Climate Justice and the MVP: Why Should You Care?
At Virginia Organizing, we are celebrating the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. It lowers medicine costs for seniors, makes health care more affordable, and invests billions of dollars in clean energy and communities affected by climate change.
So what are we worried about?
During negotiations, Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia struck a backroom side deal that would require completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) and make it easier for big energy corporations to build future projects. The MVP runs from West Virginia through much of Southwest Virginia. It also has a terrible history of environmental violations and attempts to locate dangerous infrastructure in poor, rural communities of color.
The MVP is an unnecessary and harmful fossil fuel project under construction during a climate crisis. Whether or not a major fracked gas pipeline is completed should not be up to one senator or his corporate donors. While the Inflation Reduction Act will make large strides toward a clean and just energy future, we cannot allow this progress to be at the expense of frontline communities along the MVP. And we cannot allow such corporate dealing to further compromise our democracy.
Got it! What can I do?
We’re glad you asked! Here are three actions everyone can take TODAY to oppose Joe Manchin’s side deal and stop the Mountain Valley Pipeline:
- Take a photo petition. Print this photo petition and fill it out. Take a picture of yourself holding it with your message legible. Text or email your photo to your local organizer or Rosemary Gould (rosemary@virginia-organizing.org).
- Call your Senators and U.S. Representative. Tell them to stand against permitting reform and the Mountain Valley Pipeline. You can call the Congressional Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for your elected officials by name.
- Write a letter to the editor. You can share your opinion in your local newspaper. Elected officials read the papers in their districts and pay attention to what their voters have to say. Learn more here: https://virginia-organizing.org/speak-out/.
Thanks for taking action with Virginia Organizing to protect our communities!
