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Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
Tuesday, June 18th at 14:54 From our friends at Maced: "Disparaging news about the Central Appalachian coal industry continues to flow, but we continue to have hope for Appalachia's Bright Future. We, along with so many others, continue to work toward it every day knowing that the climb is steep, but our resolve is strong. A new way forward must be followed, one that relies on the region's strong assets and a clear vision for the future that is created by local communities and carried out by existing and emerging leaders."
Fifty Years of Night, Part 2 | Coal jobs gone, perhaps for good | Fifty Years Of Night |...
Thousands of unemployed coal miners are confronting the latest in a century of booms and busts in the Eastern Kentucky coal industry. This time, experts warn, the backslide looks permanent.
Mary Anne Hitt
Tuesday, June 18th at 12:08 For five years we fought to save Ison Rock Ridge in southwest Virginia from mountaintop removal, and we won! Congratulations Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards!
Timeline Photos
Victory in Virginia! A denial of the Ison Rock Ridge mountaintop removal permit has been upheld by the DMME! The Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards have fought to stop this dangerous mine from starting up in their community of Appalachia, VA, since 2007. This victory is an example of what everyday folks can do when we get together, and strategically work together to achieve big goals, even in the face of powerful industries, compromised regulatory agencies and full personal lives. From here, we march on, until all dangerous surface mines like this are stopped, and no longer pose a threat to communities. From there we march on, support everyone who aims to build a healthy, just and sustainable Appalachia. http://www.samsva.org/?p=1761
Stephanie Langley
Tuesday, June 18th at 8:57Congratulations on the ISON Rock Ridge victory...sometimes David wins!! KUDOS!!!
Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
Monday, June 17th at 17:23 Tyler Ubuntu Offerman
Monday, June 17th at 14:46 A huge shout out to folks in Virginia ad the Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards for working to deny this dangerous and unsustainable open-pit coal mine! Amazing work y'all!!!
Timeline Photos
Victory in Virginia! A denial of the Ison Rock Ridge mountaintop removal permit has been upheld by the DMME! The Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards have fought to stop this dangerous mine from starting up in their community of Appalachia, VA, since 2007. This victory is an example of what everyday folks can do when we get together, and strategically work together to achieve big goals, even in the face of powerful industries, compromised regulatory agencies and full personal lives. From here, we march on, until all dangerous surface mines like this are stopped, and no longer pose a threat to communities. From there we march on, support everyone who aims to build a healthy, just and sustainable Appalachia. http://www.samsva.org/?p=1761
Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
Monday, June 17th at 9:53 Victory in Virginia! A denial of the Ison Rock Ridge mountaintop removal permit has been upheld by the DMME! The Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards have fought to stop this dangerous mine from starting up in their community of Appalachia, VA, since 2007. This victory is an example of what everyday folks can do when we get together, and strategically work together to achieve big goals, even in the face of powerful industries, compromised regulatory agencies and full personal lives. From here, we march on, until all dangerous surface mines like this are stopped, and no longer pose a threat to communities. From there we march on, support everyone who aims to build a healthy, just and sustainable Appalachia. http://www.samsva.org/?p=1761
Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
Wednesday, June 12th at 17:23 We're sponsoring a Gospel Singing benefit concert THIS Saturday at 5 PM! Come out to listen to some great music and support the Appalachia Food Bank! http://www.samsva.org/?p=1756
Gospel Benefit Singing for Appalachia Food Bank | Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
SAMS is sponsoring an evening of gospel singing to benefit the Appalachia Food Bank! Musicians featured will include John Stines, Flo Patterson, Claxton Creek, and J.R. & Karen Sexton.
Lara Celeste Mack
Tuesday, June 4th at 13:29 The Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards did an awesome Spring Greens and Edibles Workshop in SW VA June 1st. I LOVE THESE PEOPLE. GRASSROOTS APPALACHIA ALL THE WAY. <3 <3 <3
Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
Tuesday, June 4th at 11:23 Plants, people and scenery from our workshop on June 1, 2013
Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
Friday, May 31st at 11:03 We have a Spring Greens and Edibles Workshop happening tomorrow! Come by the SAMS office at 10 AM on June 1, 2013 to spend some time learning about the edible plants in this region. http://www.samsva.org/?p=1701
Spring Greens and Edibles Workshop | Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
SAMS is sponsoring a worship on edibles and spring greens available in this region. This workshop is presented by ACES (Appalachian Community Economic Series). Come out and join us in gathering edible plants, preparing food, eating a delicious lunch, and discussing the experience!
Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
Tuesday, May 28th at 15:56 
Coalfields Expressway
People who oppose the proposed “coal fields expressway” are staging a protest in Abingdon Virginia, where coal company, Alpha Natural Resources is holding
Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
Wednesday, May 15th at 11:07 Help Protect Central Appalachian Rivers and Streams. Join the Ace Project. Contact us today if you want to become a citizen monitor at samsva@gmail.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTsD6mTOha8
The ACE Project Call for Action 4:2:13
The Appalachian Citizens Enforcement (ACE) Project is a coalition of local environmental groups in Central Appalachian dedicated to protecting and advocating...
Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
Wednesday, May 15th at 9:31 The writing is on the wall, and it's time to put all of our weight across the region behind transitioning our economy away from dependency on a single, failing industry.
Report: Appalachian coal mining will continue to decline
A new report suggests Central Appalachia's coal industry faces difficult times in the years ahead. Researchers predict coal production could drop by as much as 31 percent by the year 2020.
Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
Tuesday, May 14th at 15:44 Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
Tuesday, May 14th at 15:41 Appalachian Community Fund
Monday, May 13th at 18:19 Who is your Appalachian Hero? Nominate them today!
appalachiancommunityfund.org
The Appalachian Community Fund is proud to call for nominations for the 2013-2014 Appalachian Hero Awards! The Appalachian Hero Award is presented to an individual or organization in the region who has made a substantial contribution to the social justice movement in Central Appalachia on our Journe...
Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
Friday, May 10th at 14:22 Groups Petition U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for Water Quality Standard in Appalachia to Pro
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A coalition of Appalachian and national groups pressed the Environmental Protection Agency on May 7th, for stronger protection for their waters from the most extreme form of coal mining, mountaintop removal.
Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
Thursday, May 9th at 14:55 MACED President Justin Maxson talks about what a "just" economic transition in the region looks like at the recent Appalachia's Bright Future conference in Harlan
Perspectives on a Just Transition: Justin Maxson
Justin is President of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development. He spoke at Appalachia's Bright Future in Harlan, Kentucky on April 20, 2013.
Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
Wednesday, May 8th at 15:27 Residents of Appalachia Applaud DMME Denial of Ison Rock Ridge Surface Mine | Southern Appalachian M
The town and coal camps of Appalachia can breathe a sigh of relief today after learning that A & G Coal Corporation has been denied a permit to strip mine Ison Rock Ridge near Appalachia. The 1,200-acre permit, located behind the town of Appalachia and between the coal camps of Inman and Derby, woul...
Marley Green
Wednesday, May 1st at 11:31 "The fact that we can’t move past establishing basic facts is not an accident. Coal companies don’t want people to discuss economic transition. To ask where the economy goes now is to risk being labeled “anti-coal,” a threat no Kentucky politician is willing to chance. And that is the point. By flattening out the language—making all criticisms “anti-coal” and all agreement “pro-coal”—they create a linguistic zero-sum game. You are with us or against us. “[T]he reality of being pro-coal has meant being pro-coal industry,” says Anthony Flaccavento, a Virginia organic farmer and the founder of Appalachian Sustainable Development. During his unsuccessful run for Congress, he refused to say he was “pro-coal”. “I refused to say it. I said I was pro-coal miner. I’m pro-UMWA.” His opponents labeled him anti-coal, but he did better in coal mining communities than anywhere else. Keeping the debate simple, says Flaccavento, plays right into the coal companies’ hands. It allows people to say they are pro-coal without ever having to ask what that means. “[B]ut I ask, exactly what part of ‘coal’ are they ‘pro’? It’s not the miners,” he says, noting that they fought safety regulations that would protect miners from black lung. “It’s not the miners’ families… It’s not the children of miners, because they ignore the reality that coal jobs have been declining for years.” http://www.dailyyonder.com/region-worth-more-its-mountaintops/2013/04/30/5876
A Region Worth More Than Mountaintops | Daily Yonder | Keep It Rural
With production cut in half and steeper declines on the way, King Coal’s reign in Central Appalachia is over. The question is “what comes next?” To learn where their own future may lie, Kentuckians look to other rural regions – and themselves – to learn about economic transition.
