In Appalachia, the total area of surface mined land is estimated to be around 1.5 million acres. Much of this land is non-forested and unused. But the American Chestnut Foundation and Green Forest Works are two organizations developing an innovative approach — planting hardwood trees including the threatened American Chestnut — for making these vast […]
Andrea Salina came home to north central West Virginia to raise her children. She found a community suffering the devastation of a boom and bust coal economy including the recent bankruptcy of Peabody’s Patriot Coal. “Nothing is sadder than watching your father, after investing more than 40 years in Peabody Coal, open with shaking hands […]
Over 4,000 eastern Kentucky miners have lost their jobs since 2011, and many fear these coal jobs aren’t coming back. Now folks in the coalfields are asking the question, what comes next? Scholars at Appalachian State University think there are lessons to be learned from South Wales, a major coal producing region which faced a […]
Since January, thousands of coal miners have been laid off in Central Appalachia. We’ve heard a lot of opinions about the causes of this decline and what the future holds – from industry leaders, elected officials and even the presidential candidates. But what do those who mined the coal have to say? Letcher County underground […]
