Abstract
The global shift toward green energy is frequently framed in international policy circles through the lens of a 'just transition.' However, the lived reality of those residing in extraction-dependent regions, such as Central Appalachia, often diverges sharply from this optimistic discourse. This study employs a Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology to explore how residents of former coal-mining communities in southern West Virginia interpret, resist, and reshape the rhetoric of the green transition. Collaborating with local community organizers and former miners over an eighteen-month period, we document how top-down ecological discourses frequently clash with localized cultural identities, historical experiences of economic exploitation, and deep-seated generational ties to the land. Our findings reveal that standard 'just transition' frameworks are widely perceived as paternalistic and alienating, often ignoring the cultural heritage bound up with coal mining. Conversely, through PAR-driven dialogue and collaborative asset-mapping, community members articulated alternative, localized visions of transition rooted in agrarian self-reliance, labor heritage preservation, and community-owned cooperative infrastructure. We argue that for ecological transitions to be truly 'just,' policy frameworks must move beyond technocratic economic replacement models to actively engage with the cultural narratives, collective traumas, and localized knowledge of the affected populations.
