candycorn
Diamond Member
From the "you get what you deserve" department:
apnews.com
Unlike some other red states...WVA's day of reckoning has been well earned. From the piece:
"Isolated by its beautiful, rugged mountains, West Virginia sits entirely within Appalachia and has long been listed at the bottom of a laundry list of failings, including poor health and a lack of education. Many residents from rural areas have lived on the same land for generations, watching a cycle of outside companies profit from extracting the state’s resources — from timber to coal and oil and gas — only to pollute and abandon communities afterward. Its people are known for being fiercely independent and proud despite their hardships, including a lack of clean drinking water that has persisted for decades in some areas, forcing residents in the southern coal fields to ferry jugs to and from roadside springs or abandoned mines while spending up to $250 a month for bottled water to cook with and drink. They also pay for public water piped into their homes that often runs black, yellow and brown.
Some, including those living in scenic areas where tourism is a major revenue driver, are protesting Big Tech companies rushing to build enormous data centers, fearing they could lead to the next cycle of outsiders taking advantage of the state’s resources. They have been loud over a lack of public input and transparency around plans to build the complexes, questioning noise pollution, huge water consumption and the effect on ratepayers’ electricity prices.
“We just roll back regulations and we keep being promised that deregulating and privatizing our systems is gonna fix everything, and it never does,” said Caitlin Ware, a pastor who advocates for clean water in southern West Virginia — her thoughts briefly interrupted as the electricity abruptly went off in her Sandyville United Methodist Church. “It only makes the rich richer, and it only puts us in a worse situation.”
Most "next wave" red states are going down the same road; letting any and all companies azz rape their states in the name of jobs.
It goes further.
Every month, Rebecca Michalski takes a deep breath before opening her electric bill. She lives on a fixed income, and heating her small house this winter has been staggering: Her February charge was $940.08 — more than her check.
It makes no sense. She turns the lights off during the day and only burns one lamp with an energy-efficient bulb in the living room at night, but she keeps falling further behind on payments. In desperation, she took out a loan after getting a cut-off notice during an extended arctic blast that kept the state’s heaters cranking when temperatures regularly dipped below zero.
“Every time you see that power bill, you’re just sick,” Michalski said, rifling through a stack of statements totaling thousands of dollars. “I already know before I open it. I just dread seeing how much.”
And finally:
President Donald Trump, as part of his campaign pitch to “make America affordable again,” promised to cut Americans’ electricity bills by half during his first year to 18 months in the White House.
More empty promises from Trump.
Trump promised to cut electric costs in half. Bills in energy-rich West Virginia now top mortgages
West Virginia resident Rebecca Michalski struggles with soaring electricity bills that exceed her income.
apnews.com
Unlike some other red states...WVA's day of reckoning has been well earned. From the piece:
"Isolated by its beautiful, rugged mountains, West Virginia sits entirely within Appalachia and has long been listed at the bottom of a laundry list of failings, including poor health and a lack of education. Many residents from rural areas have lived on the same land for generations, watching a cycle of outside companies profit from extracting the state’s resources — from timber to coal and oil and gas — only to pollute and abandon communities afterward. Its people are known for being fiercely independent and proud despite their hardships, including a lack of clean drinking water that has persisted for decades in some areas, forcing residents in the southern coal fields to ferry jugs to and from roadside springs or abandoned mines while spending up to $250 a month for bottled water to cook with and drink. They also pay for public water piped into their homes that often runs black, yellow and brown.
Some, including those living in scenic areas where tourism is a major revenue driver, are protesting Big Tech companies rushing to build enormous data centers, fearing they could lead to the next cycle of outsiders taking advantage of the state’s resources. They have been loud over a lack of public input and transparency around plans to build the complexes, questioning noise pollution, huge water consumption and the effect on ratepayers’ electricity prices.
“We just roll back regulations and we keep being promised that deregulating and privatizing our systems is gonna fix everything, and it never does,” said Caitlin Ware, a pastor who advocates for clean water in southern West Virginia — her thoughts briefly interrupted as the electricity abruptly went off in her Sandyville United Methodist Church. “It only makes the rich richer, and it only puts us in a worse situation.”
Most "next wave" red states are going down the same road; letting any and all companies azz rape their states in the name of jobs.
It goes further.
Every month, Rebecca Michalski takes a deep breath before opening her electric bill. She lives on a fixed income, and heating her small house this winter has been staggering: Her February charge was $940.08 — more than her check.
It makes no sense. She turns the lights off during the day and only burns one lamp with an energy-efficient bulb in the living room at night, but she keeps falling further behind on payments. In desperation, she took out a loan after getting a cut-off notice during an extended arctic blast that kept the state’s heaters cranking when temperatures regularly dipped below zero.
“Every time you see that power bill, you’re just sick,” Michalski said, rifling through a stack of statements totaling thousands of dollars. “I already know before I open it. I just dread seeing how much.”
And finally:
President Donald Trump, as part of his campaign pitch to “make America affordable again,” promised to cut Americans’ electricity bills by half during his first year to 18 months in the White House.
More empty promises from Trump.
