2010 – Issue 1 (April/May)
The Battle Over Blair Mountain Rages On
By Bill Kovarik The fight to preserve West Virginia’s Blair Mountain Battlefield has taken a new turn. Preservation advocates thought they had won in March 2009 when the site was formally listed on the federal National Register of Historic Places. However, the site was “de-listed” in December 2009 at the request of state authorities who…
Read MoreEditorials
An Orwellian approach to Appalachian history By removing federal protection from the Blair Mountain Battlefield site, state and federal officials have abrogated a sacred trust. Even worse, by removing the protection in an underhanded manner, and ignoring evidence of skullduggery, they have set a scandalous, shocking and inexcusable precedent. No one questions the fact that…
Read MorePortrait Story Project Highlights Ties To Appalachia
By Jillian Varkas The Portrait Story project came to the southern highlands in March 2008 to continue a legacy of capturing images and stories to identify with the region through the eyes of its people. The artist, Francesco Di Santis, had recently completed a portrait project of Hurricane Katrina victims. Days after the hurricane devastated…
Read MoreAcross Appalachia
April 22: Earth Day’s 40th Anniversary By Jillian Varkas This year marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970, but the concept started years before. After years of concern over the lack of political interest in environmental issues in the United States, Sen. Gaylord Nelson of…
Read MoreEnvironmental Injustice Seen in TVA Policies
Reported by Kyle Wolff TVA’s environmental policies are putting low income Americans at risk, according to the nation’s most prominent advocate for environmental justice. “We take your poison for a price,” said Dr. Robert Bullard on TVA’s decision to ship coal ash from spill in Kingston, Tenn., to waste disposal facilities near poverty-stricken neighborhoods in Uniontown,…
Read MoreHiking the Highlands
A collaborative piece by Maureen Halsema, Kristina Tarsan of Southern Appalachia Highlands Conservancy, and Joseph Gatins of Georgia Forest Watch Neither Cold nor Snow nor Sleet (nor Ice and Driving Winds!) Can Keep These Hikers Down The crunch beneath your boots, a calming sense of solitude, a familiar landscape transformed. The world of winter hiking is…
Read MoreLegislation Update: Coal in the Political Arena
By Maureen Halsema Coal has been a keyword in many recent political discussions across the nation as bills addressing mountaintop removal and coal wastes have been submitted to state and national legislatures for review. Clean Water Protection Act / Appalachia Restoration Act The Clean Water Protection Act (H.R. 1310) in the U.S. House of Representatives…
Read MoreTennessee’s Valdez: Revisiting TVA’s Coal Ash Disaster
Over a year after the Dec. 22, 2008 failure of TVA’s impoundment dam released 5.4 million cubic yards of coal sludge, ash still covers the land and clouds the river. In spite of TVA officials’ assurance that the cleanup would last three months and the waste was safe, studies and reports of health concerns suggest…
Read MoreWhite Nose Syndrome & The Fate of Appalachia’s Bats
By Maureen Halsema The world’s only flying mammal may be extinct by the end of the decade. White nose syndrome—believed to be caused by a fungus—has already killed about a million bats in the northeastern regions of the U.S. and Canada, and is spreading into Appalachia. The fungus attacks bats as they hibernate in winter…
Read MoreAppalachian Advocates Prepare for Fifth Annual Week in Washington
By Megan Naylor With the start of the New Year comes a new opportunity for citizens to assemble in the nation’s capital to meet with Congressional leaders about legislation barring mountaintop removal. The Fifth Annual Week in Washington, hosted by The Alliance for Appalachia, runs from March 6 to 10 in Washington D.C., and brings…
Read More