Dr. James M. Van Nostrand
Dr. James M. Van Nostrand is an Author, Professor of Law, & Director of the Center for Energy and Sustainable Development at West Virginia University. His most recent book is: “THE COAL TRAP: How West Virginia Was Left Behind in the Clean Energy Revolution.” He highlights how political and business leaders have been unable to move beyond the “coal trap” of West Virginia’s heritage, and how it harmed the state’s citizens and dimmed their future prospects through the obstinate reliance on an unsustainable and outmoded resource: coal. The state experienced a “Lost Decade” because West Virginia leaders doubled down on fossil fuels and ignored the clean energy technology. In reality, there is not a “War on Coal” because market forces and consumer demand dictated the outcome. President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act provided assistance to West Virginia through tax credits and other energy-saving initiatives.
