Dec 29 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Mary Catherine Brooks The Register-Herald, Beckley, W.Va.


While coal may be a four-letter word in Washington, D.C., at the moment, it will be coal that will fuel the nation's future energy economy, according to William C. Anderson, former assistant secretary of Air Force Installations, Environment and Logistics.

Anderson directed a Jobs and Economic Growth Forum recently at New Life Community Church.

Twelve people participated, including Anderson.

It was an opportunity for Wyoming County residents to participate in a conversation, which is supposed to be carried back to President Barack Obama, about area jobs and the future economy -- what is working and what needs to be done, among other topics.

"Big government can't solve our problems, but small communities can," Anderson told the small group.

There would have been no Industrial Revolution without Appalachia, Anderson said.

"The energy economy of the future will be powered the same as it was 100 years ago," he said, indicating it will be with coal.

There are not enough renewable sources to meet the demand of the future, Anderson said; that will require coal.

It will require a cleaner coal as well as solving the carbon emissions and mining issues related to mountaintop removal, which "are solvable," according to Anderson.

"Appalachia can actually be a beacon of green energy," Anderson said.

Sen. Richard Browning, D-Wyoming, agreed, noting West Virginia has a carbon neutral footprint due to the number of trees in the state.

The people of Wyoming County lack hope, noted Jay Morgan, pastor of New Life Community Church.

Morgan said residents lack trust in government and industry and, in many cases, grandparents are raising their grandchildren.

"People of my generation have given up," he said, adding they are turning to drugs and alcohol.

"It's a vicious cycle of hopelessness," Morgan said.

Morgan noted that some communities in Wyoming County may be dead within 10 years.

In order to compete with surrounding states for jobs, West Virginia -- and Wyoming County -- have to have a competent workforce, available housing, water, sewer, roads and broadband, Browning said at the forum.

The economy also needs to be diversified, Browning emphasized.

Participants were asked to answer six questions and return the forms to the Wyoming County Economic Development Authority office in Pineville.

-- E-mail: mcbrooks@register-herald.com

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