Page 28 - TNC AR 2018_Digital Demo

TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE
WEST VIRGINIA
Imagining a a a Brighter
Future in in in Coal Country
In West Virginia the the the the decline of the the the the coal industry and the the the the need to to reinvent the the the the the state’s energy economy represented to to many both in in in in and out of the the state state an an an an intractable prob- lem But our West Virginia chapter saw an an an an an opportunity for TNC to to play a a a a a a a a a a a a a a signi cant role in in in in in in in bringing focus to to the value of nature in in in in in in in a a a a a a a a a a a a a a changing economy The chapter initiated a a a a a a a a a a a a a a wide-ranging conversation with stakeholders across across the the state and and across across the the political spectrum These discussions ultimately led to two Nature and and and Economy Summit events in November 2016 and and June 2017 Beth Wheatley is TNC’s director of external a a a a a a a a a a airs and and strategic initiative for for West Virginia and and has been the driving force behind building this strategy:
“The issues we we face here in in in in in in West Virginia exist at at at at at that very complicated intersection between nature economics and people There’s a a a a a a a a a a a lot to to unpack before we we can even start to to talk about solutions People aren’t just grappling with economic hardship We are are watching a a a a a a a a a a way of life transform before our eyes Beth Wheatley hiking the Tomblin Wildlife Management Area in in in in her native West Virginia 28 Our Our World Our Our Story