Children in Appalachian coal mining communities are 42% more likely to be born with birth defects and have a life expectancy that is almost 5 years lower than the national average. As this short video shows, they understand why: Dozens…
Blog Archives
Under Pressure, Patriot Coal to Phase Out Mountaintop Removal
By Brian Sewell On Nov. 15, amid bankruptcy litigation and multiple lawsuits, Patriot Coal announced it would begin phasing out mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia as part of a settlement over selenium pollution. One of the largest operators in…
TAGS: end mountaintop removal Mountaintop Removal Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition Patriot bankruptcy Patriot Coal Selenium selenium pollution Sierra Club stop mountaintop removal West Virginia Highlands Conservancy
Seeing is Believing
The coal industry is fond of saying that there is no mountaintop removal taking place in Tennessee, so we wanted to see for ourselves. Appalachian Voices recently teamed up with the filming crew from “Coal Country” and SouthWings’ award winning…
TAGS: Coal Country Cumberland Plateau end mountaintop removal Mountaintop Removal Scenic Vistas Protection Act SouthWings stop mountaintop removal Tennessee
AV and iLoveMountains Launch No More Excuses Campaign
Appalachian Voices, in conjunction with iLoveMountains.org, recently launched a two-pronged campaign to solicit reelected President Obama to end the devastating practice of mountaintop removal coal mining. With our new report summarizing the human cost of mountaintop removal coal mining and…
TAGS: end mountaintop removal Mapping the Human Cost of Mountaintop Removal Mountaintop Removal Mountaintop removal health impacts No More Excuses President Obama stop mountaintop removal
A Physician’s Take on Coal Pollution
A few weeks after releasing our report, The Human Cost of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining, and helping launch the No More Excuses campaign through iLoveMountains.org, I was turned on to a interview about the impacts to human health during various…
Electoral Math for “All You Climate People”
During a campaign season in which climate change featured most prominently as a laugh line at the Republican National Convention, the low point was when CNN’s Candy Crowley addressed “all you climate people” in her explanation of why climate didn’t…
Sustaining Healthy Appalachian Communities
Editor’s Note: Wendy Johnston is a sixth generation West Virginian from Mercer County and the granddaughter and great granddaughter of coal miners. Her post is the second in a series of guest blogs coinciding with our “No More Excuses” campaign…
TAGS: appalachia Appalachian Culture Clean Water Act Coal Environment Health Mountaintop Removal West Virginia
Moving Appalachia Forward!
Editor’s Note: As part of the launch of the “No More Excuses” campaign on iLoveMountains.org, we asked people whose lives have been directly impacted by mountaintop removal coal mining to contribute their thoughts on why President Obama should make ending…
TAGS: appalachia Appalachian Culture Coal Environment Health Kentucky Mountaintop Removal Water Water Pollution West Virginia
Showing Faith in Appalachia’s Future
Last Saturday, the Office of Justice & Peace of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond and Hollins University in Roanoke, Va., hosted an “Eco-Evening” to discuss how environmental issues in Virginia influence poverty and human health. I was invited to relate…
Other Shorts
House Sides with Coal, Passes a Non-starter On Sept. 21, in its last act before the election, the Republican-led House of Representatives passed H.R. 3409, a package of five bills it calls the “Stop the War on Coal Act,” claiming…
TAGS: Clean Air Act Clean Air Interstate Rule Clean Water Act Coal Cross-State Air Pollution Rule EPA House of Representatives Mercury and Air Toxics Standard Mountaintop Removal National Resources Defense Council Senator John Rockefeller SouthWings Susan Lapis
