Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 22
C
Country
Roads
SkyTruth: Looking Down at What We Do
"I'M VERY MUCH AN OPTIMIST," says
environmental researcher John Amos,
who lives in Shepherdstown, W.Va
with his wife Amy Mathews.
He's talking from the context of
work of SkyTruth, an organization he
founded in 2001 to study humanity's
impact on the environment and climate change. In the Appalachian
region, that work has included a
strong focus on mountaintop removal
mining. SkyTruth established the first
firm count of how many mountains
had been destroyed by MTR - 500;
also, how many of those mines were
legal, and enabled followup research
by others to discover what kind of
impact MTR is having on human habitats as well as wild ones.
The research is not at the expense
of that overall positive view.
"I'm continually amazed by what
we humans have been able to accomplish," he says, noting that his
approach to rational management of
our resources includes an acceptance
that the world will continue using coal
(less in the U.S., and more globally)
and we will need to seek oil beneath
the oceans and natural gas beneath
the ground, and "that's why it's so
important to get this right now."
Amos, with degrees in engineering,
geology and geophysics, doesn't even
describe himself as a scientist, and he's
a somewhat unexpected activist. "I'm
a science-minded guy... I respect the
scientific process, and I think we have
to be rational in how we manage our
resources."
SkyTruth studies and maps MTR
and fracking sites, oil spills, fishing off
the coast of Chile - and makes its data
accessible to universities, organizations and agencies.
"I don't choose to live in an unlit
cabin in the woods," says Amos. "I
use resources just like every other
American." What Amos is trying to do
is provide science and research, to
enable us to use resources wisely.
"If you give people the right information, we can do the right thing."
For more information: skytruth.
org. -Cara Ellen Modisett
John Amos: "I'm a science-minded guy.
I don't choose to live in an unlit cabin."
SkyTruth, an organization... founded in 2001
to study humanity's impact on the
environment and climate change. In the
Appalachian region, that work has included a
strong focus on mountaintop removal mining.
Urban Bears
Marla Milling, one of Blue
Ridge Country's contributing
editors, recently spotted this
mama bear and her cub eating apples under a tree in her
front yard in North Asheville,
N.C. To give you an idea of
how urban these bears are,
this location is only 10 minutes from downtown and
less than five to the Grove
Park Inn.
22 | BlueRidgeCountry.com
http://www.skytruth.org
http://www.skytruth.org
http://www.BlueRidgeCountry.com
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014
Cover
Table of Contents
Letters/Worth a Click
From the Editor
Creature Feature
From the Farm
Great Home Buys
Digital Help Guide
Mountain Report
The Hike
Festivals & Events
Mountain Curios: Racing Lawn Mowers
Mountain Curios: Stamping Out Squirrel Sex!
Mountain Curios: A Library as Big as a Breadbox?
Mountain Curios: Mill from 1794 Still Turns!
Mountain Curios: Indian Mounds in Downtown!
Travel Guide 2014: A Year of Great Festivals!
The Blue Ridge Parkway Photoessay
Travel Guide 2014: A Foodie's Dream Journey
Travel Guide 2014: The Retro Pilgrimage
Wilderness Institute in the Smokies
Mountain Garden
Cabin in the Woods: Royal Oaks Retreat
Guest Column
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - Intro
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - Cover
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - Table of Contents
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 4
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - Letters/Worth a Click
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - From the Editor
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - Creature Feature
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - From the Farm
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 9
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - Great Home Buys
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 11
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 12
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - Digital Help Guide
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - Mountain Report
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 15
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - The Hike
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 17
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - Festivals & Events
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 19
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 20
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 21
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 22
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - Mountain Curios: Racing Lawn Mowers
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - Mountain Curios: Stamping Out Squirrel Sex!
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - Mountain Curios: A Library as Big as a Breadbox?
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - Mountain Curios: Mill from 1794 Still Turns!
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - Mountain Curios: Indian Mounds in Downtown!
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - Travel Guide 2014: A Year of Great Festivals!
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 29
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 30
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 31
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 32
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 33
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - The Blue Ridge Parkway Photoessay
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 35
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 36
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 37
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - Travel Guide 2014: A Foodie's Dream Journey
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 39
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 40
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 41
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 42
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 43
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 44
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 45
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 46
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 47
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - Travel Guide 2014: The Retro Pilgrimage
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 49
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 50
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 51
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 52
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 53
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - Wilderness Institute in the Smokies
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 55
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 56
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 57
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 58
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - Mountain Garden
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 60
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 61
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - Cabin in the Woods: Royal Oaks Retreat
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 63
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 64
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - 65
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - Guest Column
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country - January/February 2014 - Cover4
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