Why WVEC? or --

Ignore the Environment, It Will Go Away..

By Gary R Zuckett

"Ignore the environment..." is my favorite bumper sticker because too many of us do just that. Our air, water, and pristine places are under constant assault from those who would cash them in for profit. Promoting environmental justice and mounting a counter-assault on polluters is why the West Virginia Environmental Council (WVEC or E-Council) was formed in 1989.

In its first decade the E-Council has amassed significant victories. The Ground Water Protection Act, limits on out-of state garbage, local control of building new dumps, a comprehensive Solid Waste Act, a ban on commercial medical waste incineration, and a moratorium on Nuclear Power Generation.

Stopping terrible laws and proposals is just as important as passing "green'" ones. The "Dirty Secrets" bill would have exempted polluting industries from reporting dangerous leaks & spills as long as they promised to "clean up" their mess and be good boys in the future. A proposal to build the largest pulp and paper mill in North America in Mason County would have decimated our forests and belched toxic dioxin into our air and water. Both were defeated by the unified effort of WV’s enviro-community working through the Council.

Polluters have more cash, more lawyers, and own more politicians (we don’t want ownership – just public service) than all the state’s conservation and green groups combined. But what we have is unity of purpose and an organization (WVEC) that consistently outfoxes the corporate lawyers who are constantly trying to weaken or kill enviro-protection laws. During the legislative session the E-Council lobby team is always a major player in the battle for better regulation of polluting industries and passage of increased protection of our natural heritage. Each of WV’s green groups has excellent expertise and vision in their areas of interest. However this leaves holes in the net which is cast to protect WV’s treasures. One of the advantages to the E-Council's effort is "filling in the cracks" where individual group focus is missing.

The timber tax issue of ‘98 is a good example – the corporate welfare increase cost counties millions of dollars. WVEC was a part of restoring some of this much needed local funding, which goes to libraries, emergency squads, etc.. Any time we can make extractors or polluters pay more towards the true cost of production (by eliminating this welfare for the rich) we can claim a victory.

The synergistic blending of talents (some of whom always appear as the session begins) give our E-Council lobby effort the envy of other states whose enviro-groups are caught up in turf battles (to the detriment of green efforts). The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy has been a strong supporter of this unified lobby effort. Hats off to us.

Emma Goldman once said, "If I can’t dance I don’t want to join your revolution." In this spirit the E-Council is not all work and no play.

Every spring at the legislature we come together for Environment Day. It’s a time of celebration where members put up displays, folks get to meet,

and we recognize one of our own with "Mother Jones" (and other) awards.

Music and mirth is carried over into a fund-raiser that evening. Twice a year E-Council hosts weekend camps to bring folks together in the wild to kick back and plot our next moves.

September 17-19th is our next fall meeting at Camp Pioneer, a 4-H camp near Elkins. It’s open to everyone interested in Green issues. In fact our unofficial motto is "All Shades of Green." We’ve got trout fishers, Ph.D.s, worm doctors, farmers, rastas, lawyers, lobbyists, Republicans, Democrats, Earth Firsters and just plain folks who agree on at least one thing – Let’s not ignore our environment. Instead, let’s defend it.

Our strength is in numbers and we need you to add your voice to our song for the planet.

Curious? Check out the WVEC web site at www.wvecouncil.org, or write in to Denise Poole, membership mother at: WVEC, 1324 Va. St. E., Charleston WV 25301 for a free copy of the Council’s newsletter.