Nothing shows how desperately West Virginia needs a change than Jim Justice’s veto of HB 5528. Coal fuels 92% of West Virginia’s electric generation, while renewable solar energy is responsible for less than 2%. HB 5528 would have made a modest increase in the amount of solar allowed under West Virginia law. But, according to […]
If you are looking for another example of how the Legislature in West Virginia favors big industry over the little guy, look no further than SB 822, introduced in the Senate on February 16, 2024. This bill attacks carbon offset agreements and conservation easements — two different kinds of contracts currently used by small landowners […]
Nationally there has been great interest in electric plug-in vehicles. In West Virginia not so much. The Biden Administration has identified alternative fuel vehicles, including EVs, as one means of reducing greenhouse gasses. The West Virginia government has given them a big yawn. That attitude is still prevalent at the 2024 Legislature. The real benefit […]
Carbon dioxide is by far the largest contributor to climate change, and it comes from recognizable fossil fuel sources such as coal-burning utilities, and automobile tailpipes. Carbon dioxide persists in the atmosphere for hundreds of years, making the climate change it causes not just a current problem, but a future one as well. But experts […]
A bill authorizing community solar programs in West Virginia was introduced in the House of Delegates on January 17, 2024. The bill, HB 4834, would extend the benefits of solar energy to electric consumers who have no roof space, live in shady areas or rent their homes. It would enable subscribers to get a credit […]
Anyone who has been to Weirton in the last decade has seen the shuttered steel plant, with its miles of pipelines, squarely in the middle of town. Now there is new life and hope in Weirton thanks to Form Energy’s long-duration battery facility under construction at the steel plant site. Form Energy represents the new […]
This year, Virginia donors sent 12 tons of acorns and other tree seeds to the Virginia Department of Forestry to secure Virginia’s arboreal future. It is all part of a decade-old program to grow and plant hardwood seedlings in Virginia’s forests. The program promotes a natural remedy for climate change in that trees remove carbon […]
Montana is a lot like West Virginia – rural, sparsely populated, scenic, and dominated by coal interests. There is one significant difference. In the 1970s, Montana amended its constitution to create a right on behalf of citizens to “a clean and healthful environment.” That provision was the basis of a stunning legal victory on August 14, […]
On May 11, 2023, the EPA proposed new power plant emission regulations. Power plants produce 25% of all U.S. greenhouse gasses, so the sector is an obvious place to make progress. These proposed regulations, along with the Inflation Reduction Act’s huge investment in clean power and environmental protection and the EPA’s proposed regulation of tail […]
Carbon offset agreements are private contracts between emitters of greenhouse gasses and owners of forested lands. These lands act as a natural carbon sink. West Virginia’s trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and convert the carbon to wood fiber while releasing oxygen back into the atmosphere. When utilized in long-term wood products such as […]
