The Appalachian Voice
Trampling the Promised Land
Suburban Sprawl Now Dominates The Rural Landscape of America By Kathleen Marshall The story of development in Appalachia goes back to 1585, when Lt. Ralph Lane sent surveyors to explore from what would, one day, be Chesapeake Bay south to present-day North Carolina. In a letter back to England, the Elizabethan explorer wrote, “.…
Read MoreFull Appalachian Voice August issue in PDF
Download the full August / September issue (7.8 MB) https://appvoices.org/pdfs/voice_2008_04august.pdf
Read MoreNaturalists Notebook – Switchgrass
You’ve probably driven by fields full of switch grass a hundred times and never known it. Varieties of the warm season grass – Panicum virgatum – can be found all over the Southeast and the Midwest. Switch grass looks humble enough in the spring, but by autumn it can be six to ten feet tall.…
Read MoreLetters to the editor
Dear Editor, Every article is different, stimulating, provocative, and something you won’t find anyplace else. Thanks. Su Clauson-Wicher Chilhowie, VA Dear Appalachian Voices, Finally, my Economic Stimulus “Kicker” from the Federal Gov’t. came, and I was able to donate part of it to your fine organization. I would love to encourage others who received a…
Read MoreNatural gas — Appalachia’s other energy dilemma
Stand on a ridgeline in southwestern Virginia. You’ll see lush hardwood forests, dark-green groves of rhododendron, blue skies … and square, neat clearings, marked by green tanks and red well heads. They dot almost every ridge, every nook and knob in the mountainous terrain. Look directly overhead, and you might also be standing under a…
Read MoreCare of Creation …People of Diverse Faiths Gather at Center for the Environment at Catawba College
An evangelical Christian quoted a Hindu. A rabbi came to the table with an Episcopal priest. The cause that brought them together with 300 others from diverse faith traditions was a commitment to care for the environment. They gathered May 29 thru 31 at the Center for the Environment at Catawba College in Salisbury to…
Read MoreFaith community’s stewardship is inspiring
A couple of years ago a question posed by the Christian community was, “What would Jesus drive?” Well, if he were making that decision in our 2008 world, there’s a good chance he’d drive a Toyota Prius or another variety of hybrid. At least that’s what I deduced at the recent Conference on Faith, Spirituality,…
Read MoreWind plan advances in WV
The groups have been organizing support for the Coal River Mountain Wind Project since April. The groups include Coal River Mountain Watch, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Appalachian Voices and the Sierra Club, “The Coal River Wind Project is a clear choice between a clean renewable energy future and a dirty destructive threat to the…
Read MoreAppalachian Mountains Preservation Act introduced in NC Legislature
MAY 27 RALEIGH, NC – Representative Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) and Appalachian Voices announced the Appalachian Mountains Preservation Act, a bill to end the use of coal obtained from mountaintop removal mining – a controversial form of strip mining. If passed, North Carolina would be the first state in the nation to implement such legislation. “Right…
Read MoreTennessee students protest carbon capture plans
Climate change legislation, if it ever comes, should not include “clean coal research” said Tennessee activist groups, including Save Our Cumberland Mountains and Students Promoting Environmental Action in a protest this May. Instead of focusing on coal research, investments should be directed toward alternative, renewable energy technologies, the students said. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)…
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