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…

We can dismantle wind turbines when better technology comes along, but we can never put back the tops of our mountains, or uncover the streams that have been covered, or unpoison our babies. As far as I know, wind turbines…

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…

images/voice_uploads/PICT0075%5B1%5Dtrout.gif At the dawn of American Civilization, the brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) could be found virtually anywhere in the Appalachians where cold water flowed. The brook trout is the most fragile of the East’s gamefish and it serves as an…

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,…

This month the Charlotte metro area saw its first Code Red ozone alert of the year. On Code Red days, the simple act of breathing outside puts even healthy adults at risk of damaging their lungs. This red alert presents…

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…

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…

images/voice_uploads/wiley.gif Ed Wiley is one determined man. On August 2nd, he embarked on a 455 mile walk from Charleston, WV to Washington D.C. to dramatize concerns about the safety of a school located next to a major coal mine. The…