Coal will be king forever! Mining jobs aren't vanishing! Global warming isn't happening!In the face of economic, energy & climate crises, that's what passes for "leadership" from Virginia's coal country. From Glen Besa on ArticleXI:
On the same day that the Washington Post reported that a NASA study found this past decade was the warmest on record and that 2009 was the second warmest year, Virginia freshman Delegate James Morefield introduced legislation that would prohibit the director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality from enforcing any federal law restricting the emissions of carbon dioxide. Despite a United States Supreme Court case that upheld the authority of the U.S. EPA to regulate carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act the bill goes on to say "carbon dioxide shall not be considered air pollution." [...]Imagine how many new jobs could be created if Virginia charted a new energy course? Imagine how much cleaner Virginia's air & water could be? Imagine how much more secure we'd be if we weren't paying unstable countries billions for their oil?
The Virginia General Assembly that prides itself as the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere has in more recent times gained national notoriety for considering "droopy drawers" legislation requiring young men to pull up their pants. One of the sharper wits in the Assembly once quipped that they ought to have a standing committee just for the unconstitutional bills the legislators serve up for their constituents.
But instead of envisioning a new, clean energy future, Virginia politicians like James Morefield think they can cling to our dirty energy past. He'd have the same luck raising a hand to the sunset and yelling stop.
