The Durham Community Land Trustees has been hip to the sun for about a decade now. But solar photovoltaic panels have always been too expensive. Last year, NC WARN put up $20,000 and raised another $22,000 from solar enthusiasts to purchase and install solar panels on a DCLT property in Durham’s West End neighborhood.
The most important mystery about U.S. climate change policy — The Washington Post
Environmentalists have charged for some time that the fracking boom — the rise in unconventional natural gas that is the key driver of all of this — has a dark underbelly. Natural gas’s principal component is methane, which is also a greenhouse gas. And if it gets to the atmosphere unburned, it has a much larger warming effect than carbon dioxide does, over a period of about 10 years.
NOAA Warns Insurance Industry of 9-10 foot Sea Level Rise — Insurance Journal
Think sea level rise will be moderate and something we can all plan for? Think again. Sea levels could rise by much more than originally anticipated, and much faster, according to new data being collected by scientists studying the melting West Antarctic ice sheet – a massive sheet the size of Mexico.
NC WARN challenges the NC media on climate, Duke Energy & Duke’s Response– The News & Observer
The elephant in the room is Duke Energy, the nation’s largest carbon-polluting utility, based in Charlotte. Duke is driving carbon emissions higher at the worst possible time. By planning to build 15 fracking-gas power plants in the Carolinas and pipelines to supply them, Duke is crashing headlong into some cold, hard facts: Methane leakage is the nation’s leading greenhouse gas problem and fracking economics is increasingly risky.
NC WARN Challenges Atlantic Coast Fracking Gas Pipeline — News Release from NC WARN
Watchdog nonprofit NC WARN today petitioned federal regulators to accept us as a party in the legal case over a 524-mile gas pipeline proposed by Duke Energy and Dominion Power that would pump natural gas from West Virginia’s fracking fields to power plants in North Carolina. The project is part of a major shift to make gas “the backbone” of Duke Energy’s future, according to CEO Lynn Good.
Church installs more solar while awaiting decision — News & Record
Regulators Rule Out 3rd Party Electricity Sales — WFAE
Utilities commission ignores public concerns about Duke’s Asheville gas-fired plant — Winston-Salem Journal
In February, Duke Energy gave notice to the N.C. Utilities Commission that it planned to build a gas-fired power plant at the current Asheville coal power plant site. Four months later, the N.C. General Assembly approved, and Gov. Pat McCrory signed, the innocuous-sounding Mountain Energy Act, sponsored by state Sen. Tom Apodaca (R-Henderson), which essentially greased the skids for a short, 45-day decision on Duke’s request. The normal time for such a decision is about 180 days, which is much better, considering the controversial nature of this request.