The Appalachian Voice
Paying 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…
Read MoreNot a Vision of Our Future, But of Ourselves
A LANDSCAPE OF DEVASTATION – Photo of a mountaintop removal operation in eastern Kentucky provided courtesy of Southwings. A HOME IN RUINS – This West Virginia home, located just below a mountaintop removal operation, was destroyed by flooding. Photo provided courtesy of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition. Photo of a coal slurry impoundment in southern…
Read MoreControversy Over Proposed Road Accelerates
A PLACE FOR SOLITUDE – National park enthusiasts fear that the proposed North Shore Road would bring development to one of the most scenic and remote forest areas in the East. Photo by Charles Seifried. LONG TIME PASSING – Century-old cemeteries were relocated before the flooding of Fontana Lake in 1945. In the wet climate…
Read MoreThe Appalachian Voice’s Tenth Anniversary
FIGHTING THE DESTRUCTION OF THEIR HOMELAND – Coalfield community groups such as Coal River Mountain Watch and the Ohio Valley Environmental Coaltion protest Massey Energy’s destruction of their mountains and communities through mountaintop removal mining. BREATHTAKING BEAUTY IN THE BANKHEAD – Alabama’s Bankhead National Forest hosts some of the most beautiful waterfalls and hiking trails…
Read MoreSmiling at the Gas Pump
Think badly of me if you must, but I’ve actually enjoyed watching gasoline prices rise to their recent unprecedented levels. When the local TV news crew does a story on higher gas prices at the pump, I smile as the owners of big SUV’s whine and complain to the reporters. I laugh when I see…
Read MoreDeer Infected with Chronic Wasting Disease Discovered in West Virginia
Chronic wasting disease, a disease in deer caused by a protein that literally eats away brain tissue, has finally arrived in the southern Appalachians. In September, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (DNR) found the first known case of chronic wasting disease in the region. The two-year-old infected buck was killed on a Hampshire…
Read MoreNorth Carolina Towns and Counties Vote for Cleaner Air
Editors note: Erica Palmer is a superstar intern at Appalachian Voices. In recent months, she has been working with members and volunteers to help pass town and county resolutions in support of our clean air protections, which are currently threatened by proposed federal rollbacks of the Clean Air Act. Since passing the Clean Smokestacks Act…
Read MoreThe Marriage of Science and Religion
I have spent my life in a lover’s quarrel, not with my wife of four decades, but with the two disciplines I love: science and religion. I once started a Science and Religion class with the claim that these are the two most important things in the world. A student promptly objected: No, professor you…
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