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Coal Baron Jim Justice Vetoes Modest Solar Bill

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…
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Will Carbon Offset Agreements – Or Conservation Easements — Survive in West Virginia?

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…
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What’s Driving Electric Vehicles at the Legislature?

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…
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West Virginia’s Orphan Well Problem

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,…
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SB 171: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Unfortunately, the West Virginia Senate has adopted the wholly undemocratic practice of advancing bills at the opening of the annual legislative session without public notice, referral to committee or debate. Senate Bill 171, passed unanimously…
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Solar Power Back on the Agenda at the Legislature

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…
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New Energy Jobs Await West Virginia – If We Just Elect the Right Legislators

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…
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The Virginia Acorn Program – An Idea for West Virginia

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…
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Announcing Fix It — Vote Climate Action!

  Conservation West Virginia, a nonpartisan environmental guardian, announces Fix It, a campaign to engage and empower younger voters who care about West Virginia’s climate to Vote Climate Action! Vote to Keep Our Mountains Cool Our…
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The Montana Children’s Climate Lawsuit

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…