The Appalachian Voice
Remembering Buffalo Creek
By Brian Sewell In the morning of Feb. 26, 1972, nearly 132 million gallons of water and coal waste rushed from Buffalo Mining Company’s slurry impoundments through Buffalo Creek Hollow, Logan County, W.Va. The flood coursed through 16 coal mining settlements along the creek where hundreds of families lived, while children slept or watched cartoons…
Read MoreNuclear Confusion
The Complicated History of the Atom in Appalachia By Paige Campbell Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. sits on 66 acres between the Nolichucky River and the south end of Erwin, Tenn. This part of Erwin is the very picture of a small, blue-collar town. Within a quarter-mile of the fence surrounding the industrial site, there’s a…
Read MoreIs There A Kumbaya Moment Coming for the National Forests?
By Randy Johnson As wildflowers and buds break out this spring in the Southern Appalachians, hope that a greener fate for federal forest lands will bloom as well. On Feb. 9, 2012, the U.S. Forest Service and a handful of public and private collaborators — not all of them very collaborative in the past —…
Read MorePlant your Feet on the Battleground
By Robert Sutherland Google “Blood Mountain” and you’ll find enough fodder for any armchair traveler. But like any other escape to the outdoors, Blood Mountain cannot be appreciated online. Named for a battle waged nearby between the Cherokee and Creek peoples, Blood Mountain is the highest peak on the Appalachian Trail in Georgia, and the…
Read MoreYesterday and Today: Defending the Clean Water Act
By Jamie Goodman Forty years ago, it took a flaming river to spur our nation to protect its waterways. The river that played a prominent role in the creation of the Clean Water Act and the Environmental Protection Agency is thought to have erupted in flames on thirteen separate occasions in a one-hundred-year period, ending…
Read MoreA PREVENTABLE TRAGEDY- No. 9: The 1968 Farmington Mine Disaster
By Jeff Deal Ninety-nine Americans were working in the No. 9 coal mine just north of Farmington, W.Va., on the morning of Nov. 20, 1968 — but only 21 would return safely to loved ones and the light of day. And of the 78 individuals that died from the coal mine explosion, or by suffocation…
Read MoreBears, Body Rhythms and Boundaries
By Molly Moore It’s a feat that no rational human would attempt. A person who laid essentially dormant for up to six months without urinating or defecating would probably die from elevated levels of nitrogen and other wastes. If not, that person would at least show signs of muscle deterioration upon stirring. But not hibernating…
Read MoreChurch “Shares the Plate” with App Voices
Appalachian Voices recently had the honor of being chosen for Allegheny Unitarian Universalist Church’s “Share The Plate” program, in which the Pittsburgh, Pa., church donates 50 percent of their quarterly tithings to a justice-related nonprofit. After seeing an Appalachian Treasures presentation organized by local activist Shane Freeman, the Reverend David McFarland and the church board…
Read MoreTennessee Office Making Ground with State Legislature, TVA
In Tennessee, our staff is currently working with the state legislature to pass the Scenic Vistas Protection Act, a bill that would ban high elevation surface mining techniques such as mountaintop removal in the mountains of eastern Tennessee. In collaboration with partners across the state, we are building relationships with key members of the House…
Read MoreRed, White and Water Campaign Turns Up the Heat on Toxic Coal Ash
On Feb. 15, Appalachian Voices’ Red White and Water team, North Carolina Riverkeepers and other organizations launched a campaign called N.C. Can’t Wait, a petition and education drive to protect communities from toxic coal ash pollution. The campaign was created after monitoring near coal ash ponds at North Carolina’s 14 coal-fired power plants confirmed that…
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