RECLAIMing Central Appalachia

From The Appalachian Voice: A rare bipartisan proposal aims to tackle two pressing issues related to the flailing coal industry — the need for new economic opportunities in central Appalachia and repairing environmental damage from decades of mining.

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Drinking water problems still plague eastern Kentucky

After a nearby creek ran bright yellow last month, residents of Martin County, Ky., still have questions for local and state officials — and that’s not uncommon in a county that has seen its fair share of coal slurry spills and municipal water problems. So why are so many officials ignoring the problem?

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Coal Export Market Evaporates

In 2011, the nation’s three largest coal companies bet billions of dollars on future Chinese demand for steelmaking metallurgical coal, a primarily from Appalachia. When Chinese demand fell, so did the Appalachian coal export market.

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Peabody Energy joins coal bankruptcy club

While the company no longer operates in Central Appalachia, the story of Peabody Energy’s downfall is similar to those of major producers in the region, where coal mining communities have plenty of first-hand experience with what happens next.

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What happened on Pine Creek?

A lot of folks have had questions about last month’s mine blowout on Pine Creek, in Letcher County, Ky. So we’ve put together an explainer that runs through the facts, the science and the regulatory protocols behind spills like this — and offers tips on what you can do about them.

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From inside Appalachia, a look at WGN’s “Outsiders”

Exclusive to the Front Porch: WGN’s television series “Outsiders” doesn’t leave a single stereotype of Appalachia unturned. In this essay exclusive to the Front Porch Blog, award-winning author Ron Rash reflects on how stereotypes cloak harms much more profound than cultural misperceptions: “The region is diverse, and many areas are doing well, but for those that are not, might a show focused on “retard hillbilly animals” make it easier for America to ignore the region’s needs?”

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Responding to “Appalachia’s Distress”

Over the weekend, a letter by our Executive Director Tom Cormons to the editors of The New York Times appeared on the newspaper’s website. It was penned in part to stress the importance of the Stream Protection Rule and to urge federal regulators to stand firm in the face of industry opposition, and finalize it.

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