The Appalachian Voice
Tennessee’s Valdez: Revisiting TVA’s Coal Ash Disaster
Over a year after the Dec. 22, 2008 failure of TVA’s impoundment dam released 5.4 million cubic yards of coal sludge, ash still covers the land and clouds the river. In spite of TVA officials’ assurance that the cleanup would last three months and the waste was safe, studies and reports of health concerns suggest…
Read MoreWhite Nose Syndrome & The Fate of Appalachia’s Bats
By Maureen Halsema The world’s only flying mammal may be extinct by the end of the decade. White nose syndrome—believed to be caused by a fungus—has already killed about a million bats in the northeastern regions of the U.S. and Canada, and is spreading into Appalachia. The fungus attacks bats as they hibernate in winter…
Read MoreAppalachian Advocates Prepare for Fifth Annual Week in Washington
By Megan Naylor With the start of the New Year comes a new opportunity for citizens to assemble in the nation’s capital to meet with Congressional leaders about legislation barring mountaintop removal. The Fifth Annual Week in Washington, hosted by The Alliance for Appalachia, runs from March 6 to 10 in Washington D.C., and brings…
Read MoreTwo Miles to Hell: A Miner’s Story
By Daniel Alexander Hawkins, Special to The Voice It is 10:06 p.m. on a Sunday night and I begin getting dressed in my high-visibility work uniforms, the trademark navy shirt and pants with orange stripes identifying the Appalachian coal miners in our area. The children have already gone to bed with hugs and kisses from…
Read MoreCoal Controversy Rises on the National Agenda
Controversy over the environmental costs of coal – from mountaintop removal to ash spills, from black lung disease to the toll on Appalachian communities – has moved from the Appalachian region to the center of the national agenda. The conflict is increasingly reflected in national media, in protests, and in the courts. Faced with staggering…
Read MoreHigh Stakes Gamble With Carbon Capture Technologies
By Bill Kovarik A high stakes effort to research carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) technology is advancing with almost $2 billion in research and development grants, the Obama administration announced this February. Four projects in West Virginia, Texas, Illinois and Alabama were slated in February for stimulus funding. Dominion Energy’s Wise County, Va., power…
Read MoreVoices from the Field:
Citizen Activist Cathie Bird is Building Bridges By Julie Johnson Community and Environmental Advocate Cathie Bird works for Statewide Organizing for Community Empowerment (SOCM), a group dedicated to solving social and environmental issues in Tennessee. Bird is the chair of the Strip Mine Issues Committee and a member of SOCM’s Anti-racism Transformation Team. Q: What…
Read MoreCivil Standoff:
Kennedy and Blankenship Debate Future of Coal By Bill Kovarik A polite but pointed debate showed a wide gulf between environmental and coal industry positions on Appalachia’s environmental woes. The debate was sponsored by the University of Charleston in Charleston, W.Va., Jan. 21, 2010. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., president of the Waterkeeper Alliance, challenged coal…
Read MoreLetters to the Editor
Cap and Trade Could Have An Impact On Health Care Costs To the Editor, While many Republicans are predicting an increase in energy costs if we pass the cap and trade legislation, they are missing the big picture. In fact, the legislation will save exponentially more money than it will cost, as was seen with…
Read MoreInside Appalachian Voices
Musicians for the Mountains: Artists Team Up With Appalachian Voices Three Kentucky musicians are teaming up to promote awareness of the impacts of mountaintop removal coal mining, with plans to donate their new album’s proceeds to the cause. Cellist Ben Sollee and guitarist Daniel Martin Moore collaborated with recording artist/producer Yim Yames on “Dear Companion,”…
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