2006 – Issue 4 (August)

In the 1930s, FDR proposed a New Deal, part of which was the creation of a new South, which harnessed the power of its rivers to usher an era of prosperity along the lines of a power grid expanding at breakneck speed. Yet, in the following world war, it was Appalachia’s coal, not its water,…

Jennifer Bauer sees the Appalachian Mountains as one of the world’s last true havens of a diverse environment. But the longtime naturalist tags her view with a warning: “The Appalachian Mountains are under great attack as far as atmospheric pollution, such as acid rain.” Growing up in Baltimore, Bauer moved to the southern Appalachians in…

The health of our nation’s streams is in jeopardy, and the culprits are things we may not even consider detrimental at first. Activities like mowing stream banks and letting cattle walk in a creek can turn these small waterways into little more than drainage ditches. Sedimentation and erosion affect the water quality of the streams…

images/voice_uploads/Wind.mountaineer.14794.gif With the rising demand for renewable, domestic energy sources and the recent passage of federal tax breaks for renewable energy, windpower has resurfaced as a promising solution to America’s energy problems. The Department of Energy’s goal is that windpower generate 5% of American energy by 2020. In the Western US, windpower is firmly entrenched.…

Massey Energy and other coal-based energy companies could increase profits and preserve the Appalachians by choosing not to engage in mountaintop removal (MTR). Instead of flattening a projected 1 million acres over the next decade, energy companies like Massey could instead use the land to develop a local mountain based economy integrating mountain sited wind…

Two shoe salesmen, the old anecdote goes, were scouting for business on a tropical island. The first sent back a message to the home office that went something like this: “No use, boss. Everyone goes barefoot here.” But the second fellow had a different perspective entirely: “Everyone is barefoot — sales potential unlimited!” In early…