In a paper released on November 24, 2020, researchers from Cornell University concluded that the Clean Air Act not only has saved human lives, it has spared 1.5 billion avian lives. The reason is the reduction of ground level ozone concentrations resulting from tightening restrictions under the Act. Ozone harms birds’ respiratory systems. Small migratory […]
Local opponents of Rockwool have scored a big legal victory. NCP Denmark, a Danish government organization, will formally investigate Rockwool’s compliance with international business guidelines. The announcement follows an informal investigation that concluded enough evidence existed that dismissal of the complaint by the West Virginia opponents would be inappropriate. The formal investigation will conclude in […]
We regularly hear dire predictions of what the future will hold because of our warming climate. But the fact that most of the catastrophic effects of climate change will be felt decades from now makes it hard for people to take this problem seriously. Politically complex and expensive policy changes are more difficult to make […]
Two well-known figures on the political scene in North Central West Virginia are facing off for the Senate seat in the 11th District, which includes the Panhandle counties of Pendleton and Grant. Denise Campbell, who served in the House of Delegates for three terms from 2011 to 2016, is one of the candidates. Campbell was […]
Wayne Clark, a newcomer to West Virginia politics, has entered the race for the 65th delegate district seat in the House of Delegates against Sammi Brown, the one-term incumbent. The 65th district covers the city of Charles Town and close-in county neighborhoods. Clark was born in 1972 and lives in Charles Town. He holds an […]
On Wednesday July 22, 2020 the House of Representatives passed the Great American Outdoors Act on a bipartisan vote of 310 to 107. The Act passed the Senate last month by a wide margin and is now ready for the President’s signature. When fully enacted the GAOA will provide $9.5 billion over 5 years to […]
Fresh off a victory in the Supreme Court, two power companies throw in the towel on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Read more on The Washington Post or download the PDF»
U.S. Supreme Court Allows the Atlantic Coast Pipeline to Be Built Underneath the Appalachian Trail The Atlantic Coast Pipeline will carry natural gas 604 miles from West Virginia to North Carolina. On June 15, 2020 the Supreme Court decided a challenge to the pipeline brought by a number of Virginia conservation groups and the Sierra […]
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 become law. Unfortunately, the survivor is a timid effort to attract a specific hi-tech enterprise that will involve […]
In early 2019, thirty-two West Virginia legislators introduced Resolution 25 in the West Virginia House of Delegates. The Resolution called for an amendment to the West Virginia Constitution creating a right to clean air, pure water, and the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic, and aesthetic values of the environment. Modeled on a similar amendment in Pennsylvania, […]
