The Appalachian Voice
Carbon Controversy: EPA Gathers Feedback on Emissions Rules
By Brian Sewell This fall, public listening sessions held by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency served as an opportunity to influence future rules to limit carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, the centerpiece of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan. Comments submitted by citizens and stakeholders, and the large turnouts and media attention at the 11…
Read MoreSara Day Evans: Accelerating Good Business
By Kimber Ray Although the environment and the economy are often painted as rival forces, Sara Day Evans never saw much sense in this argument. What she saw instead was a challenge — and an opportunity — to seek sustainable solutions. As the founding director of Accelerating Appalachia, a nature-based business accelerator launched this past…
Read MoreMatt Hepler: Charting a Path to Clean Water
By Molly Moore After studying geologic features and data, Matt Hepler maps out a handful of locations in the coal-bearing mountains of southwest Virginia. With a cooler full of empty water bottles, a scientific probe and a pair of waders — just in case — he heads out to monitor water quality in areas impacted…
Read MoreAnna George: Aquatic Activist
By Peter Boucher When Anna George was a child, she would pester her mother to take her to zoos and aquariums. As she grew up, she conducted research in a variety of aquatic environments — from the Dauphin Sea Lab on the Alabama coast to the Cayman Islands — and her incredible enthusiasm for animals…
Read MoreAda Smith: Giving Voice to Appalachia
By Kimber Ray Amidst the economic and social upheaval sweeping through Appalachia, art and media may seem like unexpected tools for approaching the challenges the region faces today. However, through her work with Appalshop — a media and cultural center in Whitesburg, Ky.— Ada Smith has witnessed how creating and sharing stories can empower communities.…
Read MoreAdvancing a Creative Economy for the Clinch River Valley
By Kimber Ray In the remote coalfields of southwest Virginia, a collaborative grassroots project is taking on the challenge of balancing job creation and environmental conservation. The Clinch River Valley Initiative, conceived at an economic development forum in 2010, is an award-winning coalition of concerned citizens, local government, and environmental and business groups, ardently committed…
Read MorePatricia Beaver: Pioneer Appalachian Scholar Retires
By Rachel Ellen Simon Patricia Beaver may not be a household name in all circles, but mention her name in a group of Appalachian scholars, and everyone will have a story to share. Beaver has been a leading scholar in the field of Appalachian Studies for over four decades. With a doctorate in anthropology from…
Read MoreNathan Hall: Reclaiming Appalachia’s Land and Future
By Rachel Ellen Simon Nathan Hall was born in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, surrounded by lush hardwood forests, cool trout streams and barren moonscapes — the latter courtesy of mountaintop removal coal mining. “It was all around me, in every direction from the house where I grew up within a mile or two,” he…
Read MoreCharlie Jackson: Bringing Farms to Market
By Peter Boucher Charlie Jackson found a simple answer to the complex problems of regional agriculture. He founded the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project in 1995 to create new markets for mountain farmers who had lost their cash crop. Tobacco had sustained farms for nearly half a century, but in the late ‘90s, farms were rapidly…
Read MoreOnly God Should Move Mountains
By Nolen Nychay For Reverend Ryan Bennett, creation care is about encouraging environmental responsibility through the Biblical principles of stewardship. At Bethlehem United Methodist Church in Franklin, Tenn., Bennett uses the philosophy “love the Creator, love His creations” to discuss the looming threat of mountaintop removal, spurring a rising interest — especially amongst younger age…
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