Delegate Paul Espinosa

Climate Change Has Produced Longer Summers and Shorter Winters

A climate scientist has compared the 90 hottest and coldest days annually during the past two 30-year periods.  In the lower 48 states, what was a 90-day winter now lasts only 81.5 days, and what was a 90-day summer now lasts 96.4 days. Read…
Delegate Paul Espinosa

Now a treasure, Monongahela Forest was a wasteland when created 100 years ago

Stretching across 921,000 acres in 10 West Virginia counties, the Monongahela National Forest encompasses the state’s highest peaks, cleanest streams, largest expanses of forest and most remote tracts of wilderness. Now the second-largest…
Delegate Paul Espinosa

Solar Energy and the Legislature:  A Power Play in Charleston

For a state beholden to the coal and natural gas industries, solar energy generated a lot of heat the 2020 West Virginia legislative session. Two initiatives concerning alternative energy, including solar, were introduced. One survived and will…
Delegate Paul Espinosa

Keystone XL Ruling Has ‘Sweeping’ Impacts for Other Projects

A federal court’s decision striking down a critical Keystone XL permit has broad implications beyond the embattled oil pipeline. The Wednesday ruling from the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana tossed a nationwide permit the…
Delegate Paul Espinosa

Earth’s insect population shrinks 27 percent in 30 years

“Ongoing decline on land at this rate will be catastrophic for ecological systems and for humans," said Michigan State University expert Nick Haddad. KENSINGTON, Maryland — The world has lost more than one quarter of its land-dwelling…
Delegate Paul Espinosa

When Plastic Bags Get the Sack

Banned plastic bags hurt marine life but have smaller environmental footprint than more durable carriers Read more...    
Delegate Paul Espinosa

Starbucks Tests New Cup That Is Easier to Recycle

Starbucks is testing out a new cup. It's hoping you won't notice. On Monday, the coffee chain started trialing a new recyclable and compostable cup in some locations in New York, San Fancisco, Seattle, London and Vancouver. The new version…