Golden Eagles Winter in Appalachia

By Molly Moore With their deep brown bodies and gold-tinged feathery manes, golden eagles are icons of ferocity. When Americans imagine a golden eagle diving through the air with talons outstretched, they typically pair the image with a Western backdrop. But as Appalachian researchers are quick to point out, the notion of golden eagles as…

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Paul Corbit Brown: Truth Before Profit

By Jamie Goodman Paul Corbit Brown’s life has come full circle – thanks to the lens on his camera. He was born into a coal miner’s family in Kilsyth, W.Va. For generations, every male in his family had become coal miners, but a chance encounter when he was 12 years old ultimately resulted in a…

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Renewed Call to Revoke Massey Energy’s Corporate Charter

PUBLIC INTEREST GROUPS RENEW CALL TO REVOKE MASSEY ENERGY’S CORPORATE CHARTER JOINT STATEMENT OF FREE SPEECH FOR PEOPLE, APPALACHIAN VOICES, AND THE RAINFOREST ACTION NETWORK Dec. 7, 2011 Yesterday, Alpha Natural Resources, the parent company of the Massey Energy coal company, agreed to pay $209 million in criminal penalties, civil penalties, and compensation to the…

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Mercury Proposal Receives Support, Opposition

This spring, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed a rule that would reduce mercury, particulate matter and sulfur dioxide emissions from coal plants. According to the agency, the proposed rule would save an estimated 17,000 American lives a year beginning in 2015 and prevent 120,000 cases of childhood asthma. A campaign motivated by environmental organizations…

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Tell Congress We Can’t Afford The Status Quo on Coal Ash!

This Friday, the House of Representatives will vote on H.R. 2273, the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act, a bill that puts the profits of coal ash polluters above public health. H.R. 2273 subverts public support of the EPA’s proposed federal coal ash rules by leaving coal ash pollution in the hands of states with…

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Speaking Truth to Power: Appalachian Women Travel to Delaware To Hold Massey Energy Accountable

This summer, Appalachian Voices joined Free Speech for People and Rainforest Action Network to petition Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden to repeal Massey Energy’s corporate charter due to their gross disregard for Appalachian communities. Massey Energy, like many corporations, is legally chartered in Delaware. And though Alpha Resources bought Massey Energy earlier this year, Massey…

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Blair Mountain Community Center and Museum Opens

A note from Chuck Keeney, Secretary of the Friends of Blair Mountain: Since the “March on Blair Mountain: Appalachia is Rising” event, some coal industry executives have claimed that if our preservation efforts succeed and Blair Mountain is spared from mountaintop removal, the “fabric of the community” will be destroyed. We at Friends of Blair…

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Spread the News! Appalachians overwhelmingly oppose mountaintop removal

The following email was sent to the 100,000+ supporters of iLoveMountains.org. To sign up to receive free email alerts, click here. Great news! This week we received the results of a public opinion poll that confirms that voters in Appalachia overwhelmingly want to end mountaintop removal and strengthen protections provided by the Clean Water Act.…

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Forward Thinkers Move Back to the Land

by Rachael Goss When we think about the 1960s, certain iconic images pop up. From flower children and festivals to fierce protests and racial unrest, the decade was marked by a turbulent change in the social and political fabrics of our nation. In the late 1960s, many idealistic young Americans turned away from the mainstream…

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The Coal Report

Cross-State Air Pollution Rule Will Save Lives By Meg Holden The Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) newest regulations to limit air pollution from coal-fired power plants, will take into account the problem of air currents whisking pollutants far away from their original sources. “Pollution that crosses state lines places a…

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