Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., railed this week against rising inflation, and is pushing for the use of fossil fuels to combat rising gas and energy prices triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Manchin has continually opposed President Biden's $2 trillion spending package, which includes a series of actions to tackle the climate crisis. However, environmental groups say West Virginians stand to gain from investments in clean energy.

Morgan King, climate campaign coordinator for the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, said as lawmakers in Washington gear up for new negotiations on federal economic and climate policy, they should embrace climate solutions.

"It's economical for us," King asserted. "The prices of wind energy, solar energy, batteries, have dropped significantly in the past 10-12 years, and the report details this. It's actually going to be more expensive to try to maintain sources of energy that are more pollutive, like fossil fuels, like coal."

A new Gallup poll found more than 89% of Americans support using federal funds for residential clean-energy tax credits, and 59% for building electric vehicle-charging stations.

While inflation has strained pocketbooks, King pointed out many West Virginians have felt financial stress from the impacts of climate change.

"We are feeling it here in West Virginia, with more frequent and intense flooding, with drought that affects farmers," King outlined. "These are impacts that are going to have economic costs and human costs to people, actual people."

According to the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and avoiding environmental disaster will be beyond reach unless countries take action immediately to curb greenhouse-gas emissions.

The Environmental Protection Agency now has fewer tools to fight climate change, after the U.S. Supreme Court stripped the agency of its authority to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions from existing power plants.

The Court's 6-3 ruling along party lines involves the 2015 Clean Power Plan. The majority ruled it is unlawful for federal agencies to make "major" decisions without clear authorization from Congress.

Jayson O'Neill, director of the Western Values Project, predicted existing laws in both "blue" and "red" states that go further than federal laws to protect air quality could be eliminated.

"Our government's ability to protect us from corporate pollution, including climate emissions, is nearly wiped out," O'Neill stressed. "Our future's in question."

Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., called the court's decision a "major step backwards" at a time when hydrocarbons are fueling more destructive wildfires, reducing snowpack and contributing to the state's worst drought in 1,200 years.

Thursday marked the end of the high court's current term, which also saw explosive rulings on abortion and guns.

In handing down its ruling in the EPA case, the court invoked the "major questions" doctrine, a decision which could affect the federal government's authority to regulate in other areas, including the internet and worker safety.

Andres Restrepo, senior attorney for the Sierra Club, believes the ruling is dangerous.

"It really is something that has the risk of metastasizing in a way that could really hinder the government's ability to keep us safe," Restrepo cautioned.

O'Neill expects to see a flood of lawsuits by corporations challenging federal rules protecting human health and the environment.

"Put another feather in the hat that corporations have essentially more rights than individuals," O'Neill contended. "And that they would be able to challenge laws that protect individual health and win those cases, for their profits."

The court's ruling does recognize the EPA's authority and responsibility to limit climate pollution from cars and trucks, oil and gas development and industrial sites.

California has seen a lot of proposals to reduce carbon emissions; now a plan to scrub existing pollution is moving forward in the Legislature.

Assembly Bill 2649, which just passed the State Senate Environmental Quality Committee on Wednesday, sets a big goal: to remove 60 million metric tons of carbon from the atmosphere per year by 2030, all by harnessing nature.

Ellie Cohen, CEO of the Climate Center, a statewide advocacy group, said the plan to sequester more carbon in the ground will slow climate change and help the environment.

"It helps us to hold more water when it does rain," Cohen outlined. "It helps to replenish groundwater. It supports biodiversity, it supports food security, it helps ensure cleaner air, to get many, many co-benefits that help us to be more resilient."

Plants naturally remove carbon from the atmosphere using photosynthesis. Under the plan, the state would supercharge the effect by helping farmers spread compost on their fields and range lands, by restoring vegetation alongside streams, and by encouraging what's known as "blue carbon" by restoring coastal wetlands.

Asm. Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens, a co-author of the bill, is especially enthusiastic about efforts to plant more trees in urban areas.

"So the trees would allow us to capture carbon, would help reduce the heat," Garcia explained. "But would also be a sound barrier, would also help capture pollution from all the trucks and cars."

At Wednesday's hearing, the Farm Bureau expressed opposition, saying the bill could present a burden to farmers and growers. The bill has already passed the state Assembly and now goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee in August.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Members of Nevada's African American community say they're channeling the spirit of Juneteenth to fight for environmental justice.

Church-affiliated groups in Las Vegas hold monthly trainings on ways to fight climate change, promoting programs to make solar panels and electric appliances more affordable. The Rev. Leonard Jackson, director of the Faith Organizing Alliance in Nevada, said it's important that low-income Nevadans benefit from big projects, such as the electric vehicle-charging network.

"We want to make sure," he said, "that it is the underserved individuals that live in these communities, that they're the ones that receive the jobs, as far as installing this equipment, as far as maintaining this equipment."

He pointed out that communities of color often suffer the most from the effects of extreme heat and drought linked to climate change, as urban neighborhoods become heat islands, choked by air pollution from cars and trucks. So, Jackson welcomes efforts to subsidize electric vehicles and put more electric buses on the streets.

Utility companies offer programs to weatherize homes, help people use less water and switch from gas to electric appliances. But Dr. Mary House, chief executive of the Las Vegas faith-based nonprofit CHR Inc., said they need to spread the word at community events.

"People don't even understand these programs and the benefits of them. because they're not going into our community," she said. "Who's going to walk them through the steps? We don't see any of that being done."

Heather McTeer Toney, vice president for community engagement at the Environmental Defense Fund, said the African American community embodies resilience.

"We can link systemic problems of race and poverty to not only environmental concerns," she said, "but also how communities have both thrived and overcome in a number of those areas."

Almeta E. Cooper, national manager for health equity with the group Moms Clean Air Force, encourages Nevadans to get involved.

"We have many projects that, once an individual connects with us, we can empower you to go further," she said, "to connect with your elected officials, to tell them what you need in your community."