The Front Porch Blog, with Updates from AppalachiaThe Front Porch Blog, with Updates from Appalachia

Coal River Mountain is not a dump

Wednesday, April 11th, 2018 | Posted by Willie Dodson | No Comments

Proposed revisions to the Collins Fork Permit do not meet any reclamation standards set forth to restore ecosystems, forests or garner resources for the community. [ Read More ]


Still on hold: Few answers on review of mountaintop removal health impacts

Wednesday, March 7th, 2018 | Posted by Erin Savage | 3 Comments

More than a year into the Trump administration, a director for the Office of Surface Mining has yet to be confirmed. And it's unlikely that Trump's pro-coal pick will reinstate a review of the human health impacts of mountaintop removal. [ Read More ]


The National Mining Association doesn’t speak for coal communities

Thursday, October 5th, 2017 | Posted by Erin Savage | No Comments

The National Mining Association shrugged when a review of research linking mountaintop removal to human health impacts was halted. But the NMA does not speak for coal communities. [ Read More ]


Massive mountaintop removal mine threatens Clearfork Valley

Thursday, September 14th, 2017 | Posted by Willie Dodson | 4 Comments

The Clearfork Valley of Tennessee has been intensely surface-mined going back decades. Now, Kopper Glo Mining is moving forward with a nearly 1,500-acre mountaintop removal mine on nearby Cooper Ridge. [ Read More ]


White House halts review of mountaintop removal health impacts

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2017 | Posted by Erin Savage | No Comments

The U.S. Department of the Interior ordered the National Academy of Sciences to halt its review of the links between mountaintop removal coal mining and human health impacts. [ Read More ]


Keeping the mountain in Coal River Mountain

Monday, July 31st, 2017 | Posted by Willie Dodson | 1 Comment

Local groups like Coal River Mountain Watch and Kanawha Forest Coalition are critical to protecting communities living near mountaintop removal mines in West Virginia. Appalachian Voices is helping them monitor mining activities and permits. [ Read More ]


Citizens discuss environmental threats and economic priorities during Congressman’s visit

Wednesday, June 14th, 2017 | Posted by Erin Savage | No Comments

People from coal-impacted communities across Central Appalachia recently gathered in Wise County, Va., to share their concerns and ideas with U.S. Representative Raúl Grijalva. [ Read More ]


Atlantic Coast Pipeline is far from a done deal

Friday, April 28th, 2017 | Posted by Cat McCue | No Comments

In a classic “fake news” move, Dominion Resources execs held a tele-press conference yesterday where they basically said the Atlantic Coast Pipeline is a done deal. But at least 25,000 people across W.Va., Va. and N.C. are demanding answers, such as: Is this pipeline even needed? [ Read More ]


Appalachia is blessed with abundant water — we should protect it

Monday, February 20th, 2017 | Posted by Guest Contributor | No Comments

"One of the resources we are most blessed with here in Appalachia is fresh drinking water of the highest quality," writes Mackay Pierce in defense of the Stream Protection Rule, which was recently thrown out by Congress and President Trump. "We should be taking every possible measure that we can to protect it." [ Read More ]


Protect natural resources for Southwest Virginia’s future

Wednesday, February 15th, 2017 | Posted by Guest Contributor | No Comments

For all my life, the coal economy has ruled this region and its people," writes Ron Short of Danville, Va., in a letter supporting the Stream Protection Rule. "Now we are facing the demise of the coal industry, and we must save the valuable natural resources that we have left if we are ever to develop cultural tourism and eco-tourism as important parts of a new economy that works for everyone." [ Read More ]


Fighting for clean water after the Stream Protection Rule

Tuesday, February 7th, 2017 | Posted by Erin Savage | No Comments

When Congress voted last week to overturn the Stream Protection Rule, people braced themselves for the coming impacts. But threats to public water from corporate and political interests are nothing new in Central Appalachia, nor is the problem unique to this area. In the face of these threats, communities fighting for clean water need our continued support. [ Read More ]


Congress takes aim at stream protections

Friday, January 13th, 2017 | Posted by Brian Sewell | No Comments

In December, the Obama administration released the final Stream Protection Rule knowing it would be a likely top target for the incoming Republican-controlled Congress. And it is, indeed, in the crosshairs -- but members of Congress should understand they’re gambling with Appalachia’s health and economic future, all for a risky bet on coal’s unlikely comeback. [ Read More ]



 

 


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