Viewpoint
The Garment of God
I once sat on a cement step leading to a sidewalk and watched an ant carry a tiny straw on its back. It came to a crevice between the cement slabs and had no means of getting across with the straw on its back. Faced with this dilemma, the tiny ant engaged in some practical…
Read MoreOpinions and Letters
Patriotism and morality are terms that generally are not associated with environmental concerns. However, my feeling is that these have great application, since love of country and the search for principles of right and wrong conduct are important values in this country. Most Americans openly express their convictions concerning some aspects of patriotism and morality,…
Read MoreVoices From the Mountains
On April 20th, sixteen of Kentucky’s best known authors went on a tour of mountaintop removal sites in their state. The tour, which included a flyover of the coalfields in a small plane, was coordinated by the non-profit organizations Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, Kentucky Riverkeepers and Appalshop. Following the tour, the 16 authors collaborated to…
Read MorePark Pollution Not a Hazy Issue
If you’re like millions of Americans, you have plans to head for the mountains on your summer vacation. Unfortunately, you may not find the clean air and scenic views you were expecting. In fact, the air pollution in our southern Appalachian national parks is as bad or worse than you would find in big cities…
Read MoreThe Real “Chicken Littles”
During the negotiations leading up to the Clean Air Act of 1970, Ford Motor Company issued a warning that the act “could prevent continued production of automobiles,” and “is a threat to the entire American economy and to every person in America.” Similarly, shortly before the Clean Air Act was strengthened in 1990, the National…
Read More“Just say NO!” to Toxic Mercury
The following comments by high school student and Appalachian Voices volunteer Sarah Heath Olesiuk were so poignant that we decided to share them with our readers. The comments were delivered at a recent EPA hearing in North Carolina on the Bush Administration’s proposed roll-backs of mercury regulations. “As a teenager, I am constantly bombarded by…
Read MoreInvesting in Our Landscape and our Future
One hundred years after Katherine Lee Bates first put her poem “America the Beautiful” to music, the beauty of our nation’s landscape remains a source of artistic inspiration and national pride. We can be thankful that visionary leaders such as Teddy Roosevelt had the wisdom to set aside public lands to preserve a natural legacy,…
Read MoreLetters
Dear Appalachian Voice, I like to get your paper even if our government will not stop [mountaintop removal mining]. I received my first copy through a friend. I was born and raised in SW Virginia in the beautiful mountains. Now it’s terribly dirty. The mountains in Pardu, VA, north of Appalachia are nothing but one…
Read MoreEditorials and Letters
Forests On May 20, the House of Representatives passed the Healthy Forest Restoration Act, and on July 24, the Senate Agriculture Committee passed a similar bill. The purported aim of this legislation is to reduce the risk of wildfire damage to communities, address threats to forest health, improve understanding of insect damage to forests, and…
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…
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