Featured
Blue Skies for Green Education
Story by Bill Kovarik As new green technologies transform the economic landscape, the need for focused education and training has become apparent. While only a few pilot programs specifically designed for green collar jobs are currently in place, community colleges and universities are poised for dramatic expansion. Climate change and federal stimulus dollars are spurring…
Read MoreLess Twittering in the Trees
Story by Kathleen McFadden Spring comes slowly to the mountains. Long after the early-season flowers have come and gone in the lowlands, winter-weary mountain dwellers wait patiently for their first sight of a royal purple crocus, the golden glory of the backyard forsythia and the return of our cherished birds. But the birds of Appalachia…
Read MoreTaking the Price Tag Off Our Heritage
Story by Sarah Vig At the Center for Cherokee Plants, the seeds are not for sale. “People will stop by and ask us if we sell the plants, or why we aren’t trying to sell our seeds,” said Kevin Welch, who founded the Center, “I tell them ‘you can’t put a price on your heritage.’”…
Read MoreMountain Aid
Story by David Brewer Music is often moving, but only once in a while does it help keep mountains from being moved. That is the hope behind the inaugural Mountain Aid festival, an ambitious effort to directly affect environmental change. Slated to take place from Friday to Sunday, June 19 to 21, at the Shakori…
Read MoreLetters to the editor
Pesticide Use Continues to Decline on Tree Farms To the Editor: This letter to the editor is in reference to Sarah Vig’s article “A ‘Greener’ Christmas Tree” that appeared in the Winter edition of Appalachian Voice. First of all, a word of thanks to Sarah for her article, those of us who have Christmas tree…
Read MoreCoal River Mountain – The Line in the Sand for Mountaintop Removal?
Story and photos by Jamie Goodman For those who support alternative energy and oppose mountaintop removal, a line has been drawn in the proverbial sand. That line is at Coal River Mountain, West Virginia. Bulldozers have continued to clear trees and topsoil from Coal River Mountain, a peak that could potentially provide some of the…
Read MoreNew Books For Thru-Hikers
Reviews by Bill Kovarik How to hike the Appalachian Trail:The nitty-gritty details of a long-distance trek By Michelle Ray (Stackpole Books) “In a world full of mediated spaces and experiences,” writes Michelle Ray, “a trip to the back country allows an individual the sort of autonomy he or she craves.” As Henry D. Thoreau said,…
Read MoreThe Appalachian Trail
Story by Bill Kovarik This winter, as three million enthusiasts check their gear and prepare for spring on the Appalachian Trail, they’ll be happy to know that more protection and an expanded trail network are on the way. Also on the way is a better understanding of the trail’s problems through the AT Mega-Transect project.…
Read MoreFor the Birds: Christmas Count Is A Holiday Tradition
By Maureen Halsema The longest-running wildlife census—the Christmas Bird Count—will kick off its 110th year starting Dec. 14, 2009. The annual event is sponsored by the National Audubon Society and other collaborative organizations, and will run until Jan. 5, 2010. This massive event was started in 1900 by an ornithologist named Frank Chapman, who was…
Read MoreSix Degrees: Read the Crystal Ball of Climate Change
By Sarah Vig For this issue, the AV Book Club choose to read a book that delves into an issue with the potential to impact the lives of every human being, indeed most every living thing on the planet: global warming. In “Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet” (HarperCollins, $16.95), British journalist Mark…
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