"For a moment, Jacob Hannah saw an unprecedented opportunity to make Appalachia great again. In 2022, the Biden administration earmarked billions of dollars to help revitalize and strengthen former coal communities. The objective was to lay down building blocks for the region to transition from extractive industries like coal and timber to a hub for solar and other advanced energy technologies, with a view to long-term economic, climate and social resilience."
"We knew we were living in a historic moment, not just because of the amount of funding, but because the whole region mobilized to meet the moment, said Hannah, 33. It was a once-in-a-generation cash injection designed to prioritize extraction-based communities as part of the energy transition, which for the first time in almost a century made Appalachia very competitive. So to have it all taken away is deeply damaging and demoralizing."
"Hannah runs Coalfield Development, a non-profit organization headquartered in Huntington, focused on rebuilding south-west Virginia's economy and social fabric through workforce training, job creation and revitalizing abandoned buildings and mines in some of the most forgotten corners of coal country. Coalfield has trained over 4,000 people including many formerly incarcerated and/or in addiction recovery over the past 15 years in everything from solar installation to drywalling and first aid."
In 2022 the Biden administration earmarked billions to revitalize former coal communities and support a transition from extractive industries to solar and advanced energy technologies, aiming for economic, climate and social resilience. Region-wide mobilization created a once-in-a-generation opportunity that made Appalachia competitive for investment and development. On his first day, Donald Trump canceled those clean energy and environmental programs, labeling them woke and anti-American, removing the funding and undermining momentum. Coalfield Development, headquartered in Huntington, focuses on workforce training, job creation and revitalizing abandoned buildings and mines. Coalfield has trained over 4,000 people, many formerly incarcerated or in addiction recovery, in trades including solar installation.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]