RockingChair

Front Porch Blog

Updates from Appalachia

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Activists gather at “Home of the Brave” on 4th of July

Mountaintop_Removal_WV_2014_282 Appalachian Voices’ Amy Adams travels to W.Va. for an annual Independence Day event at Kayford Mountain, one of the areas hardest hit by mountaintop removal mining. She joins scores of others in mourning for the mountains lost, but also celebrating the spirit and resolve of those fighting to end the destructive practice.

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The Power of Energy Efficiency — Building a Stronger Economy for Appalachia (Part 5)

EE_seriesTapping into Appalachia’s vast potential for energy efficiency will help to alleviate poverty and create local jobs while reducing the environmental impact associated with our energy use. In fact, energy efficiency may be the most vital solution to Appalachia’s energy and economic future.

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Strip mine highway gets a hard look

Image courtesy of the Sierra Club
The Coalfields Expressway as currently proposed is not a classic “road to nowhere” boondoggle, but it is a road to the destruction of mountains, creeks and economic opportunities in Southwest Virginia. So it was a joyous day in June when we learned that, after many years of collaborative effort by Appalachian Voices and partner groups, and the persistence of countless citizens across the region, federal officials had put the brakes on it.

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Today’s court decision and what it means for Appalachia

good_day_for_mtns2A major ruling in favor of the EPA says the agency has the authority to coordinate with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers when reviewing permits for mountaintop removal mines. The EPA has the legal authority, scientific evidence, and moral obligation to block every mountaintop removal permit that comes through its doors. We all share the responsibility of making sure it does just that.

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Court sides with EPA on science-based mountaintop removal permitting

4535374630_be9af60ec8_zA ruling by U.S. Court of Appeals today is as clear as the science indicting mountaintop removal coal mining, and affirms what advocates working to end the destruction of Appalachian mountains and streams have been saying for years.

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