This summer, Appalachian Voices’ offices were filled with interns and volunteers from across region working on critical issues and providing valuable assistance to our campaigns. We had 62 volunteers and interns this summer working over 1200 hours for our Clean…
Matt Wasson
As Appalachian Voices' Director of Programs, Matt has worked on all aspects of the "coal cycle" — from mining, transportation and combustion to the disposal of power plant waste — and is a nationally recognized authority on mountaintop removal coal mining and coal economics. Matt has testified before Congress and appears frequently on expert panels.
Blog Archives
The Appalachian Voice
For Our Members
In the weeks ahead, the Appalachian Voices Business League will welcome its 1,000th member. Made up of small businesses from throughout the southern mountains, the Business League was formed by Appalachian Voices in 2002 to provide a unified voice for…
Lost Mountain
Riverhead Books. New York. 2006 250 pages. $24.95 The removal of entire mountain tops merely to extract coal is such a staggering idea that it’s often presented in religious metaphors – to move a mountain, after all, is an act…
Highland Trials Put Sheep Dogs Through Paces
SHARP-EYED AND WAGGY-TAILED – Border Collies are renowned for their skill and agility – not to mention their enthusiasm – when it comes to herding. A LOVE TRIANGLE FOR THE AGES – The historic relationship between people, dogs and livestock…
Farmers Worry About CAFO Dairy: Pollution, Land Values Are Concerns
INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURE MEETS THE MOUNTAINS – Many residents of Johnson County have little use for the pollution and visual scars CAFOs create across their beautiful mountain landscape. Photos by Dennis Shekinah (above) and Z. Lance (below). Vance Gentry, a dairyman…
Paying For Clean Air… Elsewhere
American Electric Power’s Clinch River Power Plant near Bristol, TN. Photo by Kent Kessinger. A ‘CONE OF DEATH’ – Small particle pollution is most concentrated near where it was emitted, placing those who live within a 30-mile radius at 3-4…
Retreat, Regroup and Retie: An Angler’s Winter Refrain
While the fish may still be biting in the winter, many anglers choose to spend the cold months preparing their tackle box for fairer weather. The White Bass (shown above) was caught with the author’s signature fly, the “Paynekiller,” shown…
Stalk on the Wild Side: the Eastern Cougar
EASTERN COUGAR – Photo courtesy of the North Carolina Museum of Natural History MAP OF EASTERN COUGAR SITINGS – From The Eastern Cougar: Historic Accounts, Scientific Investigations and New Evidence. Map reproduced courtesy of Stackpole Books images/AppalachianVoice/AVJan06/Photos/circles/Circle_Cougar.gif “It was only…
Not a Vision of Our Future, But of Ourselves
A LANDSCAPE OF DEVASTATION – Photo of a mountaintop removal operation in eastern Kentucky provided courtesy of Southwings. A HOME IN RUINS – This West Virginia home, located just below a mountaintop removal operation, was destroyed by flooding. Photo provided…
