RockingChair

Front Porch Blog

Updates from Appalachia

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Monogamous and territorial – my common traits with woodpeckers

Living in Virginia, it’s easy to take the Blue Ridge Mountains for granted. But if you pay attention, there’s a mystery to them that many don’t appreciate — including the companies who want to build natural gas pipelines through them.

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Bee keepers in Claiborne Co., Tenn.

In Tennessee, Powell Valley Electric Co-op members speak out

Electric co-ops are governed by boards who are democratically elected, and therefore supposedly responsive to their customers, who are also co-owners of these utilities. The Powell Valley Electric Cooperative in east Tennessee has stirred grave concern with its herbicide spraying policy, and members are speaking out.

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The fight against the Atlantic Coast Pipeline is not over

As expected, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently gave a glowing review to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, overlooking the threats to wetlands, forest, drinking waters and indigenous populations along the pipeline’s proposed route.

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Aerial view of a portion of the Middle Ridge permit taken in April 2017.

Keeping the mountain in Coal River Mountain

Local groups like Coal River Mountain Watch and Kanawha Forest Coalition are critical to protecting communities living near mountaintop removal mines in West Virginia. Appalachian Voices is helping them monitor mining activities and permits.

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A summer of learning and organizing against pipelines

This is the last day of my internship with Appalachian Voices. But even though my formal time here is over, I plan to continue fighting for clean water.

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