2013 — Issue 3 (June/July)
Four Ways to Preserve the Farm
By Matt Grimley Between economic, legal, regional and personal circumstances, no two farmers will make the same decisions about how to keep their farms productive into the future. Noted here are just a few paths to preserving the farming tradition. If you’re looking for more information, start at your local cooperative extension office. Fostering land…
Read MoreEnergy Report shorts
Permit to Mine Ison Rock Revoked In the latest chapter of a six-year battle between A&G Coal Corporation and the citizens of Wise County, Va., the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy denied a 1,200-acre mountaintop removal coal mining permit on Ison Rock Ridge, which would have buried 14,000 feet of streams. The department…
Read MoreRegional Roundup
‘Ag-gag’ bills Considered in Tenn., N.C. North Carolina became the 11th state this year to consider a form of an “ag-gag” bill, which limits the spread of information about agricultural practices through laws about employee practices. Called the “Commerce Protection Act,” the North Carolina bill was proposed by Senators Brent Jackson, Wesley Meredith and Jim…
Read MoreJune /July Newsbites
Read how our Red, White and Water program encourages N.C. communities to speak up for clean water. And if you live in Tennessee, be sure to check out our weekly Tennessee Tuesday blogs!
Read MoreAppalachian WaterWatch: Protecting Your Water with Vigilance and Community Involvement
Our Appalachian Water Watch team is busier than ever watching over our water resources in Appalachia. From arming citizens with the know-how to monitor their own water to challenging bad deals between coal companies and state agencies, the Water Watch program is working each day to protect the rivers, streams and drinking water sources in…
Read MoreClean Water Protection Act Introduced in Congress
Early in May, Appalachian Voices worked with The Alliance for Appalachia to bring more than 60 citizens from around the country to the 8th Annual Week in Washington in Washington, D.C. We spoke to federal agencies and representatives to inform them about the horrors of mountaintop removal coal mining, and to urge them to support…
Read MoreGrateful for Their Service
Throughout the 2012-13 school year, Appalachian Voices has been fortunate to work with a slew of talented interns who gifted us with their energy and skills. Courtney Cooper and Ethan Strickland maintained the citizen water monitoring database and compiled pollution data for Appalachian Water Watch. On the communications front, Matt Abele shared his multimedia talents,…
Read MoreMicrohydro Powers Mountain Farm
Our spring multimedia assistant, Matt Abele, traveled to Woodland Harvest Farm in Ashe County, N.C., to see how Elizabeth West and Lisa Redman are harnessing their creek’s energy to power their small farm and homestead.
Read MoreFirst National Monument in West Virginia Proposed
By Chelsey Fisher The Birthplace of Rivers is an area in the Monongahela National Forest of West Virginia known for its preserved wildlife and ecological features. It includes some of West Virginia’s tallest waterfalls and cleanest waterways, and is considered one of the largest expanses of wild forest in the eastern part of the country.…
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