The Appalachian Voice
More Than a Market
By Megan Northcote Shopping for fresh, locally grown foods at farmers markets is always a refreshing way to find healthy foods while supporting the community. But in recent years, some farmers markets have transformed from grocery store alternatives to tourist destinations, featuring cooking and artisan demonstrations, hands-on healthy living activities for children, and food and…
Read MoreOrder Will Protect Portion of Historic Blair Mountain Battlefield
By Brian Sewell A section of historic Blair Mountain is off-limits to mountaintop removal coal mining until at least 2018 when the permit comes up for renewal. An order issued by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection prohibits Aracoma Coal, a subsidiary of Alpha Natural Resources, from mining within 1,000 feet of the mountain’s…
Read MoreChildren’s Gardening Program Cultivates Lifeskills from SCRATCH
By Megan Northcote When state legislators arrived at an annual conference at West Virginia State University last year, a 7-year-old girl marched up to numerous government officials, pointed to a brochure photograph of herself holding a tomato, and proudly announced, “I’m famous because I grew this tomato and I’m going to give you my autograph.”…
Read MoreWhat’s In Your Food?
Agricultural Stories RELATED STORIES More Than a Market Mobile Market Transforms Tennessee Town With Fresh Food Children’s Gardening Program Cultivates Lifeskills from SCRATCH What’s In Your Food?
Read MoreMobile Market Transforms Tennessee Town With Fresh Food
By Megan Northcote Ten years ago, abandoned grocery carts left near entrances to public housing complexes dotted the rural landscape in Greeneville, Tenn. Lacking public transportation and deterred by hilly terrain, residents were too often discouraged to return their carts to the nearest grocery store after their weekly shopping trip. In 2005, that all changed…
Read MoreAppalachia’s Environmental Votetracker: June/July 2014 issue
See how Appalachia’s congressional delegation voted on environmental issues.
Read More“Hollow” Documentary Wins Award
By Kelsey Boyajian Throughout “Hollow,” an interactive online documentary, the lush hills of Appalachia are juxtaposed beside stripped mountaintops. Through the stories of 30 individuals living in rural McDowell County, W.Va., director and producer Elaine McMillion uses a combination of web and film to spotlight the history and aspirations of the county’s 21,000 residents, and…
Read MoreMixed Reports on Coal Finance
By Brian Sewell Rainforest Action Network’s annual coal finance report card found that the biggest banks put up $31.7 billion for coal projects in 2013. Citigroup, the largest funder of coal, invested $6.5 billion. JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo updated their policies to begin phasing out financing for mountaintop removal. Stanford University also announced it…
Read MoreProgress for Tennessee Wilderness
By Molly Moore Efforts to preserve wild lands in East Tennessee took a step forward this spring when a bill to designate nearly 20,000 acres in the Cherokee National Forest as wilderness passed the Senate Agriculture Committee. First introduced by Tennessee Republican Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker in 2010, the Tennessee Wilderness Act would…
Read MoreStreamside Technology in the Clinch River Valley
By Kimber Ray Although visitors are unlikely to stumble upon Saint Paul, Va., by chance, those who do might be surprised to learn that this small, rural town hosts some of the most novel trails in the country. Located along the crystal-clear waters of the Clinch River in Russell and Wise Counties, Saint Paul boasts…
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