Posts Tagged ‘Mountaintop Removal’
Clean Water Warrior: Lessons from the Front Lines
By Molly Moore For Rick Handshoe, the trouble started in the mid-nineties, when coal mining began near his father and sister’s homes and his sister lost use of her well. Since then, six wells – including the one dug by his ancestors — have dried up or been contaminated with explosive levels of methane on…
Read MoreOrganizational Roundup
Coal Ash Debate Spills Into Transportation Bill Appalachian Voices’ Red, White and Water campaign is working to oppose an amendment on the federal Transportation Bill that would essentially halt the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s rule-making process on toxic coal ash storage and disposal. The bill passed the House in April, and is now undergoing review…
Read MoreStorming Capital Hill
On June 2, more than 150 people gathered in Washington, D.C., for the 7th annual End Mountaintop Removal Week in Washington, sponsored by The Alliance for Appalachia. After a day of training, participants spent three days meeting with Congressional representatives to urge them to support legislation restoring the Clean Water Act to its original language,…
Read MoreTranslating Intentions Around Climate Change into Religious Action
By Mallory McDuff As climate change becomes more politicized in Congress, many religious leaders — from evangelicals to Episcopalians — have expressed more agreement than discord on the need to address the rising threat. Yet it’s often easier to acknowledge the urgency of the climate crisis than to translate that knowledge into action on a…
Read MoreAmerican Chestnut: Return of the Forest King?
By Molly Moore When Daniel Boone traveled through Appalachia, the tall trunks and sweet nuts of the American chestnut flourished. But to most modern residents, stumbling across a full-size American chestnut in the woods is as likely as spotting an eastern cougar. Unlike the cougar, however, the chestnut is making a comeback. During the American…
Read MoreCoalition Acts to Protect Virginia Rivers and Streams from Mining Pollution
For Immediate Release May 3, 2012 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Contact: Tom Cormons, Appalachian Voices, 434-981-6506, [email protected] Sean Sarah, Sierra Club, 330 338-3740 [email protected] Sam Broach, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, 276-523-1702, [email protected] – – – – – – – –…
Read MoreState Legislature Kills Mountaintop Removal Ban Through Delays
By Molly Moore The Scenic Vistas Protection Act, a bill to end mountaintop removal coal mining in Tennessee, was killed by a state House subcommittee after the bill was heard by the state’s Senate this March. The Tennessee hearing marked the first time that a bill to ban mountaintop removal was heard by a full…
Read MoreWe Can End Mountaintop Removal in Tennessee
By Dr. Minnie Vance Chattanooga, Tenn. In Tennessee, we love our mountains. These peaks and valleys inform our southern heritage, enhance our connection to family and represent the best of what we call state and country. Our mountains are home. Nevertheless, we too are facing down the barrel of continued mountaintop removal mining. Unfortunately, in…
Read MoreReclaiming Appalachia: Can Legislation and Enforcement Restore Mountains?
By Molly Moore Kathy Selvage has lived in Stephens, Va., her entire life. From her front porch, she can almost see the field where her childhood home once sat. Instead of the hardwood forest that surrounded her home, graded hills lean against each other like a lumpy bag of onions beneath a blanket of savannah…
Read MoreChurch “Shares the Plate” with App Voices
Appalachian Voices recently had the honor of being chosen for Allegheny Unitarian Universalist Church’s “Share The Plate” program, in which the Pittsburgh, Pa., church donates 50 percent of their quarterly tithings to a justice-related nonprofit. After seeing an Appalachian Treasures presentation organized by local activist Shane Freeman, the Reverend David McFarland and the church board…
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