RockingChair

Front Porch Blog

Updates from Appalachia

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South Fork Coal Company's Rocky Run Surface Mine cutting a gash into the Yew Mountains above the South Fork Cherry River and the community of Richwood. Photo by Andrew Young/ Southwings

Top mine regulator can and must halt illegal coal hauling in the Monongahela National Forest

Sharon Buccino, the acting head of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, could take immediate action to shut down South Fork Coal’s illegal coal hauling operation in the Monongahela National Forest. 

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Cartoon that reads "hi folks! We're two of the richest men in the world here to save you from jobs, clean water, safe roads, and bridges and other 'inefficiencies'!"

How the Department of Government Efficiency’s plans will harm Appalachian communities: Part 1

The Department of Government Efficiency’s proposal to cut funding for “unauthorized” programs would mean the end of programs and agencies that directly benefit Appalachians.

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Pittsylvania County Photo by Jessica Sims.

Pittsylvania County, Va., is at the center of an overbuilding of fossil fuel infrastructure

Pittsylvania County, Virginia, faces risks from a new gas plant from Balico and extensions of the existing Transco Mountain Valley pipelines. 

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Tennessee’s zombie mine crisis: A growing threat

Zombie mines often evolve into environmental hazards, leaking pollutants into waterways, disrupting natural areas and creating dangerous landscapes.

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Connecting the future to the past through five special places

Appalachian Voices is working with five towns in the seven coalfield communities to successfully model resiliency in the face of economic difficulties, climate disasters and other hurdles by helping them create shovel-ready projects in their regions.

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