Thanks to a historic influx of federal funding in recent years, sustainable infrastructure projects began rapidly transforming our region and growing its economy. Yet, this is not to say that our region is trying to become something it is not. Quite the opposite.
Watch these stories below to see how renewable energy projects and clean manufacturing investments are actually supported and even revived culture and legacy in rural Appalachian communities. Towns with long histories of steel milling are continuing their trades, just with safer and cleaner equipment. Historically underserved coal communities are getting put back to work in clean manufacturing plants retrofitted from abandoned mines.
Despite a present climate of government clawbacks and uncertainty, these stories show how economic growth can go hand-in-hand with environmental protection, high wage and worker safety standards, and the continuation of legacy trades.