Story by Jeff Deal While the U.S. Congress wrestled with the question of uninsured Americans, many Appalachian residents were without health insurance in 2008 and 2009. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey, the number of insured residents…
Monthly Archives: December 2010
Health Report
An End-of-the-Decade Checkup on the Wellbeing of Our Region Story by Parker Stevens and Jeff Deal How much money would you take in exchange for 40 years of your life? $1 million? $1 billion? Would any sum of money be…
After The Hoopla: What The 2010 Elections Mean for Mountaintop Removal
Story by J.W. Randolph & Bill Kovarik The mid-term elections this November will have mixed results for efforts to end mountaintop removal coal mining, with Republicans gaining control of the U.S. House of Representatives for the next two years and…
The Coal Report
Compiled by Jamie Goodman WVDEP Required to Obtain Discharge Permits According to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is required to obtain permits to discharge pollutants at abandoned coal mines. The decision upholds…
Eastern Kentucky Power Halts Proposed Smith Power Plant
Story by Jamie Goodman Environmental groups in Kentucky are celebrating a major victory over a proposed coal-fired power plant slated for Clark County. Eastern Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) reached a settlement with environmental groups, three individual co-op members, the Kentucky…
The Chestnut: Restoring an American Classic
Story by Jillian Randel A century ago, one in four trees in the forests of Appalachia and throughout the eastern United States was an American chestnut, providing a reliable source of food and timber for humans and animals. Now it…
Across Appalachia
Notes from all Over Stories by Megan Perdue Land Trusts To Preserve 50,000 Acres in Western N.C. Nine regional land trusts have agreed to a five-year plan aimed at protecting 50,000 acres of Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina.…
Contamination Concerns Mount as Gas Fracking Heats Up
Story by Jillian Randel The negative effects of fracking for natural gas just keep, well, stacking up. The impact of drilling in Appalachia has already been substantial. The Marcellus Shale formation, which stretches from New York to Pennsylvania and Ohio…
The Hemlocks! The Hemlocks!
Story by Jamie Goodman A striking new art exhibit has captured the life and death of the great eastern hemlock, bringing the plight of this threatened tree to indoor audiences. Internationally-renowned artist Lowell Hayes, a resident of Valle Crucis, N.C.,…
Thems “The Breaks” – Enjoying the Unknown Beauty of Breaks Interstate Park
Story by Daniel Hawkins Within the coalfields, straddling the border of Southwestern Virginia and Eastern Kentucky, lies a little-known natural wonder of the Appalachian Mountains. Known as the Grand Canyon of the South, Breaks Interstate Park is home to one…
