The Appalachian Voice
Letters from Readers
Dear Appalachian Voices, I recently left the Appalachian region and felt the need to commend you all on your environmental endeavors that protect the vitality of the Appalachians. I am thoroughly impressed with your effort to take action opposing the “Clear Skies Initiative.” Appalachian Voices successfully rallied environmental enthusiasts in a jovial and fun manner.…
Read MoreAcross Appalachia
West VIrginia: Forest Management Plan Released for Monongahela National Forest The US Forest Service has released a draft of the forest management plan that will guide all activities on West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest for the next fifteen to twenty years. The proposed plan will triple the amount of logging allowed on the Monongahela, and…
Read MoreCoal Synfuels: A Giant Leap Backward
America’s coal companies and their political supporters continue to push for the creation of a massive coal synthetic fuels industry. This time, they say, it would be a real industry, not the half-baked “spray and pray” operations that have legally but unethically siphoned off billions in tax dollars for bogus “synthetic” fuels projects. Recently, a…
Read MoreCelebrating 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 MoreEnviromental Education from the Heart
Since the first Earth Day, environmental education has become a standard part of the science curriculum in schools nationwide. “Students will learn,” say the standards committees, about the web of life, about interrelationships among ecosystems, about biological communities, and about the natural world. Ironically, this formal appreciation for nature comes at a time when children…
Read MoreFighting Nature Deficit at Tremont
WALKER VALLEY, TN — It’s not strength in numbers that inspires Ken Voorhis. Instead, it’s strength in intensity – possibly even a life-changing experience – that excites Voorhis in his job as executive director of the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont. On staff since 1984, Voorhis spends his days teaching children all the benefits…
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