2009 – Issue 1 (Feb/March)
Tennessee Crud: Appalachia plays host to yet another environmental disaster
Story by Bill Kovarik At first, when a 55-foot wall of coal fly ash sludge broke loose from an earthen dam early Dec. 22 near Kingston, TN, the nation barely paid attention. Initial reports from the Associated Press said there had been an isolated spill of “inert material not harmful to the environment,” according to…
Read MoreWilliam Blizzard, Writer and Son of Blair Mountain Leader, Dies
Mourners wearing red neckerchiefs laid William Blizzard to rest amid refrains of the old Union hymn, “Solidarity Forever” and the sound of rifle volleys from the Veterans of Foreign Wars echoing over a Charleston, WV cemetery. Blizzard died in December 2008 and was buried in January. A writer and photographer, William Blizzard was the son…
Read MoreTennessee Grandfather Cleans Up Creek, Wins Volunteer Award
Sierra Club members Carl and Iva Lee Wolfe moved from Florida to Mountain City, Tennessee, three years ago, after Carl retired. That’s Carl at left, pictured, with granddaughter Mariah. “We were impressed with the beauty of the area,” says Iva Lee. “But the condition of the road and the nearby Falls at Fall Branch was…
Read MoreCoal River Mountain – The Line in the Sand for Mountaintop Removal?
Story and photos by Jamie Goodman For those who support alternative energy and oppose mountaintop removal, a line has been drawn in the proverbial sand. That line is at Coal River Mountain, West Virginia. Bulldozers have continued to clear trees and topsoil from Coal River Mountain, a peak that could potentially provide some of the…
Read MoreLetters to the Editor
Appalachian Voice welcomes letters to the editor and comments on our website. We run as many letters as possible, space permitting. The views expressed in these letters, and in personal editor responses, are the opinions of the authors and are not necessarily the views of the organization Appalachian Voices. Write to editor@appvoices.org. Mountaintop Removal –…
Read MoreHow TVA Could Lead Utilities Into the Future
Story by Bill Kovark Old fashioned utilities used to make money by selling electric power. In a bygone era, making money by NOT selling electric power seemed unthinkable. A few weeks ago, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine stood the old logic on its ear by saying that “it just makes no sense” not to conserve. “Under…
Read MoreCoal Ash Cleanup Effort Comes in Phases
Story by Sarah Vig “A clean-up can either be done right or it can be a ticking time bomb,” California Senator Barbara Boxer cautioned TVA CEO Tom Kilgore during the Environment and Public Works committee’s oversight hearing on the recent coal ash spill at the Kingston Fossil Plant near Harriman, TN. In response, Kilgore promised…
Read MoreOpinion
Citizens and Advocates: The New Newsmakers By Bill Kovarik and Sarah Vig From the standpoint of public information, the TVA Fly Ash Disaster was unlike any other environmental disaster in recent history. Immediately following the spill, TVA’s public relations department attempted to spin the catastrophic failure of an earthen dam holding back a billion gallons…
Read MoreTVA must clean house
Recent events clearly show the need for a clean sweep of TVA’s leadership. It’s not just Tom Kilgore, the CEO of TVA, who needs to be held accountable. The nine-member board of directors, entirely appointed by the Bush Administration as part of an old-school, old boy network, is directly responsible for the tragic and disturbing…
Read MoreUnited Mountain Defense: On the Front Lines at TVA Spill Site
Story by Sarah Vig Call them the environmental movement’s equivalent of an emergency response team. Within only 14 hours of the dam failure at the Kingston Fossil Plant, United Mountain Defense mobilized. Having gained years of experience organizing and conducting water sampling in communities throughout Tennessee impacted by mountaintop removal mining, and with headquarters in…
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