The Appalachian Voice
Coal Ash Cleanup Effort Comes in Phases
Story by Sarah Vig “A clean-up can either be done right or it can be a ticking time bomb,” California Senator Barbara Boxer cautioned TVA CEO Tom Kilgore during the Environment and Public Works committee’s oversight hearing on the recent coal ash spill at the Kingston Fossil Plant near Harriman, TN. In response, Kilgore promised…
Read MoreOpinion
Citizens and Advocates: The New Newsmakers By Bill Kovarik and Sarah Vig From the standpoint of public information, the TVA Fly Ash Disaster was unlike any other environmental disaster in recent history. Immediately following the spill, TVA’s public relations department attempted to spin the catastrophic failure of an earthen dam holding back a billion gallons…
Read MoreTVA must clean house
Recent events clearly show the need for a clean sweep of TVA’s leadership. It’s not just Tom Kilgore, the CEO of TVA, who needs to be held accountable. The nine-member board of directors, entirely appointed by the Bush Administration as part of an old-school, old boy network, is directly responsible for the tragic and disturbing…
Read MoreUnited Mountain Defense: On the Front Lines at TVA Spill Site
Story by Sarah Vig Call them the environmental movement’s equivalent of an emergency response team. Within only 14 hours of the dam failure at the Kingston Fossil Plant, United Mountain Defense mobilized. Having gained years of experience organizing and conducting water sampling in communities throughout Tennessee impacted by mountaintop removal mining, and with headquarters in…
Read MoreEmory River System: Beauty and Biodiversity in Peril?
By Dr. Anna George, Tennessee Aquarium “There is nothing more eloquent in Nature than a mountain stream.” On September 12, 1867, John Muir crossed the Emory River on his 1,000-mile walk to the Gulf of Mexico. He had set out 12 days earlier from Louisville, Kentucky on his expedition south to the Gulf. The Emory…
Read MoreAltered Lives- The Human Side of an Environmental Disaster
Story by Sarah Vig When looking at photographs of the TVA coal ash disaster in Roane County Tennessee, the enormity of the spill’s environmental impact is immediately apparent. According to some, the disaster could only be put into perspective from the air. But in other ways, the impacts are best seen on the ground. The…
Read More4th Annual Week In Washington To Promote Clean Water Protection Act
Help Lobby Members of Congress to Pass an Anti-Mountaintop Removal Bill In mid-March, the Alliance for Appalachia will be sponsoring the fourth annual End Mountaintop Removal Week in Washington, a week of direct lobbying by Appalachian residents and others from across the United States. Participants get to join with other activists and impacted citizens, and…
Read MoreField Coordinator and Riverkeeper Canoe Into Tennessee Coal Sludge
Narrative by Sandra Diaz December 26th, 4:30pm – 4 days after the 1 billion gallon toxic coal ash spill in Harriman, TN. I’m on the phone with Donna Lisenby, the Upper Watauga Riverkeeper in North Carolina, who was planning to travel to the TVA coal ash spill and collect water samples along the Emory River.…
Read MoreWalk to a Waterfall in Southwest Virginia
By Joe Tennis Come spring, long before trees see leaves sprout again, the waters flow on Phillips Creek. Blasting, gushing, pouring down a stone embankment like a shower, the waterfall of the Phillips Creek Recreation Area feeds the rocky Phillips Creek as it courses its way beyond the remnants of a moonshine still, the memories…
Read MoreNew Books For Thru-Hikers
Reviews by Bill Kovarik How to hike the Appalachian Trail:The nitty-gritty details of a long-distance trek By Michelle Ray (Stackpole Books) “In a world full of mediated spaces and experiences,” writes Michelle Ray, “a trip to the back country allows an individual the sort of autonomy he or she craves.” As Henry D. Thoreau said,…
Read More