A new coalition of environmental groups called for a sea change Wednesday in how North Carolina does electricity: an end to Duke Energy’s monopoly. The group delivered letters to Gov. Roy Cooper and General Assembly leadership that said “the interests of utility monopolies no longer coincide with those of the state’s electric power customers.”
Methane, Fracked Gas & Climate
Methane (the main component in natural gas) is 100 times as bad for the climate as carbon dioxide over the short term. Less CO2 is emitted by natural gas than by coal when burned. But significant leakage of methane before burning makes gas a disaster for the climate, even as utilities and the gas industry are feverishly promoting fracked gas.
NC WARN is working hard to connect the dots between climate change, methane leakage and the fracking boom that is driven by demand from the electric power industry.
Learn more about our methane work here.
Watch a 3-minute video by Cornell University’s Dr. Robert Howarth describing why natural gas is a disastrous strategy for the climate. More videos, PowerPoints and documentation here.
“Everything You Need to Know About Methane”, a primer by Earthjustice.
Jump to a Subcategory
All News Categories
Dominion Vows To Cut Methane Emissions From Pipelines, Wells — WFAE
Methane that leaks from natural gas wells and pipelines or is vented during pipeline testing contributes to destruction of the ozone layer. Dominion Energy of Virginia says it will cut methane emissions from its natural gas system by about 25 percent over the next decade to help fight climate change.
NATURAL-GAS PIPELINE GETS A NEEDED SECOND LOOK — FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER
The pipeline’s sponsors correctly point out that when it’s burned, natural gas is one of the cleanest fossil fuels. What they don’t talk much about, however, is that natural gas — methane — has an enormous impact on the atmosphere when it’s released unburned.
MCCLATCHY QUOTES NC WARN ON METHANE — NEWS & OBSERVER
Cooper allowed permitting for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which would carry natural gas from West Virginia through Virginia and North Carolina. The pipeline has been delayed several times and mired in controversy, about its cost overruns, its environmental impacts and Cooper’s role in negotiating with its developer.
Critics to state regulators: Duke Energy must do much more to combat climate change — NC Policy Watch
Since Colson Combs was born just over 15 years ago, the planet Earth has recorded more than 10 of its hottest years on record. If humans have not dialed back greenhouse gas emissions by the time Combs reaches his late 20s, the world will likely be headed toward a climate crisis that will stalk him for his entire life.
The Vanishing Need for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline — Oil Change International
Oil Change International & Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis publish new report: The Vanishing Need for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline: Growing Risk That the Pipeline Will Not Be Able to Recover Costs From Ratepayers.
PUBLIC BADLY NEEDS CLARITY ON CLIMATE URGENCY AND OPTIONS IN 2019 — NEWS RELEASE FROM NC WARN
If another year passes without the public learning that the U.S. fracking boom is a key driver of the climate crisis – especially in the critical short term – humanity’s chances of averting runaway climate and social chaos could shrink to nil.
Timing of federal case could add $1B to Atlantic Coast Pipeline costs — Charlotte Business Journal
Two recent federal court rulings could delay construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline for up to a year and add as much as $1 billion more to costs already estimated at up to $7 billion.
Runaway warming nearly here — Fayetteville Observer
Op-Ed by Jim Warren. Good people, let’s don’t look back and lament that more of us didn’t demand that Duke Energy stop its climate-wrecking fracked-gas expansion.
Atlantic Coast Pipeline construction halts as court reviews 4 endangered species — News & Observer
Construction on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline could be delayed for months after a federal court in Richmond ordered the 600-mile interstate natural gas project to stop all work on Friday.