Posts Tagged ‘Kentucky’
Half-Baked Coal Ash Bill: A Dangerous Proposition for Our Air and Water
Air and Water Protections are as American As Apple Pie — and they are under attack. Most people talk about creating legislation in terms of sausage-making. It can be downright dirty work. But I prefer to think of it as pie-baking, requiring the combination of concentrated efforts while keeping the final product in mind. Though…
Read MoreOfficial EPA Comments on 36 Ky Permits
Appalachian Voices submitted official comments following the EPA’s public hearing on June 2nd and 4th. Our comments affirm the EPA’s objections to 36 water pollutant discharge permits for surface mines in Kentucky. The 36 draft permits were issued by the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet. Under the Clean Water Act, the EPA must ensure state…
Read MoreSpeaking Out At EPA Hearings in Kentucky
Upon our arrival, we definitely stood out. I wondered if we exuded “tree hugger,” but it’s more likely that the “I Love Mountains” buttons gave us away. While no one approached us directly to ask what we were doing there or to start an argument, the rally cries and fire-and-brimstone speeches in the background gave…
Read MoreHIDDEN TREASURES #2 – Kentucky
Welcome to part two in our exploration of the most amazing places in the Central and Southern Appalachian Mountains — this time exploring some of our most fabulous Public Lands. Breaks Interstate Park Approximately 250 million years in the making, Breaks Interstate Park is one of the deepest gorges in the U.S. The centerpiece is…
Read MoreKY Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Citizens and Water
Yesterday the Kentucky State Supreme Court ruled in favor of Appalachian Voices and our partners KFTC, Waterkeeper and the Kentucky Riverkeeper. The ruling upheld lower court rulings allowing us to intervene in a lawsuit between Frasure Creek Mining and the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet. That case was brought about in October 2010 when we…
Read MoreBook Club Mini Review: “Kentucky Folktales: Revealing Stories, Truths, and Outright Lies”
By Brian Sewell Even before opening Mary Hamilton’s ode to storytelling, the rustcolored cover, adorned with a rocking chair and the kind of rustic text that might be carved in a tree, invites the reader into a world of oral traditions shared among Kentuckians for years before being captured on the page. Hamilton is a…
Read MoreKicking Coal Ash in Carolina
Over the past months, Appalachian Voices and our Red, White and Water campaign have continued the fight against toxic coal ash in North Carolina. In Charlotte, Appalachian Voices teamed up with the local Greenpeace chapter to host a coal ash tour, led by award-winning reporter Rhiannon Fionn, who has covered issues related to Duke Energy’s…
Read MorePerusing Kentucky’s Pine Mountain Park
By Joe Tennis High above Pineville, Ky., near the start of the challenging Laurel Cove Trail, an old joke straddles a rock at Pine Mountain State Resort Park. Local lore suggests that the people of Pineville were worried about the menacing-looking boulder coming loose and rolling off Pine Mountain. In the 1930s, shortly after Pine…
Read MoreKentucky Surface Water: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Depending on what you have heard about eastern Kentucky, or your own experiences there, you may have different impressions of Appalachian streams around the area. Some may envision picturesque creeks running through green valleys, while others may think of bright orange “streams” running over rip-rock. Unfortunately, bright orange streams are commonplace in eastern Kentucky. The…
Read MoreKentuckians and Friends Show State Officials Their Love for Mountains on Valetine’s Day
Despite cool, rainy weather in Frankfort, KY, more than 1,200 individuals showed up on the steps of the Kentucky state capitol building for I Love Mountains Day. This annual event is held by Kentuckians for the Commonwealth so that KFTC members and other advocates can come together to show their support for protecting eastern Kentucky’s…
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