Posts Tagged ‘2012 — Issue 6 (Dec/Jan)’
A Clean(er) World
By Molly Moore No country is an energy island. In the face of a European Union sanction that bans steel imports, Iran is using roundabout trading methods to secure metallurgical coal, used in steel manufacturing, from Ukraine. A state-backed firm in Abu Dhabi plans to invest in Saudi Arabia’s growing renewable energy efforts. And in…
Read MoreExtracting Insight
By Paige Campbell Half a million people live on the hundreds of specks in the wide-open Pacific that form the Solomon Islands. Most live simply, subsisting as small-plot farmers and fishermen. Land is owned collectively by villages and tribes. The economy is tiny, the natural resources vast. Eight thousand miles away in the mountains of…
Read MoreKindred in Song
By Brian Sewell “Greetings from North Carolina.” Doc Watson’s rich, syrupy baritone voice is instantly recognizable in a 1976 recording from Tokyo, Japan, where he took the stage with his son, Merle. “We’ve come to try to spread a little goodwill from our people to your people.” After an extended, solo-filled showcase of “Roll in…
Read MoreA Double-Edged Sword
By Jesse Wood The expansion of global markets and its effect on Appalachia has been a lopsided, double-edged sword, particularly for the furniture and lumber industries. While exposure to foreign markets has checked inflation and opened the door to an array of new customers, it has crippled the Appalachian furniture manufacturing workforce because of cheaper…
Read MoreWorld Market
By Molly Moore Appalachian farms are many things: bucolic, rugged, diverse and productive. But rarely does the word “large” apply. Historically, farm size was not always an indicator of farm success. But today, small farmers aren’t just competing with their neighbors; they’re competing with large multinational conglomerates for space on consumers’ grocery lists. Allison Perrett,…
Read MoreAppalachia’s Political Landscape
The Battle is Over — Has the “War” Just Begun? By Brian Sewell Less than a month after the Nov. 6 elections, Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia announced that in 2014 she would seek the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller. Although Rockefeller has not yet announced if…
Read MoreThe Export Enigma: Appalachian Coal’s Complicated Outlets Overseas
By Brian Sewell Recently, coal exports have provided operators in Appalachia with a crucial buffer against the market-driven forces that are shaping the energy landscape across the United States. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, between 2009 and 2011, coal exports nearly doubled in response to stagnant domestic consumption. This year, the EIA forecasts…
Read MoreUnder Pressure, Patriot Coal to Phase Out Mountaintop Removal
By Brian Sewell On Nov. 15, amid bankruptcy litigation and multiple lawsuits, Patriot Coal announced it would begin phasing out mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia as part of a settlement over selenium pollution. One of the largest operators in the region, the St. Louis-based spin-off of Peabody Energy is the first major coal operator…
Read MoreCoal Industry Employment Remains in Flux and other shorts
On Nov. 27, Southern Coal announced it would recall 650 laid-off miners after entering into a multi-year contract with American Electric Power. The deal will allow Southern Coal to reopen mines that were closed earlier this year and will prevent the layoffs of another 500 workers. Much of the complaints about a political “war on…
Read MoreA Call for Climate Security
In America, our view of the wider world is often colored by concerns about security. But today, international security is about more than tariffs and terrorism — it’s about protecting access to clean water and the productivity of the farms that feed the world. Sea level rise might be a punchline for certain political audiences,…
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