The Appalachian Voice
Appalachian resources: independence, culture and enlightenment
The United States of Appalachia: How Southern Mountaineers Brought Independence, Culture, and Enlightenment to America By Jeff Biggers. Shoemaker & Hoard. 238 pages. $26.00 In 1966, Appalachian scholar Robert Munn observed that “more nonsense has been written about the Southern Mountains than any comparable area in the United States.” In the years since Munn’s comment,…
Read MoreClean Smokestacks Bake Sale Helps Raise Awareness
At this rate, more than five million more bake sales would be needed to help American Electric Power company equip two aging electric power plants in Southwestern Virginia with modern pollution control systems. But since AEP has no plans to clean up their power plants, Appalachian Voices decided to lend a hand. “We thought we…
Read MoreVolunteers witness everyday tragedies, extraordinary hope in the coalfields
As our caravan wound northward from our homes in peaceful Boone, North Carolina, through the back roads toward the twisted hollows of southern West Virginia, we were reminded of why we love these mountains. But this wasn’t a sight-seeing trip. We were group of Appalachian Voices volunteers were going to a part of Appalachia that…
Read MoreAppalachian Voices Volunteer Update
Ending Mountaintop Removal Our volunteers and interns accomplished a lot this semester for our mountaintop removal campaign. So far this semester we held 5 volunteer nights where our volunteers made phone calls to members and activists across the country urging them to write their representatives and tell their families and friends about the devastating effects…
Read MoreAppalachian Spring
The end of a dark and difficult winter brings back moments of sorrow and horror like blasts of arctic wind. From the mines of West Virginia and Kentucky came news of tragedy that could have been averted. From federal appeals courts in Richmond and Knoxville came more grim news, as reckless procedures for permitting mountaintop…
Read MoreThe Ecology of Freedom
It is with much confidence that I can say that the hopes, dreams and aspirations of the individuals and communities that make up Appalachian Voices represents the essence of the majority of American voices. Many people today feel that their input into the political system that governs our lives and our land is not represented…
Read MoreEulogy for the Carolina Parakeet
images/voice_uploads/AudParakeet.300.gif Think of the most remote Appalachian wilderness you have ever visited, and imagine that landscape if you time-traveled centuries into the past. Would it look much the same as it does today? Not likely, even though it may be “untouched.” The landscape would be filled with seemingly exotic species: towering chestnut trees, vast expanses…
Read MorePaying For Clean Air… Elsewhere
American Electric Power’s Clinch River Power Plant near Bristol, TN. Photo by Kent Kessinger. A ‘CONE OF DEATH’ – Small particle pollution is most concentrated near where it was emitted, placing those who live within a 30-mile radius at 3-4 times higher risk of death from pollution-related causes. Image courtesy of Clean Air Taskforce. Photo…
Read MoreRetreat, Regroup and Retie: An Angler’s Winter Refrain
While the fish may still be biting in the winter, many anglers choose to spend the cold months preparing their tackle box for fairer weather. The White Bass (shown above) was caught with the author’s signature fly, the “Paynekiller,” shown below. Photos by Dave Payne Sr. Although fish have to eat year-round and can be…
Read MoreStalk on the Wild Side: the Eastern Cougar
EASTERN COUGAR – Photo courtesy of the North Carolina Museum of Natural History MAP OF EASTERN COUGAR SITINGS – From The Eastern Cougar: Historic Accounts, Scientific Investigations and New Evidence. Map reproduced courtesy of Stackpole Books images/AppalachianVoice/AVJan06/Photos/circles/Circle_Cougar.gif “It was only natural that the earliest explorers described what they saw in terms of what they had…
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