The Appalachian Voice
Celebrating Earth Day
Thirty seven years ago, American rivers were still catching fire and city dwellers had to choke through a pall of smoke just getting to work. Fed up with unregulated pollution, millions of Americans joined together on Earth Day and demanded that air and water pollution be cleaned up. The environmental movement was one of the…
Read MoreSquirreling away secrets at the US Fish & Wildlife Service
images/uploads/squirral_circle.gif “Ginny,” the West Virginia northern flying squirrel (glaucomys sabrinus fuscus) is a charming, big-eyed, nocturnal creature that lives only in the high Allegheny Mountains — in seven counties in West Virginia, and one county in Virginia. At night, Ginny and her family glide from the trees to the moist forest floor, where they feed…
Read MoreThe wiley coyote makes a comeback — and not everyone finds it amusing
Historically, the coyote’s range was restricted to the Great Plains area, but today the coyote can be found from Alaska to Central America, as far west as the Los Angeles city limits, and as far east as the Atlantic Ocean. The coyote (Canis latrans) weighs around 40 pounds and is larger than its western cousin,…
Read MoreKids Connect with Nature at Apple Tree Ridge Farm
images/uploads/green_circle.gif COPPER HILL, VA — Nestled into the side of a mountain near Roanoke, Apple Ridge Farm gives city children the opportunity to learn through camps and nature. “It is important for children to connect with nature,” said Laura Wasko, Environmental Education coordinator. “It’s important…as we’re moving into this electronic age.” The rolling property is…
Read MoreTeachers learn to dance the chemistry of acid mine runoff
MARYVIlLLE, TN — Oxygen and Pyrite stood together, giggling like fourth graders, as Water danced between them, singing a water song and tugging on Iron’s sleeve. “Come away with me,” she sang. Dancing out the chemistry of acid mine runoff, building models of how runoff works, and tie-dying kerchiefs with rusty water — these were…
Read MoreMelungeons celebrate heritage, ties to Europe
Dominion Power’s Blank Check
Deregulation of Virginia’s electric utilities has been a failure – almost everyone agrees on that. What to do about it ought to be the subject of a broad and far-reaching public policy debate. Instead, Virginia’s leading utility, which wrote its own ticket for deregulation back in 1999, is now hurrying to write itself a blank…
Read MoreTwo Catholic Sisters: Working in the Web of Life
For the past 26 years, Sister Beth Davies has lived in one of the most remote towns of southwestern Virginia, in a little coal camp called St. Charles. Her “holler” literally dead ends into a mountain, but it is neither a metaphor for the way she lives or what she has helped the people of…
Read MoreSo Cool – Winter hiking offers peace and solitude
Appalachia may be famous for its colorful fall foliage, But autumn gives way to an equally enchanting wonderland of snow covered hills, frozen waterfalls and the promise of evergreens speckled throughout hillsides. Hiking in the wintertime gives you a new perspective about otherwise familiar trails and local parks. In the winter, the lack of foliage…
Read MoreThe ghosts of Buffalo Creek
On the 35th anniversary of the Buffalo Creek disaster, we remember with great sorrow the 125 innocent men, women and children who lived their lives in harm’s way and lost them due to the recklessness of Pittston Coal Company. We will never forget the unethical engineering that brought millions of gallons of water crashing down…
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