Sun and Ice – and an ALERT:  Urge Mr. Rogers to walk his own talk.

The two recent news stories below point to the tremendous need for good decisions.  One is very encouraging, the other very disturbing.  Please read both, circulate them, and contact Duke CEO Jim Rogers as shown at the end.

1) SOLAR RISING:  Some power companies are moving ahead:  Florida Power & Light just announced it is investing $2.4 billion in major solar-energy projects, including a 300-megawatt solar-thermal operation.  The company also operates the world's largest solar-thermal field in the Mojave Desert.  (FP&L’s move is only one of many big advances in the solar industry)

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/business/epaper/2007/09/26/0926fplsolar.html

Note:  $2.4 billion is the same amount DUKE ENERGY proposes to spend building a pulverized coal plant at Cliffside, NC, which would spew 6 million tons of greenhouse gases each year.
 

2)  CHILLING NEWS ON ARCTIC ICE.  This new Univ. of Colorado report is getting little attention in the US media, but the NPR story below is strong. (Audio is approx. 4.3 minutes long).  This is as sobering as anything yet about global warming, with potentially enormous implications for weather patterns – long before the ice is entirely gone.  Imagine Earth without its air conditioner.  Excerpts from the transcript:

The permanent cap of sea ice in the Arctic shrank to a record low this summer. The sea ice measured 1.59 million square miles at its lowest point. If you compare that with the previous record low in 2005, the loss of ice is an area roughly the size of Texas and California combined.

[Author} … “But what we find is that the rate of loss is faster than any of [previous] projections. So we’re on this fast track of change. And some people have termed it that we’re on a death spiral at this point.

“…  But 2007 really sets an exclamation point on this. And I think it’s reasonable to think that we could lose that summer sea ice cover as early as the year 2030.”

FULL STORY:  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14599253&sc=emaf

(If you cannot access the NPR story, we can send you the full transcript.)

This study further confirms that trying to build big power plants – coal or nuclear – is wildly irresponsible.  We simply must – immediately – begin drastically cutting greenhouse emissions.  We know how to do it via energy efficiency and renewables.  Duke Energy and Progress Energy MUST STOP BLOCKING THE WAY!

3)  Tell Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers to stop plans for more dirty coal at Cliffside!  While he TALKS about climate protection, other utilities are WALKING HIS TALK. 

CONTACT INFO:  Duke Energy, PO Box 1090, Charlotte, NC 28201-1090

ContactUs@duke-energy.com