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Clean up and renew Appalachia
By George Brosi George Brosi is the Editor of Appalachian Heritage at Berea College, KY The future of Appalachia will be great if we can clean up and renew our infrastructure — in the broad sense of that term. If we can’t, there will be two Appalachias: one of fancy gated communities and the other…
Read MoreAppalachian Artists and Writers Must Create the Vision of a Healthy Future
By Theresa L. Burriss Theresa L. Burriss is an assistant professor of English and Appalachian studies at Radford University. Burriss also serves as the contributing senior editor of Pluck! The Journal of Affrilachian Arts & Culture. Appalachia is spiritually bankrupt. Despite the noble efforts of activist organizations and religious groups, mountaintop removal coal mining continues…
Read MoreBuild on Historic Traditions
By Dr. Jeff Boyer Dr Boyer is a professor in the Anthropology Department and Sustainable Development Program at Appalachian State University Peering into Appalachia’s crystal ball, 20 years out is mostly full of “ifs.” But if the current economic recession darkens our gaze, the recent election was more about hope than fear, regardless of how…
Read MoreGenerating a Renewed Energy Future
By Rory McIlmoil Rory McIlMoil is the Coal River Wind Campaign Coordinator for the Coal River Mountain Watch Through the employment of Mountaintop Removal (MTR) mining methods, the Appalachian coal industry has evolved. Now it is not merely suppressing economic diversification and prosperity in Appalachia as it has traditionally done. Now it is completely destroying…
Read MoreIt’s the Water, Stupid
By Harvard Ayers Harvard Ayers is a professor of Anthropology at Appalachian State University and a founding Board Member of Appalachian Voices. Appalachia has long been the source of water for vast areas both east and west of our region. From points east to the Atlantic to points west to the Mississippi River, our once…
Read MoreAppalachia Could Be America’s Centerpiece
By Kate Larken Kate Larken is a member of Public Outcry, a musical group that performs to educate the public about mountaintop removal coal mining. She is also the publisher of MotesBooks, Inc. There are several Appalachias. Life at the northern end of our mountain chain differs from the southern mountains’ culture, but both extremes…
Read MoreLoosen Industry’s Grip on Government
By Jeff Biggers Jeff Biggers is the author of The United States of Appalachia and a contributor to Huffington Post, where this first appeared. … If President-elect Obama is truly serious about affecting climate change, launching a new green economy, and insuring environmental protection and mine workplace safety, then we must end the appointment of…
Read MoreInaugural New River Trail Race A Success
Runners of the first New River Trail 50K (NRT 50K) began their race with foggy 48 degree temperatures on Saturday, October 11, but finished with bright skies and sunny conditions. Of the 102 racers at the start of the 50K (31.1 miles) course—known as an “ultramarathon”—100 crossed the finish line and 96 finished in the…
Read MoreStream Buffer Zone Rule Repeal Deserves President Obama’s Attention
To the outrage of environmentalists across the Appalachian region, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved a severe weakening of a rule protecting streams from coal mining pollution in early December. The Stream Buffer Zone rule had been in effect since 1983 to protect the nation’s headwater streams from being buried by valley fills from mountaintop…
Read MoreUSA & Columbia: Coal Is The Wound That Binds
Environmental Effects of Mountaintop Removal Mining Worse Than South American Mining Operations First of a series: Coal around the World By Bill Kovarik Mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia is even more destructive than in Columbia, said two union miners from that South American country on a tour of the coalfields this November. “It was a great…
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