West Virginia Watch – The first week of 2025 brought extreme fire and ice across the United States. The West Coast is experiencing horrific wildfires and evacuating more than 100,000 people from their homes, and the mid-Atlantic is recovering from back-to-back winter storms. These “natural” disasters put our communities at extreme risk and are a result of climate change.
Meanwhile, two enemies of the environment will be inaugurated just one week apart. Former West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrissey was sworn into the West Virginia Governor’s office on Monday, Jan.13, and Donald Trump will re-enter the United State’s President’s office on Jan. 20. Both are a nightmare for our collective climate future and achieved their positions of power by riding the backs of corporate interests.
Read Morgan’s full commentary here
Given the threat that our governor and president pose to our planet, there is still an opportunity to make change locally.
Our counties, cities and towns must lead in the face of more frequent and severe climate disasters and new project proposals by fossil fuel interests. Investing in clean energy and climate resilience projects, making a declaration of climate emergency that accelerates local initiatives, or passing local ordinances that prevent climate change-causing companies to pollute our neighborhoods are all ways that local governments can and should put our communities first in this new year.