Prominent Citizens Speak Up To Protect Tennessee Scenic Vistas

(Clockwise from top): Victor Ashe, Rev. Gradye Parsons, Anne Davis Prominent Tennessee citizens are lending their voices of support to the original language of the Scenic Vistas Protection Act, a bill currently in the state legislature that is aimed to stop mountaintop removal coal mining in Tennessee. In the state’s top daily newspaper, The Nashville…

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Update on Mountain Advocacy in Tennessee Legislature

Dawn Coppock, Legislative Director of LEAF has a spot-on letter in the Knoxville News Sentinel. Reprinted below. Can an engineer make a mountain as well as God can? The coal industry says, “Yes”; Tennesseans loudly say, “No”; and the state Senate is still ducking, stalling and faking. I advocate for the Tennessee Scenic Vistas Protection…

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What Happened in the Tennessee Legislature Today?

Mountaintop Removal Bill Goes to the Senate Floor We’re still alive! Appalachian Voices and other Tennessee coalition partners have moved the conversation on banning mountaintop removal to the floor of the Tennessee State Senate. The Senate Energy and Environment Committee this morning vote 8-1 to move a bill forward. BUT, its a bit complicated. Before…

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Senate Committee Misses Historic Opportunity to Protect Tennessee Mountains

PRESS STATEMENT CONTACT: J.W. Randolph, Appalachian Voices, 202-669-3670, jw@appvoices.org The Tennessee Scenic Vistas Protection Act, introduced by state Sen. Eric Stewart, was designed to stop surface coal mining that alters or disturbs a ridgeline over 2,000 feet of elevation, effectively banning mountaintop removal coal mining in the state. On Wed., Feb. 29 the State Senate…

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Tennessee Coal Industry Should Read the Bill

Why does the coal industry need to make things up? Because they are on the wrong side of the facts, they are on the wrong side of public opinion, and they are on the wrong side of history. Fortunately, they don’t have a defensible case to continue doing mountaintop removal here in Tennessee. Unfortunately, too…

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Sewanee Coal Seam Prohibition Bill Introduced in TN

Tennessee State Senator Berke and Representative McDonald Introduce Legislation That Will Protect Tennessee’s Mountains, Waters, and Public Health. Appalachian Voices Urges TN Legislature to Support This Bill. Appalachian Voices and other allies across Tennessee, including “Statewide Organizing For Community eMpowerment” (i.e. “SOCM“) were successful in working with the Tennessee Legislature to file a bill that…

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TN Governor Can Lead Tennessee Away from Mountaintop Removal

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam opposed mountaintop removal during his gubernatorial campaign. Now is the time for him to put action to those words Appalachian Voices is working around the clock to pass the Tennessee Scenic Vistas legislation. This bill would make Tennessee the first state to ban mountaintop removal by ending surface mining over 2,000…

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