Charlotte Lane, chairwoman of the West Virginia Public Service Commission, recently authored an op-ed titled “Electric Magic!†that ran in several newspapers across the state. She cites the National Academy of Engineering as stating electricity is the greatest achievement of the 20th century. Her source for that is an NAE study some 24 years old which cites automobiles as No. 2, airplanes as No. 3, clean water and water treatment as No. 4 and so on.
While meaning well, she then tries to tie electricity as a breakthrough technology to the coal-fired power grid in West Virginia, and discusses power grid brownouts and blackouts in other states. However, electricity as an achievement should be distinguished from the fossil fuels that generate it.
Using fossil fuels as an energy source for electricity has done immeasurable damage to the environment no matter what state or country you live in. Digging coal leaves dangerous deep mines (some of which cause mine subsidence), strip mines that are unsightly and workers with breathing problems known as silicosis or black lung.
Open mine shafts are dangerous; there are hundreds of abandoned mine lands in West Virginia. They can leak mine run-off water and cause other problems. Uncapped gas wells are also dangerous and a hazard, leaking methane. From a brief internet search, I was able to find there are at least 6,000 uncapped gas wells in West Virginia and that over 20,000 miners have died in West Virginia coal mines since 1883.
Sadly, there are more problems. Burning coal and gas for electricity causes incredible environmental damage, releasing CO2 and other chemicals and warming the planet. The year 2024 is on track to be the warmest year on record after an extended streak of exceptionally high monthly global mean temperatures, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
Extreme weather, temperature rise, coastal flooding from sea level rise and glacial melting all are coming together to create an apocalypse worse than any Hollywood movie ever achieved. This is not fake news, and there is no such thing as “clean coal.â€
The answer is to quickly move away from fossil fuels to renewables that don’t heat the world the way burning coal and gas does. Solar and wind power sources are looking better each day. The Public Service Commission should encourage and promote solar panels, wind farms, well insulated homes and businesses, and green engineering all around before the time to do so has run out.
