California is leading an effort across the USA to meet our nations obligations under the previously signed Paris Climate accord, and West Virginia should join. (See the LA times address below for more) The USA committed to reduce its green house gas emissions by 25%, as measured against 2005 levels of 6 million tons, giver to take. (see the business insider address for more)West Virginia has a long history with King Coal, and that's not going to change, particularly as long as the world needs steel, and West Virginians need jobs. However, West Virginia does have a problem, that I think global climate change may be making worse. We don't have earthquakes, or very many tornadoes, no Volcanos, no tsunamis, but we do have some terrible snow storms and flooding. Just over a year ago was a terrible flood that took the lives of 23 West Virginians and more than one thousand homes were swept away. (See the WHSV address below for more) West Virginia doesn't want a repeat of this terrible flood. I think if we, as a state, were to join the effort to meet the Paris climate accord goals, that would in turn decrease the chances of these kinds of floods/storms and their damages. I have a couple ideas I want to share with you, and would encourage you to write to our Governor Justice/your legislators, and tell them to fight global climate change for our safety and our future.
1. Plant trees - India took this idea and ran with it, planting 66 million trees in 12 hours. (see the Forbes address below for more.) As you know, trees breath in carbon dioxide, and keep part of that carbon in. (See they NY.gov address for more). The more trees, the bigger the effect. Also, the bigger the tree, the more carbon it captures. A red mulberry tree captures 69.5 pounds of carbon a year. (see the slate article below for more).
Planting trees wont just be good for carbon reduction, but also help to prevent/reduce the damage from flooding, (see the BBC address) and runoff from the mountains. The WV Department of Environmental Protection did a study in 2001 regarding mining/timbering effects on flooding, and here is their conclusion "Any increase in runoff contributions must be considered potentially significant. However, it would be presumptuous of FATT to draw conclusions regarding significance without further long-term investigation and analyses, including (as previously mentioned) an investigation of every reach of stream in the impacted watersheds, the damaged residences and every natural and manmade stream constriction in those watersheds that could influence water level. What can be concluded, however, is that mining and timbering impacts did influence the study watersheds by increasing surface water runoff and the resulting stream flows at various evaluation points." One of the studies recommendations was "Revise regulations to maximize reforestation opportunities for all types of post mining land uses." The point is, trees wont stop floods from happening, but they help. See the WV DEP address below for more on their report.
Below you can see a reclamation before and after shots. These photos were from the WV DEP, see the reclamation link below for more details. The reclamation site picture looks like a golf course, doesn't it? Where are the trees? They do not appear to be in the plan. Below also, is a map of special reclaimed mine sites in WV, that had their permits revoked and bonds forfeited. (Map from the WV DEP as well) Meaning, I don't even think this is all the reclaimed sites in WV. Unfortunatley, I cant find out exactly how many acres of "reclaimed land" that there is in our state, but, as you can see, there is quite a lot.
I propose that the state of WV plant trees on those sites in order to reduce runoff, thereby reducing flood risks and capturing carbon. Lets say there are 200 sites on this map, and we were able to plant 10 Red Mulberry trees on each site, just as an example. Thats 200 sites multiplied by 10 trees each, multiplied by 69.5 pounds of carbon pulled out of the air is about 140,000 additional pounds of carbon sequestered in trees, instead of the atmosphere EACH YEAR. These are conservative figures that I just did. We can do even better than that. I'd imagine though, that it would be better to use the same kind of trees that are naturally occurring in the local area, but you get the point. West Virginia has an opportunity to take part in the global effort to combat climate change, and attempting to mitigate the effects of floods, without effecting our coal mining jobs.
2. We can paint the roads of our cities/government buildings/parking lots white to reflect sunlight. Los Angeles is doing this, and has shown that by painting roads white, it cools the pavement by 10 degrees. (see the NY Times/LA Times article address for more.) According to the USA today article address below "A 2010 study by DOE-funded Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory said cool roofs and pavements can not only help cities stay cooler but also cool the world, potentially offsetting the heating effect of up to two years of global carbon emissions. It estimated that converting all eligible urban flat roofs in the tropics and temperate regions to white (and sloped roofs to cool colors) could offset the emissions of 300 million cars for 20 years." Hey, we paint our capitol building gold every few years, why not paint a few roads, parking lots and roofs white?
