The Appalachian Voice
Julia “Butterfly” Hill Speaks At Sweet Briar College
Julia “Butterfly” Hill became a focus of international attention as she spent 738 days on a platform suspended 180 feet up in 1,000-year-old redwood tree in California. On March 13, as the featured speaker for the 3rd annual Julia B. Waxter Environmental Studies Forum at Sweet Briar College in Virginia, she spoke to an overflow…
Read MoreSweet Briar Debates Logging
This year, in addition to Julia Butterfly’s talk, the Sweet Briar College campus was the site of a meeting of the international 500-Year Forest Foundation, which advocates restoration of the world’s forests to their natural state of maturity. Paradoxically, the college is currently involved in an internal controversy over how to manage its own forests.…
Read MoreLocust Trees Helped America Win Wars, Grow Crops
It does not have the spreading majesty of a white oak, nor the reputation of the American chestnut. Unlike the maple, its fall color is not spectacular, and few homes have furniture made from its woods. Yet the locust tree (Robinia pseudoacacia) is a very useful hardwood with its own remarkable beauty. This native mountain…
Read MoreStudy: Appalachian Forests Dying From Acid Rain
The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 were supposed to solve the acid rain problem of the 70’s and 80’s, but a new study by scientists at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire finds that the Act hasn’t gone far enough. The Hubbard Brook study, overseen by the U.S. Forest Service, found that…
Read MoreAppVoices & Allies Push Clean Smokestacks Act
On March 4, members of Appalachian Voices and more than 100 other concerned citizens descended on Raleigh to urge lawmakers to protect and restore North Carolina’s air quality. Acknowledging the validity of the argument advanced by the North Carolina Clean Air Coalition (NCCAC) that North Carolina’s air quality is in desperate need of protection, a…
Read MoreLetters to the Editor
Dear Editor I hope this finds you doing well. I enjoyed the visit with you and compadres, am sure I’ll be seeing you soon. I am going to attempt to type my poem that I had printed in the newspaper. This was written when I had enough of just sitting quietly by and letting my…
Read MoreTroutpacking’ In Georgia’s Cohutta Wilderness
If you look at any map of Georgia — even a broad-scale travel atlas — it appears that the Peach State is one big spaghetti platter of roads. Virtually the entire northern tier of the state is crisscrossed by highways, ranging from one-lane gravel paths to six-lane racetracks pouring out of Atlanta. Then you notice…
Read MoreDombeck’s Legacy Deserves
We all knew it was coming, but last month’s letter of resignation from Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck still caused worry and woe for those of us who care about protecting wild forests. Dombeck’s departure marks the end of an unprecedented period of agency reform and the start of the Bush administration’s assault on public…
Read MoreInn-To-Inn Hiking
Walking has been called the exercise that needs no gym, the weight control without a diet, the tranquilizer without a pill, and the fountain of youth that is no legend. It’s a revitalizer, an aid to clear and creative thought, and a preventive for cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, and other diseases. Plus, it makes for a…
Read MoreEnergy Hogs Responsible For Degraded U.S. Rivers
A new report by the environmental group American Rivers highlights the impact that energy production has on our nation’s rivers. Nearly half of the 13 waters on the group’s 2001 “Most Endangered Rivers” list are in trouble from the effects of hydropower dams, mining, coal burning, and contamination from producing parts of the nation’s energy…
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