Book contents
- The Coal Trap
- The Coal Trap
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures and Tables
- Introduction: “The Lost Decade”
- 1 The Rise of Environmental Regulations under Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency
- 2 The Shale Gas Revolution
- 3 The Rise of Renewable Energy
- 4 The “Ds” of Today’s Electric Utility Industry: Decarbonization and Decentralization
- 5 From “Friends of Coal” to the “War on Coal”: How West Virginia Went from Blue to Red
- 6 “Leadership” from Washington, DC: The Congressional Delegation That Could Have but Didn’t
- 7 Manchin in the Middle
- 8 The Failure of the Public Service Commission to Serve the Public
- 9 The Role of the Legislature in West Virginia’s Failed Energy Policies
- 10 Bailing Out the Coal Industry on the Backs of West Virginia’s Electric Ratepayers
- 11 Coal Operators Get Rich and West Virginia Gets to Clean Up the Mess
- 12 What the Future Could Hold if Leaders Choose to Lead
- Acknowledgments
- Index
6 - “Leadership” from Washington, DC: The Congressional Delegation That Could Have but Didn’t
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 July 2022
- The Coal Trap
- The Coal Trap
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures and Tables
- Introduction: “The Lost Decade”
- 1 The Rise of Environmental Regulations under Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency
- 2 The Shale Gas Revolution
- 3 The Rise of Renewable Energy
- 4 The “Ds” of Today’s Electric Utility Industry: Decarbonization and Decentralization
- 5 From “Friends of Coal” to the “War on Coal”: How West Virginia Went from Blue to Red
- 6 “Leadership” from Washington, DC: The Congressional Delegation That Could Have but Didn’t
- 7 Manchin in the Middle
- 8 The Failure of the Public Service Commission to Serve the Public
- 9 The Role of the Legislature in West Virginia’s Failed Energy Policies
- 10 Bailing Out the Coal Industry on the Backs of West Virginia’s Electric Ratepayers
- 11 Coal Operators Get Rich and West Virginia Gets to Clean Up the Mess
- 12 What the Future Could Hold if Leaders Choose to Lead
- Acknowledgments
- Index
Summary
Throughout “the lost decade,” West Virginia’s Congressional delegation largely joined in the “war on coal” rhetoric, and the narrative was one that both parties could enthusiastically join. Whether Republican or Democrat, the problem was the Obama administration’s “job-killing EPA.” Legislative efforts were directed at funding for “clean coal technology” – a mythical remedy – stripping the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of its regulatory authority to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and generally doing the bidding of the large coal companies.
The upper chamber, however, is worth a closer look. At the beginning of “the lost decade,” West Virginia was represented in the US Senate by Robert C. Byrd and John Davison “Jay” Rockefeller IV, both of whom seemed to have a change of heart regarding their loyalty to the coal industry once they were in a position where they didn’t have to face the voters again.
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- Chapter
- Information
- The Coal TrapHow West Virginia Was Left Behind in the Clean Energy Revolution, pp. 120 - 139Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022