The Appalachian Voice
The Emerging Efficiency Lobby: Diverse Interests Find Common Ground
By Molly Moore Conversations about blowing up mountains for easier access to coal or risking offshore oil spills to boost a corporation’s bottom line spark passions in a way that those about financing energy efficiency retrofits don’t. But wherever national energy dialogue goes, talk of energy efficiency and minimizing our energy consumption is sure to…
Read MoreBreaking Down Job Barriers
By Paige Campbell Nearly three-quarters of a million jobs were lost in Appalachia between 2007 and 2009. All but 35 of the region’s 420 counties, as designated by the Appalachian Regional Commission, saw negative employment trends during that lowest low of the current recession, and the slow crawl back out has been slower here than…
Read MoreCreating Opportunities in the Green-Collar Economy
By Paige Campbell “We meet people where they are.” That’s how Sarah Carter describes the philosophy of Asheville, N.C.’s Green Opportunities, a training institute for the growing green-collar jobs sector. Just how substantially that sector is growing is the subject of a Bureau of Labor Statistics report due for release this year. But in communities…
Read MoreBark Houses: Built With Nature’s Shingles
By Nan Chase Four years after completion, the rustic bungalow near downtown Asheville, N.C., is a local landmark. Covered in big overlapping shingles of tree bark — rather than the usual wood, brick or stone — it looks odd, a bit like a square tree. Although the unusual house appears antique and rooted in the…
Read MoreAppalachian Voices Celebrates 15 Years — And You’re Invited!
Join us on Sat., June 21 for Artists for Appalachia — a celebration of our 15th anniversary, our annual membership meeting and a special fundraising event. The venue for the evening will be the renowned Jefferson Theater in in Charlottesville, Va. Artists for Appalachia will include traditional mountain music, readings and revelry as we come…
Read MoreKicking Coal Ash in Carolina
Over the past months, Appalachian Voices and our Red, White and Water campaign have continued the fight against toxic coal ash in North Carolina. In Charlotte, Appalachian Voices teamed up with the local Greenpeace chapter to host a coal ash tour, led by award-winning reporter Rhiannon Fionn, who has covered issues related to Duke Energy’s…
Read MoreToo Big to Fail, But Not to Change
When “pink slime” hit the headlines in March, Americans were rightfully disgusted. The thought of being poisoned for profit by beef-product filler treated with ammonia sparked national outrage. Grocery stores and even mega-fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s and Taco Bell were quick to publicly shun the slimy substance. Over the course of just a…
Read MorePerusing Kentucky’s Pine Mountain Park
By Joe Tennis High above Pineville, Ky., near the start of the challenging Laurel Cove Trail, an old joke straddles a rock at Pine Mountain State Resort Park. Local lore suggests that the people of Pineville were worried about the menacing-looking boulder coming loose and rolling off Pine Mountain. In the 1930s, shortly after Pine…
Read MoreCapturing Appalachia: Finalists From the Appalachian Mtn Photography Competition
By Jamie Goodman It took three judges almost a full day to narrow 1,156 entries down to 49 finalists. The results were stunning. This year’s Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition, currently on display at Appalachian State University Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, features works by photographers from around the Southeast, and a diverse and artistic…
Read MoreIt’s Not My Mountain Anymore Review
Barbara Taylor Woodall, a distinguished writer and Appalachian native, tells the gripping — and sometimes humorous — story of her life growing up in the heart of the Georgia Appalachians in “It’s Not My Mountain Anymore.” Woodall was born in 1954 and raised in a family that maintained a very traditional Appalachian farm life. From…
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