Tag Archive

Documentary raises questions about mining methods and the devastation required to meet energy needs

FILM REVIEW

By BILL GOODMAN
At the very core of our national debate over climate change, alternatives fuels and the existence of so-called “clean coal technology” comes a new and enlightening documentary that challenges conventional thinking about the mining and operation of coal companies that few people ever see.

Deep Down: A Story from the Heart… »

Chris Holbrook speaks on the writing process, activism and his Eastern Kentucky roots

INTERVIEW

By CRYSTAL WILKINSON
A native of Knott County, Kentucky, Chris Holbrook received the Thomas and Lillie D. Chaffin Award for Appalachian writing for Hell and Ohio: Stories of Southern Appalachia. A graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, Holbrook is associate professor of English and heads the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program at Morehead… »

Saving Mountains

Movement to end MTR gains momentum
By JASON HOWARD
Opponents of mountaintop removal mining have been wary of looking up for even a moment to savor the hard-won victories of the past year. They have stayed busy, fearful of losing ground in the fight to end this form of coal mining, which has destroyed 470 mountains in… »

A President Breaks Hearts in Appalachia

By ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.
The Washington Post
Mountaintop removal coal mining is the worst environmental tragedy in American history. When will the Obama administration finally stop this Appalachian apocalypse?
If ever an issue deserved President Obama’s promise of change, this is it. Mining syndicates are detonating 2,500 tons of explosives each day—the equivalent of a Hiroshima bomb… »

Obama walks a fine line over mining

Environmentalists feel betrayed by the EPA’s decision not to block new mountaintop mining projects
By TOM HAMBURGER and PETER WALLSTEN
Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON — With the election of President Obama, environmentalists had expected to see the end of the “Appalachian apocalypse,” their name for exposing coal deposits by blowing the tops off whole mountains.
But in recent… »

Louisville Loves Mountains Festival

From KENTUCKIANS FOR THE COMMONWEALTH

Spend a Friday evening celebrating our Kentucky mountains with a number of local musicians and Kentucky authors Silas House and Erik Reece. Food and drinks will be provided by local vendors. This event has been organized by the Jefferson County Chapter of KFTC and sponsored by Heine Bros Coffee and Carmichael’s… »

EPA to review mountaintop mining permits

By MIREYA NAVARRO
New York Times

March 25, 2009 — In a sharp reversal of Bush administration policies, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday that the agency planned an aggressive review of permit requests for mountaintop coal mining, citing serious concerns about potential harm to water quality.
The administrator, Lisa P. Jackson, said her… »