The Appalachian Voice
Time to Stop the Denial
Let’s talk about losing touch. According to a 2011 study by the Pew Research Center, fewer Americans believe in global warming than did five years ago. Politicians treat climate change as a non-issue and wage war on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as if Americans asked for it. In reality, the opposites are resolutely true.…
Read MoreGrassroots Filmmaking in Appalachia
By Tom Hansell Amazing documentaries come from the Appalachian region. From the Academy Award-winning Harlan County, U.S.A. to the recent premiere of The Last Mountain at the Sundance Film Festival, these mountains are full of compelling stories that have attracted documentary filmmakers from across the world. A great source of homegrown documentaries from the Appalachian…
Read MoreBLM/OSM Merger Postponed | Newsbites
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has announced a postponement of a merger between the Bureau of Land Management and the Office of Surface Mining and Reclamation Enforcement to Feb. 15, 2012. In late October, Salazar announced the proposal and received immediate and staunch criticism. Some argued that the two agencies have little overlap and expressed doubts…
Read MoreAppalachian Coal Mining Jobs Reach 14-year High
Increase Comes Despite Arguments that Regulations Kill Jobs Some congressional representatives claim that federal oversight of mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia threatens domestic coal production and the regions coal mining jobs, but new government data indicates the opposite is true. Data released by the Mine Safety and Health Administration show that the number of jobs…
Read MoreProposed Coal Ash Regulations Weaker than Household Waste Laws
Nearly three years after the Tennessee Valley Authority coal ash disaster spilled over a billion gallons of toxic sludge into the Emory River in Harriman, Tenn., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is set to finalize guidelines regulating coal ash ponds. However, a bill in the Senate could put a permanent hold on the EPA’s ability…
Read MoreKids in the Creek: Connecting Youth to Their Watersheds
Alan Felker, eighth grade science teacher at Hardin Park Middle School in Boone, N.C., believes it’s important to expose kids to the environment around them. In North Carolina, eighth grade students are required to study state river basins and water quality issues. Felker took this opportunity to expose his students to our local and regional…
Read MoreRally to Save Ison Rock
Hundreds of citizens gathered at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 16 to call on the EPA and White House to block a proposed mountaintop removal permit that would destroy Ison Rock Ridge in Wise County, Va. More than 2,000 residents living in the five communities that surround the mountain would…
Read MoreThe Solar Decathlon
By Jeff Deal Those weren’t spaceships on Washington D.C.’s National Mall in September — they were entries for this year’s U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. Every two years, the competition challenges teams of college students to design, build and operate solar-powered homes that are affordable to build and maintain, energy-efficient and beautiful. The winner…
Read MoreOther Tidbits
Rallying for Ison Rock Ridge In southwestern Virginia, a mountain known as Ison Rock Ridge — along with several headwater streams — is slated for destruction to access the coal seams inside it. During October, Appalachian Voices, the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards and the Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition are hosting three major rallies to…
Read MoreHigher Fines for Big Coal in Kentucky Clean Water Act Case
By Erin Savage The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet recently reached a settlement of $507,000, with Nally & Hamilton Enterprises, Inc., a mountaintop removal coal mining company in eastern Kentucky. The fine tops previous record-setting fines issued in Appalachian Voices’ on-going case against Frasure Creek and ICG coal companies, $310,000 and $350,000, respectively. Appalachian Voices,…
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