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#climatecrisis

286 posts223 participants4 posts today
Public
John Brown Type Beats

"On February 15, 2025, a catastrophic flood ravaged McDowell County, West Virginia, and much of the state’s southern coalfields. At least three people were reported dead due to the flash flooding, with dozens more reported missing and more than 700 rescued. Damage to housing and infrastructure is expected to reach millions of dollars.

This latest flood follows similarly destructive bouts of flooding in the region in 2016, 2002, 2001 and 1977. While much of southern West Virginia is especially vulnerable to flooding due to the state’s topography along with the long-term ramifications of strip mining and timbering, McDowell County faces additional challenges. The county ranks first in the WV Social Vulnerability Index, a socio-economic resiliency indicator, revealing which communities are less likely to recover from a flood disaster quickly and fully. McDowell is the eighth poorest county in the country. Because 60% of the land is owned by corporations and insurance in flood zones is expensive, fewer than 3% of residential structures have flood insurance. This is one of the lowest flood insurance penetration rates in the state.

In press conferences since the flooding, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey has stressed that his administration is looking to help where they can, as well as warning that these recovery efforts can take time. He also said that his administration will conduct a thorough review of both the response and recovery efforts to find ways to improve if and when the next disaster strikes.

But West Virginia officials have a history of ignoring and underfunding protection plans, as well as many other needs in the state’s southern coalfields. And economic factors mixing with polycrises such as addiction, isolation, lack of potable water, and limited access to affordable and nutritious food has led to a pessimistic mindset which community leaders say it’s hard to break from.

“What this place needs is hope,” Alicia Vest of Matoaka Outreach says about her hometown of Matoaka, just over the county line in Mercer County. “[Growing up] it was so full of life, [but] as the coal mine shut down, life kind of stopped and it got stuck in a hole.”

In the weeks following the flood, Trump-appointed EPA administrator Lee Zeldin announced plans to eliminate 65% of the agency’s budget as well as plans to scale back or eliminate 31 previously enforced regulations including clean water protections for rivers and streams. Prior to announcing plans to dismantle FEMA just this week, Trump has issued executive orders calling for state and local governments to “play a more active and significant role in national resilience and preparedness.” While critics — both in West Virginia and across the country — have acknowledged the need for reform, many worry that this slash-and-burn approach may leave communities like McDowell, who cannot fund a full recovery on their own, even more vulnerable."

'Hell or High Water': Southern W. Va. Three Weeks After the Flood
youtu.be/Bt7ljhv90LQ

YouTube'Hell or High Water': Southern W.Va. Three Weeks After the FloodBy 100 Days in Appalachia
#Appalachia#WestVirginia#Flooding
Public
A.Stringer

"Planning permission for the mine was quashed in the high court last year which meant the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government had to reassess the planning application. However, the company has now written to the government withdrawing its planning application."

Mining firm withdraws plan for UK’s first deep #coalmine in 30 years | #Greenpolitics | The Guardian

#Fossilfuels
#positivenews
#climatechange
#Cumbriancoalmine
#climatecrisis
#UKpol

theguardian.com/environment/20

The Guardian · Mining firm withdraws plan for UK’s first deep coalmine in 30 yearsBy Helena Horton
Continued thread
Public
atomicker

"The carbon tax that had an effect on prices of carbon intensive products - that was not making affordability worse. The average Canadian was made better off because of the rebates that were associated with the carbon tax."

#Canada#CDNPoli#BCPoli
Public
Yogthos

China, often cast as climate villain, emits per capita no more than average while the West’s historic carbon gluttony dwarfs all.

Yet China, still developing, now leads the world in renewables, EVs, and early peak emissions. Their secret? A system that values people over profit, unshackled by fossil fuel lobbies. Meanwhile, the West sabotages the very cooperation our overheating planet demands. The math is clear: solidarity or catastrophe.

youtube.com/watch?v=SHd9Q_IEWu

YouTubeCarlos Martinez: China's environmental strategiesBy Friends of Socialist China
#climatecrisis#china
Public *
Bread and Circuses

As might be expected from a capitalist, the worry expressed here is not so much that the breakdown of Earth’s climate and environment threatens extinction for millions of species — including our own — and it’s not so much about the cost in human terms to poor communities in the Global South who will suffer the earliest and worst outcomes.

No, the biggest concern is that capitalism might be in trouble. 😱

How awful! Nothing could possibly be worse than that!!

➡️ theguardian.com/environment/20

The Guardian · Climate crisis on track to destroy capitalism, warns top insurerBy Damian Carrington
#Economics#Science#Environment
Public
Grub

Gas più verde: l’Italia sperimenta la miscela con idrogeno.
Negli ultimi anni si è parlato sempre di più dell’impatto ambientale del riscaldamento domestico. Non è un segreto che usare gas, biomassa o gasolio per scaldare le case rilasci nell’aria una buona dose di sostanze inquinanti, come ossidi di azoto, polveri sottili e monossido di carbonio. #ambiente #green
#riscaldamentoglobale #climateemergency #climatecrisis #italian
tecnoandroid.it/2025/04/04/gas

A Modena si sperimenta la miscela di idrogeno e gas naturale per ridurre le emissioni senza modifiche agli impianti domestici.
TecnoAndroid · Gas più verde: l’Italia sperimenta la miscela con idrogenoBy Margherita Zichella
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