Marley Green
Friday, April 26th at 16:21 
Building Appalachia’s Bright Future | Making Connections News
In late April, leaders from across eastern Kentucky and Central Appalachia came together in the heart of Harlan County, at the Harlan Convention Center, to talk about the future of mountain communities. Called Appalachia’s Bright Future, the conference was sponsored by Kentuckians for the Commonwea...
Marley Green
Thursday, April 25th at 19:42 “I really want to see Kentucky be a leading place for innovation and creativity. I see glimmers of it, but I want to see more. So, hopefully our politicians will see a broader picture of things concerning this region and begin to contribute more effectively to Appalachia’s bright future.” - Ada Smith, quoted in the article below.
KFTC hosts Appalachia’s Bright Future conference in Harlan - HARLAN — This past weekend Kentuckians
HARLAN — This past weekend Kentuckians for the Commonwealth (KFTC) hosted a conference, Appalachia’s Bright Future, in Harlan. The purpose of the gathering was to have an organized conversation about the opportunities and challenges within the state and region and how to effectively build the next e...
Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
Monday, April 22nd at 16:30 Major victory as Sixth Circuit strikes down Nationwide Permit 21
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit today invalidated the 2007 version of the nationwide permit used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to authorize the dumping of coal mining waste in...
The WV Host Farms Program
Saturday, April 20th at 10:00 Outstanding article that Tara Lohan wrote about our area of WV. Please share the post ! It gives an excellent picture of both the human and enviro impacts of this not-so-clean fossil fuel extraction. Tara visited WV Host Farms locations last summer and is coming back soon, we hope! http://www.alternet.org/environment/you-have-see-it-believe-it-what-its-have-fracking-your-backyard?page=0%2C0
You Have to See It to Believe It: What It's Like to Have Fracking in Your Backyard
Residents in industry-friendly West Virginia share their experiences, photos and videos.
Marley Green
Friday, April 19th at 15:36 Just returning from the Good Jobs Green Jobs conference, this is an exciting statement to see from Cecil Roberts. It's past time for the UMWA to join with the thousands of Appalachians working to build a diverse, sustainable and fair-to-workers economic transition.
Daily Kos: Unlikely Allies: Greens Join Coal Miners In ‘Patriot’ Coal Fight
by CECIL ROBERTS, President of United Mine Workers of America (UMWA); VAN JONES, President of Rebuild the Dream and a CNN contributor; and PHAEDRA ELLIS-LAMKINS, CEO of Green for ...
The Alliance for Appalachia
Tuesday, April 16th at 14:57 Yesterday was a powerful day for Appalachia--and there is more to come! Save the date for action: May 8th in Washington DC. We deserve clean water and healthy communities in Appalachia! In case you missed it, yesterday in Atlanta and Philadelphia, citizens told EPA to act on its own science and make a strong Conductivity Rule to protect our communities. In Charleston, allies confronted the coal industry's attempt to spread doubt on good science in order to weaken regulations, and get away with destroying our water and health. Join us May 8th in Washington DC and help stop mountaintop removal!
Katey Lauer
Monday, April 15th at 10:49 Take action with Appalachia--Call EPA Region 3 now: (215) 814-5000. Appalachians and their allies are taking action right now in Philly at EPA region 3 Headquarters! The EPA has the power to ban the dumping of mine waste into our Appalachian streams, and thereby put an end to new Mountaintop Removal mines.
Marley Green
Thursday, April 11th at 15:47 East Kentuckians share a conversation on WMMT about opportunities for building a diverse & sustainable economy as more and more reports show a sharp decline in Appalachian coal production.
Mountain Talk Audio: East Kentucky’s Economic Future
2013-04-10 - Mountain Talk - Appalachia's Bright Future Give a listen to the April 10th edition of WMMT's Mountain Talk for a discussion on east Kentucky's economic future. As more and more reports show a sharp decline in Appalachian coal production, h
Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
Thursday, April 11th at 22:14 Environmentalists: War on coal isn’t real; data show more miners working under Obama than Bush
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — U.S. coal mining employment the past two years was the highest it’s been in 15 years, despite claims that President Barack Obama is waging war on the industry, an environmental group that studied federal data said Tuesday.
