I read with sadness the Forbes magazine October 2007 article ranking America’s Greenest States. Guess where West Virginia was? Last …in the nation. The Wild and Wonderful Mountain State…50th.

There’s more to it than mountaintop removal. The study ranked each state in six equally weighted categories: carbon footprint, air quality, water quality, hazardous waste management, policy initiatives, and energy consumption.

Jefferson County has a chance to redeem West Virginia’s last place ranking. We have an opportunity to become truly sustainable—with economic development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

We could start by creating vibrant local economies with good jobs here. According to our Economic Development Authority, more than 50 percent of our labor force leaves Jefferson County each day—some driving 2.5 hours each way. If people were able to live and work here, we would reduce our county’s carbon footprint and energy consumption, and improve quality of life. If we reduced by just 10 percent the number of people driving to D.C. every day, we could recover an estimated $4.8 million dollars spent in gasoline every year, and keep 2,400 tons of carbon out of the atmosphere (based on a formula of 1 lb. of carbon emitted for every mile traveled in a car averaging 20mpg).

Jefferson County and municipal governments could help support local businesses, and in turn help create jobs, by competitively bidding services and, when possible, giving preference to locally owned businesses.

And we could focus on the “green” sector, which I believe is a growth sector in a slowing economy. The federal government, under the Green Jobs Act of 2007, will spend $150 million dollars a year to retrain people to work in “green collar” jobs. Three billion dollars in venture capital was invested in alternative energy in 2007. The Appalachian Regional Commission has announced it will provide up to $500,000 to help Appalachian communities implement strategies to create new jobs or businesses, and promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. In Jefferson County citizens are exploring formation of a venture capital group to invest in local startups. Priority would be given to ventures that create jobs, operate as environmentally green, or produce green products or services. There is a lot of opportunity; we need to capture it in Jefferson County.

We should concentrate on buying our food locally. Farmers in Jefferson County can produce much of what we eat right here. We are lucky to have farmland still in production, with creative farmers and farmers’ markets looking to supply a burgeoning interest in locally grown foods.

Fairfax County offers an example of how to support local farmers. A nonprofit called Smart Markets connects farmers with corporate sponsors and consumers. A Jefferson County farmer who is part of Smart Markets says the effort has teamed up with Whole Foods Markets—which has committed to purchasing from local sources, sponsoring farmers’ markets at stores in Fairfax County, and paying for full color advertisements.

We may not yet have the population in Jefferson County to support this, but there are opportunities to help our farmers get their products to the D.C. metro efficiently. In Monroe County, W.Va., Americorp volunteers act as liaisons between producers and consumers, determining what people and businesses want to buy and providing that information to farmers.
I spoke with a member of our school board who said the board is looking at ways to buy food from local farmers for school lunches! A Charles Town businessperson is planning a restaurant that will buy from local farmers. If everyone committed to buying locally, we’d make a positive impact on our personal health, the financial health of our farmers, and the overall health of the planet.

We’re blessed with abundant resources. By making responsible choices—buying locally and reducing energy consumption—we can transform Jefferson County, and begin to redeem our state’s last place ranking.

Kit McGinnis lives outside Charles Town and is running for County Commissioner.