Gov. Justice slams clean energy plan

CHARLESTON - Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's $500 million effort to close the nation's coal plants isn't sitting well in West Virginia. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice criticized the clean energy plan at a news conference Monday, saying it will destroy the economy of the state. "His end goal is to extinguish fossil fuels. If that happens to us, we're back in the dark ages," he said as he was surrounded by the leaders of coal and natural gas groups. Bloomberg last week announced his investment in the Beyond Carbon initiative, which aims to put the U.S. on track toward a 100% clean energy economy and close all the country's remaining coal plants by 2030. The organization will bypass the federal government. Instead it will seek to pass climate and clean energy policies at the state and local level and back political candidates there as well. Bloomberg's philanthropic group released a statement that said shifting to renewable energy can help address a decline in mining jobs.