You are browsing the archives of 2009 June.

Navy plans training range in whale calving zone

Swooping nylon and linked poles, zippered doors, screened windows, and stakes in the dirt holding it down — the humble formula for a tent has long prevailed as an ultimate outdoors habitat for humans in need of a temporary home. But today’s campground cabanas are far from the basic designs of decades past. Indeed, leaky [...]

The Greenbrier River Trail is a 78-mile path through the scenic Allegheny Mountain country of eastern West Virginia. The converted rail-to-trail follows its namesake waterway on a flat grade from Cass to North Caldwell through some of the Mountain State’s most stunning terrain. The crushed gravel trail offers an accessible two- or three-day bike adventure [...]

Before I even knew there was a name for it, I was a trail runner. The first time I can remember running on a trail I was eight years old. My family had moved out of the city into a trailer park in the country. Other kids would roller skate or ride their bikes around [...]

On Coal River In this upcoming documentary, meet four different people who live in the Coal River Valley of southern West Virginia. They’ve had their lives changed forever by the devastating effects of mountaintop removal mining in their backyard. Ed Wiley is a former mine inspector whose granddaughter has been sickened by a coal processing [...]

Get a grasp on current problems and proposed solutions with these five recent environmental books. Green Collar Economy – Van Jones President Obama made a wise choice earlier this year when he tapped Van Jones as Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise, and Innovation. The longtime civil rights and environmental activist has a vision to [...]

The United States has enough wind energy potential to provide twice as much energy than we currently use. Yet last year, wind farms delivered only one percent of our energy use. Data from the Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Lab show that wind could completely replace mountaintop removal mining and lead the [...]

The James is the largest river contained in a single state, stretching 340 miles from the Appalachian Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay. Along the way, it flows from national forests to agricultural zones and urban centers. Communities draw from the James for drinking water, then use it again for wastewater. It’s also a top recreation [...]

View the trailer to a stunning documentary about four heroes from coal country.

Watch these 30-second spots debunking the “clean coal” myth.

View kayakers paddling at Balcony Falls in the James River Gorge.

Dear EarthTalk: Do insulating paints actually insulate and save energy? If they do, are they environmentally friendly to use? – Bob Dibrindisi, Easthampton, MA Paint additives that claim insulating qualities have been marketed since the late 1990s, but energy research organizations have not confirmed their insulating value. For its part, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [...]

Burmese pythons enter the region

Chris Weller provided logistical support for the End-to-End Smokies Run to End Mountaintop Removal. This five-minute video captures his observations from the trail.

Yesterday, I completed a 72-mile, end-to-end run across Great Smoky Mountains National Park in just under 17 hours, a speed record. However, the real goal was to help bring an end to the devastating and deadly effects of mountaintop removal mining. I followed the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) for the entire run. The Smokies section of [...]