We’ve all experienced walking away from a situation and wishing we could redo it. Last week I desperately wanted to rewind time and start fresh at the public hearing on the proposed Longview Power gas burning plant (and the property tax abatement they’re seeking for it).
My first thought when I left the meeting was that maybe the proposed plant should proceed as planned. Opponents of a new power plant fired by fracked gas were in the minority in the room — and may also be the minority in the community.
The majority, fully supporting the new plant, were Longview employees or contractors with good things to say about the company.
They shared stories of loving their jobs at the current coal burning power plant in Mon County. They shared stories of the company giving money back to community programs and institutions, of sourcing coal locally, of a clean plant wonderful to work in.
The minority in the room spoke out about global warming and the likely environmental, health and social issues of using fracked gas.
My perception of the discussion was of the two groups speaking on different issues, both sectors defensive, and neither fully listening to the other.
I wish we could rewind, and start the discussion over. If we could all agree on a few basic points, I think we could further the conversation our community needs on industries expanding not just in this area, but in our state as a whole.
First, I would propose clarifying a concern brought up by construction workers at the event: They thought those of us who oppose this particular plant don’t value their jobs and their profession.
I feel comfortable speaking for those I know who share my doubts about embracing more gas fired energy. We very much value and respect labor and support unions, and know that both are the backbone of our community.
Secondly, I would want us to all agree that our priority is more jobs in our state, and here in Mon and Preston counties.
Next, I think we could all agree that we all use and want to keep using energy. None of us are willing to quit using electricity.
Then, I would like to ask everyone if we want West Virginia to be and do better than we have in the past. Or do we want to blindly follow yet another extraction industry, which has already left parts of our state decimated, without water to drink, and chronic illnesses on the rise? Do we want West Virginia to remain at he bottom of health, education, and income indicators among the 50 states?
What if we could satisfy both sides of our community on this issue? Being able to do so isn’t so far out of reach. Longview Power already plans to build a solar component into their expansion program.
According to an article earlier this year in Forbes (among other sources), employment in the renewable energy sector is booming — these are good, high wage jobs. We could have those here.
Across the nation and worldwide the coal industry is slumping. There are so many sources for this fact that I can’t even pick one to cite. Yet, West Virginia is clinging to coal, and now to gas, where the job market has also ceased to expand.
If we don’t jump onto the renewable energy bandwagon — as our neighboring states are doing — to immediately create more, good, long-term jobs, very soon we will be another sad relic of the destructive bubble of carbon energy and pollution.
ALDONA BIRD is a journalist, previously writing for The Dominion Post. She explores possibilities of local productivity and sustainable living in Preston County.
