2014 — Issue 1 (Feb/March)
Appalachian Bookshelf
The Forest Unseen: A Year’s Watch in Nature By David George Haskell In a circle of Cumberland Plateau old-growth forest roughly the size of a hula hoop, Haskell finds reasons for awe and wonder in the anatomy of a flower or the heartbeat of a chickadee. Inspired by both the place-based writings of Thoreau and…
Read MoreWhitewashing Reality: Diversity in Appalachia
By Rachel Ellen Simon The United States may be thought of as the good ol’ “Red, White, and Blue,” but in the minds of many, Appalachian America is simply “white, white, white” — racially, that is. The stereotype of Appalachia as a strictly white Anglo-Saxon region has been perpetuated by journalists, novelists, social scientists, and…
Read MoreUncertainty Upstream
Appalachian Water Watch Responds to the Spill By Erin Savage, Water Quality Specialist for Appalachian Voices When I first heard about the chemical spill in Charleston, W.Va., on the morning of Jan. 9, I emailed the rest of the Appalachian Voices staff and immediately started packing an overnight bag. While I didn’t exactly know what…
Read MoreAdam Hall: A Defender of West Virginia
By Kimber Ray Depressed towns and waters laced with toxic chemicals have been handed down to West Virginia in the wake of mountaintop removal coal mining, yet many in the community leave these grievances unspoken. Adam Hall, the son of a strip miner in Glen Daniel, W.Va., was once among those who were voiceless on…
Read MoreAn Unforgettable Lesson, Forgotten
Just after midnight, a thunderous swell of sound peeled apart the silence that had settled onto Harriman, Tenn. A mountain of black coal ash — the waste byproduct of burning coal — descended upon the surrounding neighborhood, snapping trees and ripping three homes from their foundations.
Read MoreA Call For Justice: The People’s Pastoral
By Kimber Ray The collective voice of the world rises up — from the people of Appalachia’s hills and hollers, from the rich diversity of global communities, and from the air, water and land of Earth itself. The Catholic Committee of Appalachia and Jeannie Kirkhope, administrative director of the CCA, hope to gather this call…
Read MoreSpotlight on Eastern Kentucky Economy
By Molly Moore When more than 1,700 citizens gathered in Pikeville, Ky., to discuss ideas for regional economic revitalization at the Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) Summit last December, the crowd was diverse. In attendance were concerned citizens, grassroots organizers and many of the state’s government and business leaders. During breakout sessions, participants discussed topics…
Read MoreMaison Reciprocity Takes on Europe
By Kelsey Boyajian Appalachian State University’s Solar Decathlon team is hammering away in preparation for the Solar Decathlon Europe 2014 to be held in Versailles, France this summer. ASU will be pairing with Universite d’Angers for the project, dubbed Maison Reciprocity. The task is almost 60 percent complete as of mid-January. ASU first championed this…
Read MoreA Sustainable Habitat
By Sarah Kellogg Nestled in a mountain forest of oaks, poplars and rhododendron, a neighborhood of charming houses sits lightly on the land. These are the energy efficient homes of the GreenWood Community, a project of the Watauga County Habitat for Humanity. The neighborhood is the result of hard-working families and dedicated volunteers who share…
Read MoreSnowshoeing Canaan Valley’s Winter Wonderland
By Molly Moore When fresh snow muffles the sounds of scurrying squirrels and creaking twigs, the winter woods offer a serenity that’s different from the rustling, lively forests of spring, summer and fall. But the deep snow that can make a frosty trail so bewitching can also creep over the tops of otherwise sturdy boots,…
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