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Appalachia, of course, is the heart of the Coal industry, but more sustainable visions for the future are more prevalent than you might think. One standout endeavor is the JOBS project, a Williamson, WV-based initiative that seeks to train unemployed construction workers in the installation of solar panels. Partnering with Mountainview Solar & Wind LLC,…

By special guest to the Front Porch Jaden McTaggart Bonnaroo, the four day music festival in Manchester, TN is considered our modern day Woodstock. It’s a gathering of hippies, hipsters, veteran festival goers, techno ragers, families, crazies, and all things outside and in between. All these groups and cultures come together to celebrate something we…

Four weeks left until our Watauga Riverkeeper Festival. Come out on July 24, from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the Community Park in Valle Crucis, N.C.! Enjoy a day of outdoor recreation and a celebration of the river with live music, games, food and if the river is running—a float down the wild and…

Last April, the EPA announced new guidance standards for new and pending surface mine permits in Appalachia. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson stated “Coal communities should not have to sacrifice their environment or their health or their economic future to mountaintop mining. They deserve the full protection of our clean water laws.” The Administrator proclaimed “You’re…

Remember FACES of Coal? The less than bona fide astroturfing organization whose members keep turning up on iStockphoto.com? Well, the antics continue as they’re none too pleased with the EPA these days. It seems the EPA has got it in for Apple Juice creeks and Gatorade streams. Typical right?! Far as we know, Lisa Jackson…

Robert C. Byrd “may come closer to the kind of senator the Founding Fathers had in mind than any other.” — Almanac of American Politics Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) passed away early this morning at the age of 92. Senator Byrd is the longest serving member of the United States Congress in American history,…

By Megan Naylor Megan is a frequent contributor to The Appalachian Voice publication, and served as Appalachian Voices’ Communications intern during Spring and Fall 2010. Appalachian Voices traveled to eastern Kentucky to show Reuters the impact of mountaintop removal.Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, a partner organization, helped to coordinate the trip. The video focuses on the…

You’ve heard of the dirty dozen? Well, thanks to Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, we now have the Clean Water Dozen! That’s 12 Senators supporting the Appalachia Restoration Act, and in so doing, standing up for clean water and against mountaintop removal coal mining. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) is a 4th term Democrat from Maryland,…

Mounting evidence shows mountaintop removal is detrimental to the health of local communities, to the land it flattens, and to the water it buries and pollutes, but the industry loves to tout that coal is good for local economies. But is that really the case? Two blockbuster reports released today by Downstream Strategies reveal that…