Posts Tagged ‘Kentucky’
Ada Smith: Giving Voice to Appalachia
By Kimber Ray Amidst the economic and social upheaval sweeping through Appalachia, art and media may seem like unexpected tools for approaching the challenges the region faces today. However, through her work with Appalshop — a media and cultural center in Whitesburg, Ky.— Ada Smith has witnessed how creating and sharing stories can empower communities.…
Read MoreNathan Hall: Reclaiming Appalachia’s Land and Future
By Rachel Ellen Simon Nathan Hall was born in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, surrounded by lush hardwood forests, cool trout streams and barren moonscapes — the latter courtesy of mountaintop removal coal mining. “It was all around me, in every direction from the house where I grew up within a mile or two,” he…
Read MoreInvestigation Finds Fraud in Black Lung Cases
By Kimber Ray A year-long investigation revealed evidence this fall that the coal industry has supported fraudulent practices in order to block workers’ compensation claims for black lung disease. According to the investigation conducted by The Center for Public Integrity and ABC News, it appears that officials at prestigious medical institutions including Johns Hopkins Hospital…
Read MoreOn the Right Side of the Law
By Molly Moore From the gallery of the Kentucky State Capitol, lawyer Wes Addington and a group of women from eastern Kentucky — mostly widows of coal miners — watched the Kentucky House pass a bill expanding legal and safety protections for state miners. The women had advocated tirelessly in support of the law, and…
Read MoreEPA decision on toxic mining waste leaves Kentuckians, other Appalachians at risk
Resources EPA Approval Letter Selenium Fact Sheet Read more on our blog Contact: Erin Savage, Water Quality Specialist, 828-262-1500, erin@appvoices.org Cat McCue, Communications Director, 434-293-6373, cat@appvoices.org Washington DC – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today approved Kentucky’s changes to how the state measures selenium, a toxic pollutant discharged from many mountaintop removal coal mines. Even…
Read MoreEPA Helps Kentucky Roll Back Water Quality Protections
Just today, after several months of delays, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced its decisions on the Kentucky Department of Water’s (DOW) amendments to the Kentucky Water Quality Regulations. Unfortunately, the EPA has approved substantive changes to the selenium freshwater chronic standard that will not adequately protect aquatic life and will be difficult, if not…
Read MoreAppalachian Coal Losing Another Customer: Eastern Kentucky as a Case Study
The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Paradise Fossil Plant sits on the banks of western Kentucky’s Green River. The largest coal plant in the state, Paradise consumes approximately 7.3 million tons per year — none of which comes from Central Appalachian coal mines. Although TVA recently announced it was cutting almost all of its use of Central…
Read MoreIn Defense of the Earth: An Appalachian Poet’s Presence
Stream “Wendell Berry, Poet & Prophet” below or watch it on Moyers & Company by clicking here. Widely celebrated as a caretaker of the culture and myth of rural America, Wendell Berry has a distinct drawl and speaks like he writes, eloquently but with simple words and equal parts conviction and compassion. Beyond being a…
Read MoreTraditions of Resistance:
Lessons from the struggle for justice in Appalachia By Molly Moore In 1964, a 61-year-old Kentucky woman, Ollie “Widow” Combs, sat in front of a bulldozer to halt the strip-mining of the steep land above her home. She spent that Thanksgiving in jail, and a photograph of Combs being hauled away landed on major papers…
Read MoreA Waterfall and a View at Bad Branch State Nature Preserve
By Dana Kuhnline Bad Branch Falls near Whitesburg, Ky., was one of the first hikes I experienced when I moved to Appalachia almost 10 years ago. I happened to be chaperoning two vans full of at-risk teenagers on a weekend trip from West Virginia to Whitesburg. The last stop before heading home was this hike.…
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