According to data from Princeton University, 30 percent of the reduction in greenhouse gases as result of the IRA will be individuals taking action: installing heat pumps, buying EVs, etc. 

That’s important, but it leaves 70 percent that will need action from utility companies, oil and gas companies, and the state’s Public Service Commission. 

Individually, we can’t achieve these changes, but collectively, we can. Being a member of and contributing to organizations such as the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy is among the most important actions each of us can take. Other West Virginia organizations that are working on the climate crisis include the West Virginia Environmental Council that lobbies the state legislature on solar and other energy policies and the West Virginia Rivers Coalition.

Nationally, we need organizations that will advocate for the Environmental Protection Agency to develop strong regulations requiring the oil and gas industry to promptly fix leaks of methane, and requiring utility companies to drastically cut their emissions of carbon dioxide, and establishing strong fuel efficiency standards that promote EVs.

• Giving Green, a nonprofit research organization, has identified national, nonprofit organizations that have a proven record of working to address the climate crisis. They have selected several organizations as being effective at promoting climate change solutions and are worthy of donations. These include:
  • Evergreen Collaborative, a more liberal, climate action policy organization. Clean Air Task Force a more conservative climate action policy organization, and
  • Carbon 180, an organization that focuses on carbon removal practices and technology.

Be Involved: Join and donate to these organizations so we can make systemic changes to reduce greenhouse gases.

We hope you find these suggestions helpful. We can all have an impact on climate either for the better or for the worse. Thinking about how the energy we use is produced and taking steps to reduce energy produced from burning fossil fuels is critical if we are going to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change. It is going to be a difficult transition from burning fossil fuels to producing clean energy. It is incumbent on all of us to adopt meaningful changes.

View our climate guide online at wvhighlands.org/climate-change/