Front Porch Blog
Communities identify priorities during first listening sessions of multi-year project
In late April, Appalachian Voices started our first round of Community Strong listening sessions, part of a multi-year project to plan, design and implement community-driven projects.
Read MoreMiners and advocates travel to Washington to ask legislators to strengthen black lung benefits
Recognizing the difficulty countless households have with these decisions, members of the West Virginia, Virginia, and Kentucky Black Lung Associations traveled in early May to Washington, D.C., to meet with legislators about the need to increase miners’ benefits, which have failed to keep pace with inflation.
Read MoreLayers of injustice: Community concerns ignored as federal regulators allow Mountain Valley Pipeline to begin operation
Community members have fought this pipeline for 10 years — pointing out its many flaws and dangers and winning court battles by proving developers and regulators were ignoring laws meant to protect communities and the environment. Now, those regulators allow the pipeline to go into service.
Read MoreA week of action to stop zombie coal mines
This week, Appalachian Voices and 12 partner organizations are on Capitol Hill to tell Congress to protect our communities by making coal companies clean up their functionally abandoned coal mines, known as zombie mines.
Read MoreCongressional hearing highlights issues with black lung benefits program
On Wednesday, senators on a Health, Education, Labor and Pensions subcommittee led by Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colorado, held a hearing and listened to testimony from miner advocates and experts on mine safety and the black lung benefits program.
Read MoreNew limits on power plant pollution aim to protect communities and the climate
Pipe blowout heightens Mountain Valley Pipeline concerns
When Congress placed a thumb on the scale to mandate approval of Mountain Valley Pipeline’s permits in June 2023, construction resumed and communities along the route expressed deep concerns about the use of degraded materials and rushed construction practices.
Read MoreBuilding energy-resilient communities in far Southwest Virginia
Whether it’s a medical device, like a CPAP machine, or heating and cooling during extreme temperatures, electricity is an important part of a community’s overall resilience. This is especially true during local disasters and power outages.
Read MoreCoal bankruptcies continue to put a strain on communities
It is far too easy for coal companies to use bankruptcy to effectively hit a reset button. Once they file for bankruptcy, damages they caused and obligations they committed to are often no longer their responsibility.
Read MoreAppalachian Voices partners with Black By God to examine air quality in West Virginia’s African American communities
Appalachian Voices is launching a new partnership with Black By God, a Black-led news and storytelling organization, with a publication of the same name, in West Virginia. Black By God is dedicated to providing a more nuanced portrayal of African Americans in the Mountain State and the Appalachian region than is often found in other media sources.
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