2009 – Issue 5 (Oct/Nov)
Our finest hours
When the history of the 21st century is written, the most important question will be how – or even whether — we responded to the climate crisis. As nations gather this fall in Copenhagen to consider a climate treaty, we Americans need to understand what is at stake. First, it’s now settled that the…
Read MoreMountain Mysteries
Bigfoot, UFOs, and the Downright Paranormal In Appalachia By Joe Tennis In Larry Thacker’s world, UFOs have touched down in the Appalachian Mountains. And, there’s a mysterious Bigfoot creature roaming the dense woods of Tennessee. Thacker—the director of student success and retention at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tenn.—is the author of the recently released…
Read MoreLetters to the Editor
Well Contamination Nightmare Dear Appalachian Voice: Thank you for your extensive coverage of water quality in your most recent issue. It was excellent. I have been beating that drum ever since I discovered last April that the water supplying the house that I rent in Boone had e. coli in it. Through my landlord,…
Read MoreBloodshed and Coercion in the Coalfields: From Colombia to Appalachia
Story by Sandra Diaz As I wrote in the last issue, I traveled along to the coalfields of northern Colombia in South America through the Witness for Peace program. Part of our trip was spent talking to Sintramienegetica union leaders, who represent Drummond Coal workers, based out of Birmingham, Alabama. Drummond Coal has been accused…
Read MoreLenny Kohm Wins Outstanding Conservationist Award
By the AV Staff On Friday, October 2, 2009, Lenny Kohm was awarded the Outstanding Conservationist Activist Award from Wild South’s Roosevelt-Ashe Society. A choice award given only when the committee deems someone worthy, the title is bestowed on individuals who “[deserve] recognition for their outstanding contribution to environmental conservation.” In our way of looking…
Read MoreWelcome to Our New Washington, D.C. Office–and other shorts
Appalachian Voices and the Alliance for Appalachia have opened a legislative headquarters in Washington D.C. to better serve Appalachia’s growing corps of citizen lobbyists and accommodate our growing work there. Located on the corner of 8th and D Street NE on Capitol Hill, the office is a 10-minute walk from the US Capitol, and set…
Read MoreRare Species of Appalachia
By Maureen Halsema Southern Appalachia is rich in biological diversity, including some truly unique creatures, critters and downright creepy crawlies. Sasquatch of the Salamanders Cryptic, territorial, and elusive are traits inherent to the hellbender salamander, a unique and formidable-looking creature with almost prehistoric appeal. The Eastern hellbender is the largest aquatic salamander in the United…
Read MoreRegulation Rundown
Maureen Halsema Public lands fall under a variety of different designations and regulations—enough to make anyone’s head spin. Here’s the rundown on public lands. National Parks vs. National Forests National parks and national forests are both federally managed, but national parks are managed by park rangers from the National Park Service, a unit of the…
Read MoreAppalachian Trail: “A Great Trail from Maine to Georgia!”
Story by Stephen Otis If you were to somehow locate a New York Evening Post, circa 1922, you would read this same headline. Penned by Raymond H. Torrey at the behest of William Welch, director of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, the article dared to imagine, as Benton MacKaye had one year prior, a grand…
Read MoreChasing Copenhagen
By Bill Kovarik So this is the speed of light. We laugh as the solar-powered boat glides silently down the Spree River through the heart of Berlin, Germany. As monumental buildings drift past, our captain, Arno Paulus, points out a series of 64-year-old bullet holes in the stone walls alongside the river. It’s a sobering…
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