Tennessee Land Protector Stories
This collection of stories from people who live near the proposed pipelines was developed by Appalachian Voices Intern Holley Evergreen Roberts. Volunteers combed through thousands of comments submitted during different regulatory processes and Roberts reached out to people who took the time to tell different decision makers how these corporate pipelines would alter their land and their lives. Roberts conducted interviews over the course of a few months and we are proud to present the powerful storytellers opposing these gas pipelines.
*Reach out to tnpipelines [at] appvoices.org for media inquiries or if you want to add your voice to the storybank.
“Instead of just saying they need this new pipeline because the population is growing, I’d like to see them be more thoughtful and grow smarter.”
-Erica of Charlotte, Tennessee
“Explosions, leaks, threats to wildlife, to water and to hundreds of years old trees… we are smarter than this. This project is not for the greater good. It is for the profit of a select few, and that is all.”
-Scott of Pleasant Shade, Tennessee
“We need water to drink and air to breathe and the freedom to move around and enjoy the things that God and nature has given us out there, and those things seem to be disappearing fast.”
-Michael of Jackson County, Tennessee
“All of our water is connected. All of our land is connected…If something goes wrong with our ecosystems and our atmosphere, that amounts to an existential threat to all of us.”
-Brig of Cookeville, Tennessee
“I've left a few times and lived in other places in the world, but I always get called right back to the mountain.”
-Patricia of Wartburg, Tennessee
“…it seems like everyone should want to preserve our waterways and our land and all the animal habitats … and it’s just mind-boggling that this is even something we have to consider.”
-Celeste of Cookeville, Tennessee