2006 – Issue 2 (April)
Volunteers witness everyday tragedies, extraordinary hope in the coalfields
As our caravan wound northward from our homes in peaceful Boone, North Carolina, through the back roads toward the twisted hollows of southern West Virginia, we were reminded of why we love these mountains. But this wasn’t a sight-seeing trip. We were group of Appalachian Voices volunteers were going to a part of Appalachia that…
Read MoreAppalachian Voices Volunteer Update
Ending Mountaintop Removal Our volunteers and interns accomplished a lot this semester for our mountaintop removal campaign. So far this semester we held 5 volunteer nights where our volunteers made phone calls to members and activists across the country urging them to write their representatives and tell their families and friends about the devastating effects…
Read MoreAppalachian Spring
The end of a dark and difficult winter brings back moments of sorrow and horror like blasts of arctic wind. From the mines of West Virginia and Kentucky came news of tragedy that could have been averted. From federal appeals courts in Richmond and Knoxville came more grim news, as reckless procedures for permitting mountaintop…
Read MoreThe Ecology of Freedom
It is with much confidence that I can say that the hopes, dreams and aspirations of the individuals and communities that make up Appalachian Voices represents the essence of the majority of American voices. Many people today feel that their input into the political system that governs our lives and our land is not represented…
Read MoreEulogy for the Carolina Parakeet
images/voice_uploads/AudParakeet.300.gif Think of the most remote Appalachian wilderness you have ever visited, and imagine that landscape if you time-traveled centuries into the past. Would it look much the same as it does today? Not likely, even though it may be “untouched.” The landscape would be filled with seemingly exotic species: towering chestnut trees, vast expanses…
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