IdahoCheezhead Hannah TheOwner
Friday, April 5th at 4:04My Friend Michael Clark was just telling me about your good works. I just wanted to show my support! :-) God Bless!
Marley Green
Wednesday, March 27th at 16:23 
Clinch River Protection to Boost Local Economy
Though we often hear in the coalfields that job creation and environmental protection are two things that can’t happen at the same time, a growing coalition of individuals and organizations believes that the Clinch River—one of the most biodiverse river systems in North America—could itself be the b...
Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
Wednesday, March 27th at 10:26 
EPA Report Offers Grim Assessment Of U.S. Waterways
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than half of the country's rivers and streams are in poor biological health, unable to support healthy populations of aquatic insects and other creatures, according to a new nationwide survey released Tuesday. The Environmental Protection Agency sampled nearly 2,0...
Marley Green
Monday, March 25th at 11:17 Mining counties have higher death rates, study says - Mining the Mountains - The Charleston Gazet
The study, conducted as part of a coal industry-funded project, confirms some of the findings of West Virginia University research. However, authors of the new paper said their findings do not point as squarely at mining as a potential cause for increased coalfield mortality rates -- at least not ye...
Marley Green
Friday, March 22nd at 13:33 
Timeline Photos
Action Alert: Call Gov. Tomblin today to demand that he order a halt to expansion to Brushy Fork impoundment until they complete their compaction study! (304) 558-2000 We just got the word that the federal agency in charge of mine safety has approved a 50 foot and 2 billion gallon expansion to the 750 foot tall and 6.6 billion gallon Brushy Fork coal slurry dam. Unless the WV Dept. of Environmental Protection denies the expansion, the largest sludge impoundment in Appalachia will become taller than the Hoover Dam. WVDEP and the Federal Office of Surface Mining have been studying the compaction of coal waste dams in WV for the past two years. Please Click LIKE & SHARE if you are disgusted by regulators gambling with public safety. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/ap-newsbreak-feds-ok-expansion-of-wva-coal-slurry-impoundment-citizens-fear-a-failure/2013/03/21/8795ecb4-9275-11e2-9173-7f87cda73b49_story.html
Acceptable Limits
Thursday, March 14th at 23:54There are some horrible truths about a 55 year old nuclear fuel processing facility in East Tennessee that MUST be exposed. Please consider a tax deductible donation to support the post production process of this riveting, grassroots documentary feature film three years in the making. Also, be sure to LIKE us on Facebook and join the mailing list for updates on our progress. http://www.wmm.com/filmmakers/sponsored_projects.aspx?cmd=ae&id=1#1987
Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards
Wednesday, March 13th at 17:15SAMS members, Don't Forget Elections Next Tuesday Night at 6:30 PM.
Marley Green
Monday, February 25th at 12:09 "The proposed 26-mile Coalfields Expressway is only a few miles off of several less destructive routes studied by the Virginia Department of Transportation in 2001 when it conducted a detailed environmental review of the area. The difference is that VDOT looked for a suitable place to build a highway. Alpha and other coal companies such as Rapoca Energy, on the other hand, selected the most profitable route for surface mining, using the highway as justification for the environmental toll they would inflict along the way." http://appvoices.org/2013/02/21/virginia-moves-ahead-on-coalfields-expressway-project/?
Virginia Transportation Board OKs Coalfields Expressway Project « Appalachian Voices
Approved by the Commonwealth Transportation Board on Wednesday, the Coalfields Expressway would create a 26-mile-long surface mine near the Pound River and the John W. Flannagan reservoir.
I can’t seem to find information on your site about the rally on Wednesday, November 16, 2011, to protest mountaintop removal of Ison Rock Ridge. I just want to put the information everywhere. The rally will begin at the EPA headquarters in downtown Washington, D.C. at 12:00 noon to 1pm.
http://youtu.be/QM_SLGp2Re4
Please stand with us in solidarity to oppose the removal of Ison Rock Ridge for coal. Headwaters will be ruined in streams surrounding the ridge, the water that seeps through will be polluted with heavy toxins and the view will be ruined forever. Don’t forget little three year old Jeremy Davidson who lost his life when a boulder came crashing down from the mine and landed on his house, killing little Jeremy while he slept in his crib. It really doesn’t matter where you live, stand with us if you oppose mountaintop removal for coal.