Across Appalachia
Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining’s Summer of Discontent
Story by Bill Kovarik A summer of discontent is rapidly turning into an autumn of confrontation, as Congressional hearings and regional protests increasingly pit environmental activists against coal industry employees. In one of over a dozen full scale protests this spring and summer, scientist James Hansen and actress Daryl Hannah were arrested in a protest…
Read MoreCoal Sludge Protests Rock West Virginia
Two women in hazmat suits and respirators were arrested in May after floated a 60 foot banner in the Brushy Fork impoundment “lake” which contains 8 billion gallons of coal sludge. The banner read: “No More Toxic Sludge.” Ironically, the two were charged with trespassing and littering the 8 billion gallon sludge reservoir. Other mountaintop…
Read MoreSome Permits Suspended But Mountaintop Removal Fight Goes On
The ongoing controversy over mountaintop removal mining see-sawed this spring, as the Obama administration stopped seven high-impact mining permits but then proceeded forward with 42 others. Perhaps 150 more are waiting in the wings, according to an EPA spokesman. One of the projects halted was an expanded mountaintop removal mining operation at the Ison Rock…
Read MoreEPA Assumes Oversight of TVA Coal Fly Ash Disaster
Story by Chris Martin On Monday, May 11, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it would oversee the cleanup of coal fly ash in Roane County, Tenn., after last December’s dam failure at the Kingston Fossil Plant flooded the Emory River with 1.1 billion gallons of wet ash. The EPA opened a month-long period…
Read MoreHundreds Protest Duke’s Cliffside Power Plant Expansion
Story by Sarah Vig Thoreau wrote near the end of his life, “if I repent of anything it is likely to be my good behavior.” At 76, Bruce King, a retiree and military veteran – like Thoreau – was beginning to regret his good behavior. It was the first formal protest of his life, but…
Read MoreWater Wars: West Virginia Coalfield Residents Sue Over Contaminated Water
Story by Sarah Vig In Mingo County, W. Va., one of the largest coal-producing counties in the nation, 760 residents are preparing to face off against Big Coal. The group filed a class action suit against Massey Energy and its subsidiary, Rawl Sales & Processing, on claims of personal injury, wrongful death, property damage and…
Read MoreCourts, Congress and Universities Consider How to Change Mountaintop Removal Policies
Story by Bill Kovarik The fight over mountaintop removal coal mining accelerated this spring, with action in the courts, the regulatory agencies, Congress and universities. For the first time in almost a decade, environmentalists appear to be winning. Courts gave the mining industry one initial victory in mid-February, when the pro-business U.S. 4th District court…
Read MoreKids’ National Park Companion Hopes to Excite New Generation
Story by Alison Singer In 1986, the Eastern National Park & Monument Association (ENPMA) began the popular Passport to Your National Parks program. ENPMA, in cooperation with the National Park Service (NPS), developed imitation passports to encourage parents and children to visit the parks. Each passport includes maps, visitor information, photographs and illustrations. The passport…
Read MoreAppalachian Activists Answer Call to Civil Disobedience
Story by Alison Singer and Sarah Vig Protests erupted across the Appalachians this winter and spring as activists took to the streetsfor clean air and water and an end to dirty coal in all its phases—mining, processing, and burning—in an unprecedented way. On Coal River Mountain, activists and community members have been engaging in a…
Read MoreWilliam Blizzard, Writer and Son of Blair Mountain Leader, Dies
Mourners wearing red neckerchiefs laid William Blizzard to rest amid refrains of the old Union hymn, “Solidarity Forever” and the sound of rifle volleys from the Veterans of Foreign Wars echoing over a Charleston, WV cemetery. Blizzard died in December 2008 and was buried in January. A writer and photographer, William Blizzard was the son…
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