2012 — Issue 2 (Apr/May)
Book Club Mini Review: “Kentucky Folktales: Revealing Stories, Truths, and Outright Lies”
By Brian Sewell Even before opening Mary Hamilton’s ode to storytelling, the rustcolored cover, adorned with a rocking chair and the kind of rustic text that might be carved in a tree, invites the reader into a world of oral traditions shared among Kentuckians for years before being captured on the page. Hamilton is a…
Read MoreA Golden Wing and a Prayer: Restoring Warbler Habitat
By Brian Sewell Appalachia’s favorite bird, the golden-winged warbler, has been selected as one of seven focus species by a new partnership between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that aims to reverse population decline through habitat restoration. The “Working Lands for Wildlife” program will collaborate with private landowners…
Read MoreThe Dirtiest Congress Money Could Buy
By Matt Wasson According to a report released at the end of 2011, the 112th Congress had achieved, in just its first year, the dubious distinction of running the most anti-environmental legislative session in history. The report, conducted by Representatives Henry Waxman, Edward Markey and Howard Berman, showed that, in 2011, the House voted 191…
Read MoreThe “Art” of Influence: A Story of Strategy in the Post-Citizens United Political Terrain
By Brian Sewell On March 15, when a campaign called N.C. Real Solutions launched, it came with a 30 second television spot aimed at North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue. The ad claimed that the new state legislature’s budget, which Perdue vetoed out of concern for its effect on education before being overridden, actually added funding…
Read MoreThe Emerging Efficiency Lobby: Diverse Interests Find Common Ground
By Molly Moore Conversations about blowing up mountains for easier access to coal or risking offshore oil spills to boost a corporation’s bottom line spark passions in a way that those about financing energy efficiency retrofits don’t. But wherever national energy dialogue goes, talk of energy efficiency and minimizing our energy consumption is sure to…
Read MoreBreaking Down Job Barriers
By Paige Campbell Nearly three-quarters of a million jobs were lost in Appalachia between 2007 and 2009. All but 35 of the region’s 420 counties, as designated by the Appalachian Regional Commission, saw negative employment trends during that lowest low of the current recession, and the slow crawl back out has been slower here than…
Read MoreCreating Opportunities in the Green-Collar Economy
By Paige Campbell “We meet people where they are.” That’s how Sarah Carter describes the philosophy of Asheville, N.C.’s Green Opportunities, a training institute for the growing green-collar jobs sector. Just how substantially that sector is growing is the subject of a Bureau of Labor Statistics report due for release this year. But in communities…
Read MoreBark Houses: Built With Nature’s Shingles
By Nan Chase Four years after completion, the rustic bungalow near downtown Asheville, N.C., is a local landmark. Covered in big overlapping shingles of tree bark — rather than the usual wood, brick or stone — it looks odd, a bit like a square tree. Although the unusual house appears antique and rooted in the…
Read MoreAppalachian Voices Celebrates 15 Years — And You’re Invited!
Join us on Sat., June 21 for Artists for Appalachia — a celebration of our 15th anniversary, our annual membership meeting and a special fundraising event. The venue for the evening will be the renowned Jefferson Theater in in Charlottesville, Va. Artists for Appalachia will include traditional mountain music, readings and revelry as we come…
Read MoreKicking Coal Ash in Carolina
Over the past months, Appalachian Voices and our Red, White and Water campaign have continued the fight against toxic coal ash in North Carolina. In Charlotte, Appalachian Voices teamed up with the local Greenpeace chapter to host a coal ash tour, led by award-winning reporter Rhiannon Fionn, who has covered issues related to Duke Energy’s…
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