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Restorative Jobs and Opportunity in Natural Infrastructure

By Blog, Repairing the Damage and Investing in our Natural Infrastructure

By Molly O’Brien

Molly O’Brien is a Research Intern for ReImagine Appalachia

On Tuesday, October 4, ReImagine Appalachia hosted a panel webinar to share the results of a research paper that RA intern Molly O’Brien has written on our REJOIN initiative, Restorative Jobs and Opportunity in Natural Infrastructure. Expanding on a previous whitepaper on the need for a big and boldly reimagined Civilian Climate Corps for the 21st century, the REJOIN paper presents program examples and policy priorities from organizations in our region who are engaged in the type of work we would hope to see in a modern CCC: reforesting abandoned mine lands, maintaining parks and public green spaces, reclaiming and revitalizing urban lots, practicing sustainable agriculture, and offering employment to returning citizens. 

Some of the key takeaways from our partners were:

  • Community engagement and collaboration are critical. “Don’t reinvent the wheel. Someone has already done that. Find them and keep the wheel spinning.” 
  • Investing in ecosystems such as soil remediation and erosion prevention has big payoffs, and makes good economic sense, 
  • Jobs created should be sustainable in every sense of the word:
    • Long-lasting and won’t be transferred elsewhere
    • Pay wages that can sustain a family
    • sustain our natural resources that have been exploited and extracted

You can listen to the webinar recording HERE. 

We are still receiving comments and feedback before making this paper final and publishing it on the ReImagine Appalachia website. The full draft is HERE if you would like to review it and provide comments. We will be sure to let you know when the final version is published as well. 

Here are links to the organizations our panelists represent:

Many thanks to the people who were interviewed or otherwise contributed to the paper:

For some additional reading, here are the links to other relevant reports mentioned by our panelists Ted Boettner, Jessica Arriens, and Wendy Tarr:

October 11, 2022

ReImagine Appalachia in the Press

Working from the ground up

This work is best done together.

We’ve gathered visions from around the region and received input from scores of community leaders. Our endorsements come from organizations representing the voices of millions of residents across four states in the Ohio River Valley: Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky.

OUR PARTNERS

Expand opportunity through public investments

Create new opportunities for extractive industry workers and build career ladders for young people from all races and backgrounds.

CREATE GOOD JOBS

Publicly funded projects should come with strong wages, benefit and diversity requirements, and union rights.

GIVE COAL WORKERS PRIORITY

People moving out of extractive industries have skills we need to create the world we want.

BUILD CAREER LADDERS

Build pathways for women and people of color into union jobs and family-sustaining careers.

”We can create good jobs while putting our region’s energy dollars to better use.

Build a 21st century sustainable economy

National climate change legislation and federal economic stimulus packages are opportunities to bring much-needed resources into our region. We must be at the table, together, if we want to get a deal that works for us.

REPAIR DAMAGE DONE IN THE LAST CENTURY

Clean up abandoned properties and put them back to good use. And provide health care and secure pensions for coal workers, especially those with black lung disease.

MODERNIZE THE
ELECTRIC GRID

By upgrading our antiquated electric system, expanding broadband, and making our homes and businesses more energy efficient, we cut emissions, save money and create new jobs.

EXPAND MANUFACTURING BY MAKING IT MORE EFFICIENT AND CLEAN

Our vision grows manufacturing in the region. Federal investments will help us repurpose shuttered coal plants, turning them into eco-industrial parks. Together, we can spur more energy efficient manufacturing and reduce operating costs in a way that doesn’t involve lowering wages.

BUILD A SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

By laying rail and expanding infrastructure for electric vehicles fueled by renewables, we can create good jobs while putting half of our region’s energy dollars to better use.

RELAUNCH THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS

To absorb carbon, we can put people to work expanding our forests, wetlands, and sustainable farms. Give hiring priority to returning citizens caught up in the “war on drugs” and opioid epidemic.

”Everyone is more successful when people are paid a living wage.

Grow unions, raise wages for all workers

We must improve job quality for working people in all industries by raising the minimum wage and providing them with real rights to form a union.

Taking Action Now

Our work is time sensitive.

We’re working to ensure the people of Appalachia have a say in how our region rebuilds.

Get Involved