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Environmental Stewardship: When Beliefs Become Actions
“The world’s religions have a crucial role to play in the fight against global climate change.” United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, speaking to the leaders of nine major religious movements. By Julie Johnson Approximately 85 percent of the world’s population adheres to some form of organized religion, and these organizations could be the key…
Read MoreToxic Ponds: Coal Ash Ponds Pollute North Carolina Water
Story by Maureen Halsema Thirteen coal ash ponds in North Carolina are contaminating ground water with toxic pollutants known to cause cancer and organ damage, a recent report shows. Appalachian Voices’ Upper Watauga Riverkeeper team conducted an analysis of groundwater contamination data and reviewed the test results of wells surrounding 13 coal ash ponds located…
Read MorePrenter Hollow Sues Coal Companies Over Contaminated Water
By Maureen Halsema A clean glass of water is difficult to find in Prenter Hollow; a glass from the tap looks more like a glass of dirty tea. In Boone County, W.Va, nearly 300 people are suing nine coal companies for water contamination. Residents in Prenter claim that their private water wells were contaminated from…
Read MoreBe a Locavore: Support your community and sustain yourself
By Maureen Halsema As you are savoring your roasted turkey, dumplings, cranberry sauce, and hot apple pie this holiday season, keep in mind the average item in the grocery store travels over 1,000 miles to your table. Appalachia is rich in farmer’s markets and food co-operatives featuring locally grown and organic foods. Besides being fresher…
Read MoreGreen Gifts That Keep on Giving
By Maureen Halsema The holidays are upon us and as visions of sugarplums begin to dance through our heads, thoughts of presents for loved ones are not far behind. Instead of searching the crowded stores for a gift that may get thrown in the back of the closet, this year give a gift that really…
Read MoreChasing Copenhagen
By Bill Kovarik (In September, Appalachian Voice was invited by the governments of Germany and Denmark to see first hand the commitments and the costs of renewable energy development, as the world considers what might be done at the international climate summit planned for Copenhagen in December of 2009.) A sobering dinner with…
Read MoreMuseum of Appalachia – The Ultimate Field Trip
John Rice Irwin tarried among his exhibits for an hour. Maybe more. And that was still not enough to show it off. It was hardly more than a breeze-through of the farm tools, musical instruments, antique furniture and odd relics of yesteryear at the Museum of Appalachia. Irwin smiled and said, “You could spend a…
Read MoreSaving Place: Art in Nature
Theresa L. Burriss is an assistant professor at Radford University. She is currently working on a book entitled Women of Change, Women of Courage: Appalachian Activists, to be published by the University of Tennessee Press. Natural beauty abounds in Appalachia, and it inspires artists and scientists equally. In a discussion at Radford University entitled “Saving…
Read MoreNew Media Strikes a Deep Chord
/images/AppalachianVoice/Jan_2008/electric_earth_circ.gif Teri Blanton typed her five digit zip code into the web site. Then it hit her. “I was shocked,” she said. The page showed that her own electricity was coming from the very mountaintop removal site that she had fighting for years. As an environmental leader in Berea, Kentucky, Blanton was among the first…
Read MoreAppalachian Christmas: Reccomended Books and DVDs
WHEN MINERS MARCH is the incredible story of the battles to bring the UMWA and the American Constitution to the West Virginia coal fields. Written back in ‘52 when Blair Mountain hero Bill Blizzard was still alive, this work by his writer/photographer son, William C. Blizzard sat unpublished for over half a century! Pictures and…
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