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Blasting Begins on Coal River Mountain
By Julie Johnson On Oct. 24, Massey Energy began blasting on Coal River Mountain, a ridgeline that has become symbolic in the nationwide campaign to end mountaintop removal coal mining. This West Virginia mountain is home to the highest peaks ever slated for mountaintop removal in the state. The state’s Department of Environmental Protection has…
Read MoreTensions Continue to Grow Over Mountaintop Removal Mining
By Sandra Diaz From civil disobedience with ever-increasing fines to public-hearings-turned-shouting-matches, the tension between mountaintop removal factions has turned explosive. Fines for acts of civil disobedience in actions opposing mountaintop removal have been increasing, but the additional costs have not stopped the protests. On Sept. 9, four protesters, along with a journalist covering the event,…
Read MoreAIRE and MOTM: Combining Music With Renewable Energy
By Jeff Deal The 4,200 folks who turned out for this year’s Music on the Mountaintop (MOTM)raised $5,000 for community driven renewable energy. The August festival in Boone, N.C. hosted stellar performances by four-time Grammy Award winner Sam Bush and music favorites Acoustic Syndicate and Kellar Williams. The Appalachian Institute for Renewable Energy (AIRE)—an organization…
Read MoreN.C. Residents Speak Out About Four-Lane Highway Proposal
By Julie Johnson A proposal for a four-lane highway through the Stecoah Valley drew residents from Graham County, N.C. and surrounding areas to speak out at a packed community center on Oct. 28. This ten mile, split-median road is being proposed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) at an estimated budget of $350…
Read MoreBe a Locavore: Support your community and sustain yourself
By Maureen Halsema As you are savoring your roasted turkey, dumplings, cranberry sauce, and hot apple pie this holiday season, keep in mind the average item in the grocery store travels over 1,000 miles to your table. Appalachia is rich in farmer’s markets and food co-operatives featuring locally grown and organic foods. Besides being fresher…
Read MoreGreen Gifts That Keep on Giving
By Maureen Halsema The holidays are upon us and as visions of sugarplums begin to dance through our heads, thoughts of presents for loved ones are not far behind. Instead of searching the crowded stores for a gift that may get thrown in the back of the closet, this year give a gift that really…
Read MoreChasing Copenhagen
By Bill Kovarik (In September, Appalachian Voice was invited by the governments of Germany and Denmark to see first hand the commitments and the costs of renewable energy development, as the world considers what might be done at the international climate summit planned for Copenhagen in December of 2009.) A sobering dinner with…
Read MoreSustainable Living Center: Teaching by Example
By Maureen Halsema The sun was shining, the wind was blowing and the energy was flowing into the little office in Floyd, Va. “You can’t miss it,” Billy Weitzenfeld said. “It’s the building next to the 42-foot tall wind turbine.” The Sustainable Living Education Center, a branch of the Association of Energy Conservation Professionals (AECP),…
Read MoreWar Spur Trail at Mountain Lake Wilderness
Story by Joe Tennis Call this a place of highlands and headwaters—an old growth forest where solitude and breathtaking vistas are unmatched—a getaway in southwest Virginia’s Jefferson National Forest. Here, in the Mountain Lake Wilderness Area of Giles County, Va., lies the Eastern Continental Divide. Streams in this region flow into either the New River,…
Read MorePreliminary independent tests find high levels of toxic chemicals in Harriman TN fly ash deposits
High levels of toxic heavy metals are present in samples taken from the Kingston Fossil Plant ash spill in Harriman, TN, independent testing shows. Preliminary testing was conducted on samples from the Emory River by scientists working in coordination with Appalachian Voices and the Waterkeeper Alliance’s Upper Watauga Riverkeeper Program. Concentrations of eight toxic chemicals…
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