In West Virginia, we pride ourselves on our connection to the Earth. Something about living in the mountains’ embrace — surrounded by rolling hills, snuggled into valleys, perched on riverbanks — makes us feel closer to nature, like we understand its importance and beauty better than our highly urban neighbors.
Despite this connection, West Virginia has built its economy on slowly destroying the Earth. Mountaintop removal mining has scalped our beloved hills; underground mining has gutted our mountains; acid mine drainage has devastated our waterways; coal-fired power plants have belched pollutants into our air.
Set aside, for a moment, the love and respect we have for our coal miners. The hardworking men and women who risk life and limb (both metaphorically and sometimes literally) to provide for their families are the backbone of West Virginia. Their work ethic and determination are part of our state’s foundation as much as the sedimentary rocks we stand on. But if we put that aside — look not at the coal miners, but at the coal industry — what do we have? A parasite that has harvested our most important resources and shipped them elsewhere, leaving our land ravaged.
Some have called the coronavirus shutdowns a reset. Well, maybe we can use this as an opportunity to reset our economy. Unfortunately, some businesses won’t survive these closures, but that means there will be a workforce waiting in the wings, ready for new opportunities. So let’s give them those opportunities: Bring renewable energy to West Virginia.
Because it’s not just solar plants and windfarms that will create jobs — first in their construction and then in their daily operations — but other industries that will come to West Virginia because we have renewable energy. According to James Van Nostrand, WVU law professor and director of the Center for Energy and Sustainable Development, West Virginia has been passed over by companies looking to set up shop in states with diversified energy portfolios (i.e. not just coal and natural gas). We are missing opportunities for economic development and growth because we crowned coal king and continue to kowtow to the fossil fuel industry.
We used to have legislation that diversified our energy portfolio. But it was repealed in 2015 in order to prop up the coal industry. We shouldn’t quash renewable energy development just to keep the coal industry on life-support. Coal will die eventually. So will natural gas. They are finite resources. By their very definition, we will run out — hence “finite.” And we shouldn’t wait until coal mines are empty and gas wells dried up before we start investing in other energy sources. “Someday” isn’t as far away as it seems, and we need to prepare for the future now. And we have to realize the future is green. In order to survive, West Virginia’s energy will need to be green, too.
Morgantown Area News
'Thursday, November 14, 2024'
