guitars, banjo, dobro, mandolin, flute, pennywhistle, saxophones, vocals), Carey Harmon (drums, hand percussion, vocals), and Andrew Altman (bass, vocals).

The group has recorded and released five albums. Including:

The Black Bear Sessions (2001)
Bird in a House (2002)
The Good Life (2004)
Elko (2006)
Amen Corner (2008)

Learn more about Railroad Earth on their website!
Learn more about Music on the Mountains here!

North American River Otters are the jesters of the waterways.

Officially they belong to the Mustelidae family, sharing ancestry with badgers, minks and weasels.

It is not unusual to see them using grass, mud and snow banks leading to the river as their own personal playgrounds, slipping and sliding as they launch their bodies into the water below.

Moving agilely in the water is their strong suit since they are quick, nimble, playful and sleek.

Otters can swim backwards as well as forwards, do their own version of the back stroke (more like a back float kick), and tread water which is important because they must remain in motion to keep their position on the surface.

Their small eyes and ears, long slender bodies, thick tapered tails and compact round muzzles give them a stealthy distinguished look, which is fitting in their line of work since they need to move quietly and efficiently when fishing.

They can swim up to 6.8 miles per hour, dive up to 60 feet, and stay below for nearly 4 minutes.

Their eyes are protected by a translucent eyelid called a nictating membrane. The membrane is essentially a built-in pair of swimming goggles allowing them to see uninhibited while submerged.

The tail is used for stabilization and for short bursts of rapid propulsion, often used to chase food or escape predators.

Short legs,webbed feet and thick waterproof fur round out their swimming costume.

Having fully webbed toes allows them to glide smoothly and pick up speed quickly when chasing down a meal.

Otters tend to favor fish but also eat amphibians, turtles and crayfish.

The title river otter can be somewhat misleading, since they dwell in saltwater areas as well as freshwater. Habitat areas they frequent include: lakes, rivers, inland wetlands, coastal shorelines and marshes and estuaries.

Shelter typically consists of hollow logs or abandoned dens and burrows of other animals.

Though North American River Otters once played and swam freely along the banks of North America’s rivers their numbers have lowered due to heavy trapping, habitat destruction and pollutants.

Conservation and reintroduction have helped to repopulate areas in the U.S where numbers were low to non-existent, but river otter populations are still struggling to stay afloat.

They are still viewed as vulnerable throughout much of their range in mid western United States and the Appalachian mountains.

Many biologists believe that the best way to ensure the survival of the otter is to vote for clean water and support sustainable agriculture and development.

By Brittney Baker

After being offered (and accepting!) the Outreach Assistant position I was eager to start my internship at Appalachian Voices. Finally, in mid-May I started my position. Throughout my position I have learned, worked hard, and have constantly been amazed and impressed at the talented staff and supporters of Appalachian Voices.

Appalachian Treasures Tour
The first task I was assigned was to schedule an advocacy tour throughout the state of Pennsylvania to educate citizens about mountaintop removal coal mining. This involved a lot of cold-calling to potential hosts. At first, I hated the cold calling. I would dial the number quickly before I could change my mind about making the call and my heart rate would increase with each ring. Eventually, after much coaching, I realized that I was just talking to another human being on the phone. By the end of the planning, I had built relationships with some of the tour hosts through our contact on the phone and e-mail. The passion that these supporters have to end mountaintop removal coal mining would remind me of why Appalachian Voices’ work is so important. I enjoy every opportunity I get to talk to these supporters. All of my planning was put into the hands of the amazing Austin Hall who engaged supporters on the road in Pennsylvania. My favorite part of my internship at Appalachian Voices was being able to get to know a few of the supporters well and I would have not had this opportunity if I was not forced to make a few cold calls.

Mountaintop Tuesdays DC Volunteer Nights
Each week, volunteers gather in the DC office to contact supporters by phone to encourage them to call, write, and meet with their Senators and Representatives about the Appalachia Restoration Act (S.B. 696) and Clean Water Protection Act (H.R. 1310). At first, just like setting up the Appalachian Treasures Tour, I was not thrilled to be making calls to strangers. I was surprised at how willing people were to say “yes!”. In addition to making contact with supporters during our volunteer nights, we also had some fun. Jed Grubbs led us in some sweet t-shirt making. These t-shirits are meant to be worn to be a conversation starter about MTR. Volunteer nights would not have been possible without the hard work, dedication, and travel of Jed!

Speaking at Limestone Presbyterian Church
Much of what I learned throughout the summer was applied at my speaking engagement at Limestone Presbyterian Church. My friend Sarah Marshall is an Elder at the church and connected me with the pastors Bruce and Carolyn Gillette, who are passionate about environmental justice and creation care. After the church service, Magpie played their song “Barons of King Coal” to introduce the topic of mountaintop removal coal mining. Their music is powerful and moving and if you have not had an opportunity to hear them, definitely check them out. After the music I described mountaintop removal coal mining and showed a brief DVD about the practice. Then came the “call to action”. Members of the congregation and guests in attendance wrote letters to Senator Tom Carper, Senator Ted Kaufman, and Representative Mike Castle urging them to end the devastating practice of mountaintop removal coal mining. It was awesome that people were receptive and willing to take the time to write letters.

I had many fabulous experiences this summer. I am grateful for the support of all of the staff members at Appalachian Voices, but especially the support from Kate Rooth, JW Randolph, and Lenny Kohm who taught me invaluable lessons about the campaign, the hill, and DC in general. Thank you for an awesome internship experience!