HIS 351 - Water Justice Resource Guide: Pollution

The Pauline Canterberry papers (dated 1920s-2012, bulk 1987-2012; 3 cubic feet; 7 boxes, 1 oversized folder) document the work of Pauline Canterberry and Mary Miller to defend Sylvester, West Virginia, from coal dust pollution caused by Massey Energy's Elk Run Facility. The collection contains photographs, copies of the Elk Run safety reports, and copies of Department of Environmental Protection studies on the waterways surrounding Elk Run.

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) records (dated 1958-2010, undated; 325 cubic feet; 934 boxes) consist of the official records of the Appalachian Regional Commission since its inception in 1965 as well as reports of the projects funded by the ARC across the 13 states that make up the Appalachian Region.

This collection contains twenty-five Kentucky Mountain Club yearbooks from 1935-1987, with missing years scattered throughout and a gap between 1964-1987. The collection also contains articles on the Kentucky Mountain Club and brief histories of Kentucky counties.

The Ronald D Eller papers (dated 1852-2013, undated; 38.2 cubic feet; 36 record storage cartons,, 1 half record storage carton, 3 flat boxes, 1 wrapped item) comprise administrative files, research files, and correspondence that primarily document Eller's academic and administrative career in Appalachian studies with the University of Kentucky's Appalachian Center and his professional projects with national and regional organizations to improve Appalachian economic development.

Kentuckians for the Commonwealth (KFTC) was originally founded in 1981 by a group of citizens that were taken aback at the lack of taxes on companies who owned valuable coal property in Kentucky as presented by the Appalachian Land Ownership Study. KFTC worked to create chapters in counties across the commonwealth of Kentucky to lobby for protections concerning mining, drinking water, and waste incinerators as well as the education of citizens on navigating the political sphere. In 1987 the Kentucky Fair Tax Coalition changed their name to Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, adding economic justice, economic development, and the effect of money on politics and politicians.

ohn D. Whisman was inspirational force behind the creation of the Appalachian Regional Commission. He, along with Kentucky Governor Bert T. Combs, Maryland Governor J. Millard Tawes, and a few others were instrumental in establishing the federal-state agency in 1965.

Standing Our Ground: Women, Environmental Justice, and the Fight to End Mountaintop Removal examines women's efforts to end mountaintop removal coal mining in West Virginia. Mountaintop removal coal mining, which involves demolishing the tops of hills and mountains to provide access to coal seams, is one of the most significant environmental threats in Appalachia, where it is most commonly practiced.

Like an old-fashioned hymn sung in rounds, Something's Rising gives a stirring voice to the lives, culture, and determination of the people fighting the destructive practice of mountaintop removal in the coalfields of central Appalachia. Each person's story, unique and unfiltered, articulates the hardship of living in these majestic mountains amid the daily desecration of the land by the coal industry because of America's insistence on cheap energy. Developed as an alternative to strip mining, mountaintop removal mining consists of blasting away the tops of mountains, dumping waste into the valleys, and retrieving the exposed coal.

Home to sprawling Appalachian forests, rolling prairies, and the longest cave system in the world, Kentucky is among the most ecologically diverse states in the nation. Lakes, rivers, and springs have shaped and nourished life in the Commonwealth for centuries, and water has played a pivotal role in determining Kentucky's physical, cultural, and economic landscapes. The management and preservation of this precious natural resource remain a priority for the state's government and citizens