Building Shared Prosperity & Clean Energy
Generations of fossil fuel development have hollowed out the Ohio River Valley economy, hemorrhaging jobs and accelerating population decline. Investing in the region’s energy transition is an opportunity to spur job growth and shared prosperity across the region.
Clean energy generation, energy efficiency retrofits, quality-of-life focused development, and large-scale initiatives to repair the damage from the oil and gas industry could create tens of thousands of jobs and revitalize long-struggling communities. Here’s how.
“A clean energy pathway for Western Pennsylvania is less costly, creates more jobs, and more effectively reduces climate-warming emissions relative to a pathway centered around natural gas and carbon capture.”
Reports:
All research on Shared Prosperity & Clean Energy:
Repairing the Damage: Cleaning Up the Land, Air, and Water Damaged by the Coal Industry Before 1977
Cleaning up Appalachia’s thousands of acres of abandoned mine lands could create jobs, reduce climate-warming emissions, improve quality of life, and minimize environmental damage.
An Energy State No More: As coal vanishes from the grid, so might West Virginia’s status as an energy state
In 10 years, unless West Virginia leapfrogs from its coal-dominated energy system to one driven by clean renewable resources, it will cease to be an energy state West Virginia’s status as an energy state — one that produces more energy than it consumes – will almost...
West Virginia Legislative Session Starts Shrouded in Secrecy & Bad Ideas
The West Virginia Legislature got underway on Wednesday, February 10th, and so far the legislative session has been marked by a lack of accountability and transparency, advancing legislation aimed at crippling public education, reducing workers' rights, and securing...
Paper Summary: Near Term Carbon Tax Policy in the US Economy
New research by Advisory Council member Nick Muller evaluates impacts of near term carbon tax policy in the United States.
ORVI testifies in support of Pennsylvania joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
Reduced emissions, lower utility bills, and economic development for small-town Pennsylvania ORVI testimony before the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board (On December 11, 2020, ORVI senior researcher, Sean O'Leary, testified before the Pennsylvania Environmental...
What would joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative mean for Pennsylvania?
JOBS, SAVINGS, AND HEALTHIER FAMILIES The funny thing about opponents of Pennsylvania's proposed membership in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is that the terrible things they say will happen if Pennsylvania joins RGGI are exactly the things that will...
Low-Wage Jobs Are the Future in Ohio River Valley Without Policy Change
If policymakers at the state and federal level want to build a strong economy with good paying jobs in the Ohio River Valley region it will require raising wages, improving job quality standards, and increasing disposable income of workers. That's because most new...
Good Jobs: A Robust Labor Movement, Strong Labor Laws
The key to stronger communities is not trying to turn the clock back to an industrial past but to learn the lesson of how we got those “good jobs” of yesterday: a robust labor movement protected by strong labor laws.
Renewable Energy: The New Texas Tea
Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia should try it instead of throwing up barriers In 2009, Texas was the nation’s biggest consumer of coal for the generation of electricity. By 2019 Texas had cut its consumption of coal by a third and replaced it with . . . If you...