I wish them the best; it’s unfortunate how many people in West Virginia have been conned into thinking that fossil fuel production is an either sustainable or positive means of attaining a better future for themselves and their kids, versus investing in education and infrastructure to boost a more prosperous service economy.

The economic decline and poverty that is emblematic of many of the state’s former coal-mining towns should serve as an indicator that such investment is already 50 years overdue. Unfortunately, there’s lots of people who’d rather dig their heads in the sand, pretend climate change doesn’t exist, and vote for short-sighted tax cuts that benefit the rich in the long-term, all the while cheering on the suppression of civil rights across the state and the nation.