The Appalachian Voice

Sitting before my wood stove fire on this snowy winter morning, I am filled with gratitude for these comforts of the forest. Ken’s business as a handyman takes him to large farms where he culls insect or storm damaged or dead trees. These are what warm us through the cold winters of my beloved Virginia…

Woody biomass fuel helps NC rural economy, urban air Development of North Carolina’s wood resources would help decrease smokestack emissions and contribute to better health and air quality, Alex Hobbs, deputy director of the North Carolina Solar Center, told a wood energy conference at NC State University in March. Hobbs pointed to experience at the…

Aiming to build alliances throughout the world and call attention to their experiences with mountaintop removal as a form of coal mining, The Coalfield Delegation – a group of seven organizations representing the voices of the dispossessed in Appalachia – told their stories to the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development meeting in May. The…

A realistic style and a straightforward narrative make Black Diamonds one of the best documentary videos to come out of the mountaintop removal mining fight to date. The documentary features discussions with many of the key people who are affected by, and fighting, mountaintop removal. It makes a key point early on — The poorest…

To Avert Disaster: “Pennies of Promise” campaign begins for Marsh Fork school Ed Wiley, grandfather of a Marsh Fork WV elementary student, and other residents of the Coal River Valley gathered at the steps of the Capitol building in late May to announce the launch of “Pennies of Promise,” a campaign to raise the funds…

Aiming to build alliances throughout the world and call attention to their experiences with mountaintop removal as a form of coal mining, The Coalfield Delegation– told their stories to the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development meeting in May. The delegation was formed by seven organizations representing the voices of the dispossessed in Appalachia The…

This summer, Appalachian Voices’ offices were filled with interns and volunteers from across region working on critical issues and providing valuable assistance to our campaigns. We had 62 volunteers and interns this summer working over 1200 hours for our Clean Air Campaign, Mountaintop Removal Campaign, the Appalachian Voice, and our Sustainable Forestry Program Our Clean…

Two shoe salesmen, the old anecdote goes, were scouting for business on a tropical island. The first sent back a message to the home office that went something like this: “No use, boss. Everyone goes barefoot here.” But the second fellow had a different perspective entirely: “Everyone is barefoot — sales potential unlimited!” In early…

Communities Upset Over Globe Logging Plan A controversial U.S. Forest Service logging proposal has sparked dismay across the high country of North Carolina. The area to be cut includes 231 acres of the Pisgah National Forest adjacent to the town of Blowing Rock and near the Julian Price & Moses Cone Memorial Parks. The area…

images/voice_uploads/BW7-Boone.gif September marks a special anniversary for the New River Valley and for environmental protection in Appalachia. Thirty years ago, in 1976, President Ford signed a bill to protect and preserve the upper New River. The bill designated 26.5 miles of the waterway as a National Wild and Scenic River, shielding that section of the…