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The Environmental Protection Agency has decided to delay a decision on its proposed veto of Arch Coal’s Spruce No. 1 mine until September 24, 2010. The decision to delay came after the agency received over 4,000 public comments. The Spruce mine permit, if granted, would allow over seven miles of Appalachian headwater streams to be…

That’s the message the Obama administration sent last week when it proposed a new rule that would curtail pollution from coal-fired power plants in the eastern United States. According to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, the rule should improve air quality as far south as Texas and Florida and as far north as Minnesota and southern…

Last Thursday, activists with the Rainforest Action Network showed up at the headquarters of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, chained themselves to one another and began blasting a special edit of “Take me Home, Country Roads.” Their take on John Denver’s classic included intermittent sounds of the earth- and nerve-shattering explosives used during mountaintop removal…

The cost of nuclear generated electricityvs. solar generated electricity Check out the rest of the post on FacingSouth’s Blog HERE. Below is a teaser to tide you over until the FacingSouth Blog loads: The report points out that both new solar and new nuclear power sources will cost more than present electricity generation. However, power…

How was your weekend, America? Any hot dates? You’re still involved with Big Coal?! Unbelievable. (Sigh) You do love when that industry talks clean to you, don’t you? All those sweet little lies… Always the same story. You throw on your finest duds, but no longer expect anything new. Maybe you go out on your…

A dynamic group of academics, local community members, and business leaders have produced a unique special issue of Solutions journal dedicated to creating a brighter future for Appalachia. Hear from Wendell Berry, John Todd, Adam Lewis, Sarah Forbes, Erik Reece and many more in the July/August Appalachia special Issue of Solutions. Here’s what the Folks…

What do you get when you combine 13 real-life characters with one superb actress, a sold out venue, and an issue as compelling as mountaintop removal? In the case of Adelind Horan’s “Cry of the Mountain,” you get must see theater. Last week, I had the pleasure of seeing “Cry of the Mountain” at Live…

As human beings, we dream of getting on a Kawasaki Jet Ski and flying through the water at breakneck speeds. But for Dragonflies, of the order Odonata, every newborn gets this ability built-in, with a natural water propulsion system that helps it shoot across the water without even moving its arms or legs. What most…

Making good on a promise made back in April, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) will begin holding a series of open houses to accept public comments on Stream Protection Rule revisions currently in development by the agency. The proposed revisions are intended to change stream protection in regards to surface mining,…

By Megan Naylor An Alliance for Appalachia partner organization, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth and ENGAGE ( Educational Network for Global and Grassroots Exchange) have joined together to create a new report with stories concerning human rights violations associated with the process of mountaintop removal in Floyd County,Ky. According to The Universal Declaration of Human Rights,…