3. If West Virginia were to help the USA live up to our Paris climate accord commitments, we would send a message to the rest of the country and the rest of the world. That we take extreme weather seriously, that we will do everything in our power to protect our citizens from mother natures destructive power, that we are looking out for our children's future, and we are a responsible steward of our natural world. By taking part in the Paris climate accord, West Virginia can elevate our global reputation, which may lead to other positive outcomes.
4. My sample letter to our state Legislator's/Governor:
To the honorable Governor Justice,
My name is ________, a citizen of West Virginia. Our state has suffered from extreme weather many times over the years, particularly flooding, and I don't see a lot of work being done to prevent these events from happening. It is time something is attempted. Whether or not you believe in Global Climate Change, its common knowledge that trees prevent runoff from the mountains, and can reduce the amount of water that reaches streams and rivers and prevents the erosion of river banks. West Virginia also has a lot of re-claimed surface mines that have no trees on them, only grass. I propose that West Virginia plant trees on strategic sites that will help with runoff and flood mitigation, while also capturing carbon out of the air. West Virginia can be a leader in combating extreme weather/global climate change if we only just act. I urge you to consult with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, to see what the best strategies would be in preventing flooding in our state. Then act on that advice.
Its also common knowledge that parking lots, dark roofs and roads get very hot on summer days, due in part to their dark color. If we were to paint some of those surfaces white, it may help to relieve some of our cities/buildings of heat, thereby potentially saving on air conditioning/energy costs. Something has to be done concerning the extreme weather/flooding/global climate change. Please take action. Thank you for your time.
My name is ________, a citizen of West Virginia. Our state has suffered from extreme weather many times over the years, particularly flooding, and I don't see a lot of work being done to prevent these events from happening. It is time something is attempted. Whether or not you believe in Global Climate Change, its common knowledge that trees prevent runoff from the mountains, and can reduce the amount of water that reaches streams and rivers and prevents the erosion of river banks. West Virginia also has a lot of re-claimed surface mines that have no trees on them, only grass. I propose that West Virginia plant trees on strategic sites that will help with runoff and flood mitigation, while also capturing carbon out of the air. West Virginia can be a leader in combating extreme weather/global climate change if we only just act. I urge you to consult with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, to see what the best strategies would be in preventing flooding in our state. Then act on that advice.
Its also common knowledge that parking lots, dark roofs and roads get very hot on summer days, due in part to their dark color. If we were to paint some of those surfaces white, it may help to relieve some of our cities/buildings of heat, thereby potentially saving on air conditioning/energy costs. Something has to be done concerning the extreme weather/flooding/global climate change. Please take action. Thank you for your time.
(YOUR NAME HERE)
http://www.whsv.com/content/news/Families-continue-to-rebuild-one-year-after-West-Virginia-floods-435136093.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2017/07/05/indias-response-to-the-paris-agreement-plant-66-million-trees-in-12-hours/#9a7368876060
http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/47481.html
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35777927
http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/lawn-garden/how-to/a8911/3-ways-plants-can-help-you-control-erosion-15445641/
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/the_green_lantern/2008/01/the_greenest_tree.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/07/us/california-today-cool-pavements-la.html
http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-sci-cooling-los-angeles/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/10/white-green-roofs-global-warming/5341261/
http://wvpublic.org/term/mountaintop-removal#stream/0
http://www.dep.wv.gov/dmr/studies%20and%20investigations/Documents/Part%20I%20-%20FATT.pdf
http://www.dep.wv.gov/dlr/osr/Pages/Land-Reclamation.aspx
http://www.businessinsider.com/what-did-us-agree-to-paris-climate-deal-2017-5
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