“A Just Transition: Creating a New Economy in Eastern Kentucky”

A new video about Just Transition in Appalachia has recently been released. This one comes to us from The Chorus Foundation (one of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development‘s funders), and gives a good overview of what Just Transition means to some of the organizations (including MACED) and individuals who are working on JT in Kentucky.

A few notable quotes include:

“We know, and everybody knows, that coal has been good for this nation – it’s been excellent, in fact. But, now, it’s time to change, and we fell it’s time for our representatives to realize this fact.” – Carl Shoupe, retired union coal miner, and Kentuckians for the Commonwealth member

“If I don’t have to spend $12,000 per month on my electric bill, and I only have to spend $8,500, I can also give some better deals to my customers.” – Gwen Christon, owner of Isom IGA in Letcher County, Ky., and MACED energy efficiency client

“I want to have a family here. I want to keep creating a place that a family could thrive in.” – Elizabeth Sanders, co-general manager at WMMT-FM in Whitesburg, Ky.

You can watch the entire video below.

A Just Transition: Creating the New Economy in Eastern Kentucky from Chris Landry on Vimeo.