Issue 2: April 2004

The Real "Chicken Littles"

During the negotiations leading up to the Clean Air Act of 1970, Ford Motor Company issued a warning that the act “could prevent continued production of automobiles,” and “is a threat to the entire American economy and to every person…

Virginia Introduces Clean Smokestacks Legislation

The 2002 passage of the North Carolina Clean Smokestacks Act has had ripple effects across the South, and one of the latest is the introduction of a Clean Smokestacks bill in the Virginia state legislature. The legislation was modeled after…

"Just say NO!" to Toxic Mercury

The following comments by high school student and Appalachian Voices volunteer Sarah Heath Olesiuk were so poignant that we decided to share them with our readers. The comments were delivered at a recent EPA hearing in North Carolina on the…

Modern-Day Moonshiners

Locals know that there is a place, a little bar set up inside a double-wide trailer perched on a hillside far from the main roads in the mountains of east Tennessee, where you can still get moonshine by the…

Moving Mountains

Willie Nelson’s stage manager once called the country music legend “the king of the common man,” so it’s no surprise that Nelson has thrown his support behind a new album entitled Moving Mountains: Voices of Appalachia Rise Up Against Mountaintop…

Statement of the Spiritual Value of North Carolina's Wilderness

1. Spiritual Revival is Inherent in Wilderness Wilderness itself worships the Creator. By its very nature it offers a quiet but exuberant praise of God which people should acknowledge. This natural worship gives wilderness inherent worth, presence and value that…

Black Bear Parts in the Blue Ridge

The American black bear is one of the most beloved icons of the southern Appalachian wilderness, and seeing one in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park or in Shenandoah National Park is often listed as a top priority among…

What's Good for Health Is Good for Business

John Cooper, owner of the Mast General Stores, and Tom Vallone, President of the Great Outdoor Provision Company, have a lot in common. They are both successful businessmen, each owning seven outdoor-oriented retail stores in the Carolinas, both are supporters…

Birds on the Wing

Spring is perhaps the best time of year for watching birds, and, ironically, is one of only a couple times each year one might actually see a Tennessee warbler in Tennessee or a Nashville warbler stop to rest its wings…

The Raven: Oracle of the High Peaks

Growing up on the Blue Ridge, I frequently heard the strange call of a bird near the crest of the escarpment. The call had a watery, gargling sound. My grandfather identified the bird as a “rain-crow,” and often planned our…

Leading the Way For Clean Air in the Southeast

On a warm, mid-February day of this year, North Carolina Governor Mike Easley joined dignitaries from across the state in Catawba County to witness the groundbreaking of a new “scrubber” at Duke Energy’s Marshall Steam Station. This sophisticated air…