Posts Tagged ‘West Virginia’
Progress and Setbacks for Appalachia’s Environment
Asheville City Council Approves Clean Energy Resolution In October, the city council of Asheville, N.C., unanimously approved a resolution to phase out the city’s use of coal-fired electricity and increase power generated from cleaner sources and saved through energy efficiency. Led by local citizen groups including the Western North Carolina Alliance and the Asheville Beyond…
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 MorePodcasting Appalachian History
By Bill Kovarik Dave Tabler’s education in art history didn’t prepare him to be an Appalachian historian so much as his hope to overcome the way his father “spent a lifetime running away from mean jokes about marrying your cousin and swilling moonshine.” After helping his father with a book, Tabler started the Appalachian History…
Read MoreAppalachia’s Contested History
By Bill Kovarik It has been 50 years since Harry Caudill wrote “Night Comes to the Cumberlands,” a landmark history that rejected stereotypes of Appalachian people as backward hillbillies and described the ruthless exploitation they suffered. The book spoke with eloquence to the American conscience and set off a firestorm of controversy. Within a year,…
Read MoreSolar and Wind Projects Take Off Across Appalachia
First Utility-Scale Solar Projects Proposed in West Virginia By Brian Sewell Solar Thin Films Inc., a New York-based company, recently announced a contract to develop up to 35 megawatts of solar capacity in West Virginia. Through an agreement with property owner Tri-State Solar, the solar developer plans to install three sites in Alderson, Crawley and…
Read MoreHistorical Hidden Treasures of West Virginia
By Rachel Ellen Simon Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex Well before humans began tearing down hills in West Virginia, they were building them — in miniature. Over 3,000 years ago, the area was home to the Adena, a society of Mound Builders that settled throughout the eastern United States. The Adena left behind massive burial…
Read MoreNew Vision
By Matt Grimley The sun is beating down on a mid-July afternoon in Philippi, W.Va., but that doesn’t stop Ruston Seaman and the youth mentoring group from playing ultimate frisbee. Their shouts — “Take your time!” and “Go left! Go left!” — echo throughout the community. When they finish, Seaman jumps into his old red…
Read MoreNative Bivalves “Musseling” Their Way Back into Appalachian Streams
By Matt Grimley Waterways are sometimes disturbed by humans, and mussels are often the first to feel the pain. Thankfully, conservationists are working to repair native Appalachian populations of the bivalve. In West Virginia, the state Division of Natural Resources is using fish to restore pollution-damaged populations of pink heelsplitter mussels, and they’ve found an…
Read MoreARC Develops New Community Capital Bank to Invest in Appalachia
By Chelsey Fisher The Appalachian Regional Commission opened a new bank called Appalachian Community Capital in June to increase loans and other capital that small businesses in Appalachia receive. Industry analyses have shown that over the past several years, banks across the nation have instituted tighter credit requirements for small-business lending and reduced their risk-taking…
Read MoreReport Tracks Appalachian Coal’s Continuing Decline
By Brian Sewell A report released in May by the West Virginia-based consulting firm Downstream Strategies underscores the need for investment in Central Appalachian counties hardest hit by a decline in coal production and demand. By looking at market and regulatory factors, plus trends in the U.S. and abroad, the report offers a comprehensive examination…
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