Virginia Governor-elect Terry McAuliffe and his wife Dorothy pose for photographers on the red carpet as they arrive for an evening of gala entertainment at the 2013 Kennedy Center Honors, December 8, 2013 in Washington, DC. The Honors are bestowed annually on five artists for their lifetime achievement in the arts and culture. UPI/Mike Theiler |
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RICHMOND, Va., Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe addressed the inaugural meeting of the state's Climate Change and Resiliency Commission in Richmond on Wednesday -- affirming his campaign pledge to combat rising seas and temperatures in Virginia.
McAuliffe revived the climate change panel earlier this year, not long after being sworn into office; the panel had been ignored under the previous administration and it had not convened in four years. At the meeting, McAuliffe reportedly told attendees that the George Washington National Forest would remain off limits to fracking.
In the run up to election, McAuliffe was adamant about protecting George Washington Naitonal Forest from natural gas exploration, but the final say rests with the National Forest Service. The agency is expected to publish a new forest management plan in coming months, but McAuliffe is apparently confident that federal officials won't green-light fracking in what is the largest federal forest on the East Coast.
Despite McAuliffe's commitment to curbing carbon emissions and fighting climate change, the Virginia governor has offered his support to plans for a new natural gas pipeline set to dissect the national forest. The pipeline, which would travel through North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia would deliver natural gas from the Ohio Valley to the Eastern Seaboard, and help curb the necessity of coal.
"This project is a game changer for Virginia's economy, and the benefits will be both immediate and long-lasting," the governor said in a statement released last week.
His position is a sign that McAuliffe will be seeking compromise as he looks to appease both environmentalist and business interests, while looking to address climate change and grow the economy in Virginia. It's also a sign that the changing climate might often warrant short-term gains (swapping out natural gas for coal) as much as longterm solutions.
And with the consequences of climate change already knocking on Virginia's door, compromise and short-term gains might be more than necessary.
"We're experiencing flooding just during our lunar high tide," Jim Redick, Norfolk's emergency preparedness director, told the Claims Journal. "It doesn't take a storm anymore."
