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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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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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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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EPA’s New Power Plant Emission Regulations

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…
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Carbon Offset Agreements at Risk

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…
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Where Are We On PFAS Protection in West Virginia?

PFAS is an acronym used as shorthand for several related synthetic chemical compounds. These compounds have unique properties that make them highly stable and resistant to degradation in  the environment. For that reason PFAS are called "forever…
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No Escape from Fossil Fuels: SB 188 Facilitates Natural Gas Power Plants

In West Virginia, environmentalists need to be realistic about how far the state can depart from fossil fuel power generation. Much of the state’s economy and many jobs are tied up in fossil fuels, both coal and natural gas. Currently, West…
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Land Use: Where the Action is at the 2023 Legislature

Midway through the fourth week of the 2023 legislative session, it is possible to get an overview of what seems important to legislators and their constituents. It is land use, both public and private. Several important bills affecting how we…