We care about public health and safety, and we promote clean water through clean energy. Several flammable gas pipelines have been proposed (not yet approved) for our state, and many others are awaiting approval around the country. If these pipelines go in the ground, we will be locked into fossil fuel production for at least a decade, the resources necessary to develop green energy alternatives w
ill be wasted on dirty energy, and our water and public health will be the chief casualty. Fossil fuel extraction is water intensive, and companies that frack in West Virginia do not pay a cent for the water they take from our rivers and streams. To compound this problem, the U.N. predicts a worldwide water shortage within 15-20 years. Many people have lost their well water since the Marcellus boom began. We do not have to sacrifice water for energy. We have the means right now to change our energy production and save our water and public health, but it will take our citizens, local, and state officials to become informed and active in order to make it happen. We must BE the change we wish to see. YOU can be part of that change. Read the resources on this website and others linked from here, be educated about the issues, and start talking to your friends, neighbors, work mates and church members about this critical issue. We must all come together to protect it - and each other. A January 2015 report published in Nature magazine states that, in order to meet our 2-degree C target to avoid climate disaster, we have to leave most fossil fuel reserves in the ground, starting now. We know that methane is a more potent climate warming agent than CO2 by a factor of 84. Climate change is real and will have disastrous consequences for crops, public health, and economies. We have already seen some of the devastating effects in enhanced storms and melting arctic sea ice. NOAA states on its website, "To date, including 2015, 15 of the 16 warmest years on record have occurred during the 21st century." Our only hope is to shift to cleaner energy sources now, not later. And it CAN be done. In 2015, the solar power industry provided more new jobs than fossil fuels. Clean water, community safety, public health and quality of life for generations to come hinge on the decisions we make today. We hope, when you learn the facts, you too will decide that West Virginia is a national treasure, and she deserves to be protected!
