West Virginia’s climate change disconnect continues

[theHandpuppet]

The Charleston Gazette
West Virginia’s climate change disconnect continues
May 6, 2014 by Ken Ward Jr.

(excerpt)
So what are West Virginia’s political leaders doing today? Gathering together the state’s top scientists to get a briefing on this report? Planning state initiatives to do our part to fight climate change? No … here’s what our state’s leaders are up to, according to the Coal Forum:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) air emission regulations have helped facilitate the closure or planned closure of more than 160 coal generating units across the country, equating to over 22,000 megawatts of electricity. New Source Performance Standards being proposed by EPA will make it nearly impossible to build new coal-based power plants in the future. These regulations will further erode West Virginia’s coal economy.

The West Virginia Coal Forum in partnership with the Logan County Chamber of Commerce will conduct a meeting to discuss these green house gas emission standards and the impact to our state and the nation from Noon – 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 6th in the Field House at Logan High School in Logan, West Virginia.

Governor Earl Ray Tomblin will headline the event and conduct a ceremonial bill signing of House Bill 4346. Passed during the 2014 Legislative Session, the bill establishes a framework for the development of a state compliance plan for EPA’s new climate rules while preserving current fuel supplies and protecting West Virginia coal jobs.... MORE at http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2014/05/06/west-virginias-climate-change-disconnect-continues/

[theHandpuppet]

1. Coal and climate change politics: How elected leaders make West Virginia’s disconnect worse

The Charleston Gazette
Coal and climate change politics: How elected leaders make West Virginia’s disconnect worse
May 7, 2014 by Ken Ward Jr.

(excerpt)
The climate change disconnect in West Virginia was certainly on display yesterday, as the nation’s scientists and policymakers again made clear the urgent need to act to reduce greenhouse gas pollution, while our state’s elected officials talked more of the same about rejecting science to protect the coal industry.

This disconnect is really nothing new. One of the reasons I started this blog in the first place was to try to bring together the completely different discussions that were going on about the coal industry. In West Virginia, some residents and almost all elected officials were focused only on trying to preserve coal jobs at all costs. Everywhere else, people were talking about the downside of the coal industry and practically begging for some action, especially on climate change.

And in some ways, West Virginia isn’t as unique as we might think. Check out this report from The Upshot, a new feature of The New York Times:

Perhaps more than people in any other rich nation, Americans are skeptical that climate change is a dire issue. In Pew Research Center surveys conducted last spring, 40 percent of Americans said that global climate change was a major threat to their country. More than 50 percent of Canadians, Australians, French and Germans gave that answer. More than 60 percent of Italians and Spaniards did. And more than 70 percent of Japanese did.... MORE at http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2014/05/07/coal-and-climate-change-politics-how-elected-leaders-make-west-virginias-disconnect-worse/