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Conserving Appalachia: Land Trusts Strive To Protect Natural Areas
Story by Julie Johnson Thanks to organizations like the Blue Ridge Conservancy, land trusts have protected hundreds of thousands of acres in Appalachia from development—and counting. In North Carolina, the Blue Ridge Conservancy— recently formed from the merger of two existing organizations—has collectively protected over 15,000 acres of rural and scenic land in the northwestern…
Read MoreLawsuit Puts Bat Concerns on Wind Industry’s Radar
By Marsha W. Johnston Developers say the future for wind energy in Appalachia remains bright despite a federal court decision that has imposed requirements under the Endangered Species Act. In 2009, the Animal Welfare Institute sued to stop a project on Beech Ridge in Greenbrier County, W. Va., which it said posed a threat to…
Read MorePortrait Story Project Highlights Ties To Appalachia
By Jillian Varkas The Portrait Story project came to the southern highlands in March 2008 to continue a legacy of capturing images and stories to identify with the region through the eyes of its people. The artist, Francesco Di Santis, had recently completed a portrait project of Hurricane Katrina victims. Days after the hurricane devastated…
Read MoreTennessee’s Valdez: Revisiting TVA’s Coal Ash Disaster
Over a year after the Dec. 22, 2008 failure of TVA’s impoundment dam released 5.4 million cubic yards of coal sludge, ash still covers the land and clouds the river. In spite of TVA officials’ assurance that the cleanup would last three months and the waste was safe, studies and reports of health concerns suggest…
Read MoreTwo Miles to Hell: A Miner’s Story
By Daniel Alexander Hawkins, Special to The Voice It is 10:06 p.m. on a Sunday night and I begin getting dressed in my high-visibility work uniforms, the trademark navy shirt and pants with orange stripes identifying the Appalachian coal miners in our area. The children have already gone to bed with hugs and kisses from…
Read MoreTVA’s Environmental Science Reporting Still Sparks Controversy
By Bill Kovarik When the Tennessee Valley Authority released its “Toxics Release Inventory” (TRI) report in December 2009, environmental organizations such as the Environmental Integrity Project expressed concern at the amount of toxins released into the river. According to TVA spokesman John Moulton, “toxic metals, in general, remain bound to the ash and do not…
Read MoreCitizens Group Critical of TVA Information and Sampling Procedures
By Maureen Halsema Almost a year after the coal ash disaster at the TVA plant in Kingston, a citizens advisory group says they are unhappy with TVA’s information and water sampling procedures. “This is a horrible economic and environmental situation that we are in,” said Steve Scarborough, Roane County Community Advisory Group (RCAG) spokesman and…
Read MoreBacklash: Counties in Alabama, Tennessee Fight Ash Relocation
By Julie Johnson Disposing of the coal ash spilled by TVA in December 2008 may turn out to be as much of an environmental problem as the original disaster. According to the Waterkeeper Alliance, toxic surface water with levels of arsenic eight times higher than drinking water standards has been found at the coal ash…
Read MoreSerena: Historical Fiction with a Taste for Blood (and Timber)
By Sarah Vig Set in the mountains of North Carolina during the early years of the Great Depression, the landscape of Ron Rash’s “Serena” (Harper Collins, $24.95) is at once familiar and foreign. Serena is the new bride of timber baron George Pemberton–she is anything but! Smart, beautiful, and fiercely independent at a time when…
Read MoreChasing Copenhagen
By Bill Kovarik So this is the speed of light. We laugh as the solar-powered boat glides silently down the Spree River through the heart of Berlin, Germany. As monumental buildings drift past, our captain, Arno Paulus, points out a series of 64-year-old bullet holes in the stone walls alongside the river. It’s a sobering…
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