Appalachian Voices
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| Motto | Bringing people together to protect the land, air, and water of central and southern Appalachia. |
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| Formation | 1997 |
| Purpose | environmental protection |
| Headquarters | Boone, NC, U.S. |
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Executive Director
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Tom Cormons |
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Chair of the Board
|
James "Kim" Gilliam |
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Key people
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Harvard Ayers (founder) |
| Website | www.appvoices.org |
Appalachian Voices is a grassroots environmental organization with this mission statement:
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Appalachian Voices brings people together to protect the land, air and water of central and southern Appalachia. We empower people to defend our region’s rich natural and cultural heritage by providing them with tools and strategies for successful grassroots campaigns. Since the impacts of coal threaten Appalachia more than any other single source of pollution, we are committed to reducing coal’s impact on the region and advancing our vision for a cleaner energy future.
Appalachian Voices was founded in 1997 and is based in Boone, North Carolina,[1] but has offices in Washington, D.C. and Charlottesville, Virginia. They are members of the Alliance for Appalachia and Wise Energy for Virginia. Their work focuses primarily upon environmental issues concerning the Appalachian Mountains region. Their stated goals include eliminating air pollution, ending mountaintop removal coal mining, and restoring Appalachian forests. Their main actions entail advocacy, education, and grassroots organizing.
Contents
Efforts
Mountaintop removal
Appalachian Voices has been working to end the practice of mountaintop removal coal mining since 2002 through a campaign to garner national support. In 2003 Appalachian voices started the Appalachian Treasures Tour, which went to different communities across America to raise awareness about the impacts of mountaintop removal. In 2006 they continued to raise national awareness about mountaintop removal by producing the website ilovemountains.org for the Alliance for Appalachia.[2] The website was recognized as a Google Earth Hero by Google Earth.[1][3]
Appalachian Water Watch
Appalachian Water Watch is a program started by the organization to provide a three-pronged approach to clean water enforcement in coal mining regions: a water monitoring training program to teach citizens how to conduct water quality testing; an online event website AppalachianWaterWatch.org to track spills and other environmental-related disasters; and Clean Water Act enforcement through the court system. Appalachia Water Watch is currently pursuing legal action against Kentucky coal companies ICG, Nally & Hamilton Enterprises, and Frasure Creek Mining and International Coal Group (owned by Trinity Coal Corporation) for over 20,000 violations of the Clean Water Act.[4][5]
Activism
Appalachian Voices is also involved in organizing grassroots opposition towards a Surry County, VA power plant planned to be built by Old Dominion Electric Cooperative.[6] Appalachian Voices also successfully lobbied for North Carolina's Clean Smokestacks Act,[1] which was enacted in 2002 and required power plants to make a 77% reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions by the end of 2009 and a 73% reduction in sulfur dioxide emissions by the end of 2013.[7]
Publication
Appalachian Voices publishes The Appalachian Voice, a free bi-monthly publication covering environmental and cultural news in the central and southern Appalachian region. Archives of the publication are available online.
See also
- Environment of the United States
- Environmental effects of mining
- Environmental impact of the coal industry
- List of environmental organizations
- Mountaintop removal mining
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 David Brewer (11 October 2007). Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Helps Appalachian Voices Celebrate at 10th Anniversary Gala High Country Press.
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- ↑ Current Legislation: Clean Smokestacks Act. North Carolina Department of Natural Resources website (Division of Air Quality). Retrieved February 13, 2014.
