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HUGE news. Don Blankenship will testify before Congress next week alongside UMWA President Cecil Roberts, whose impassioned testimony drew quite a reaction a few weeks ago before the Senate HELP Committee. (.pdf) Senator Byrd has accused Massey of “scoffing and laughing at” repeated MSHA violations at the Upper Big Branch mine prior to the disaster…

Students at the University of North Carolina won a commitment from campus administrators to phase out the use of coal to generate power at the Chapel Hill campus by 2020. The student-led Coal-Free UNC campaign also pushed administrators to end the use of mountain-top removal coal as quickly as possible. UNC’s campus is currently powered…

Bipartisan support is growing around legislation that would conserve energy, save Americans money on their power bills, and create tens of thousands of domestic jobs. The Rural Energy Savings Program Act (H.R. 4785) would provide electric cooperatives with $4.9 billion in loan authority through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service. Electric cooperatives would…

By Julie Johnson An energetic supporter of initiatives that foster a positive future, Julie worked with Appalachian Voices from 2009-2011, first as a Communications Intern, then as Distribution Manager and freelance feature writer for The Appalachian Voice. – – – – – Charlottesville, Va.-based rock and roots band Trees on Fire has announced the donation…

The recent Montcoal disaster highlighted the need for stronger mining safety reforms in our coal mines. We will continue highlighting policies where we see a need for improvement. We suggest following Ken Ward’s fantastic blog Coal Tattoo, and highly suggest reading all of his great piece in this Sunday’s Charleston Gazette. It included this staggering…

A thought provoking piece was posted yesterday in The Economist’s Democracy in America Blog. It’s entitled “Can’t See the Fire for the Smoke,” and highlights both the different approaches to public-relations employed by Massey Energy and BP in the wake of national tragedies, and the lack of attention either the Upper Big Branch explosion or…

By Matt Wasson The lede and photo from a story in the Miami Herald from November, 2009, helps put the health hazards associated with coal ash into perspective: “When I was pregnant, I was dizzy, vomiting and could barely walk,” said Maximiliano’s mother, Anajai Calcano, 20. “My tooth cracked and fell out. Then my baby…

When I first started as a volunteer at Appalachian Voices ago I quickly learned that this was no ordinary organization. The members of the staff and the volunteers function as a family, working feverishly together to right some of the greatest environmental wrongs in our country. It is this tight knit familial environment that makes…

This just in from Senator Byrd… “Our Greatest Resource” – U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va. The recent explosion at the Upper Big Branch coal mine in my home county of Raleigh, which killed 29 West Virginians and injured 2 others, has brought West Virginia statewide sorrow and worldwide attention. Reflecting on President John F.…