From the Editorial Board. When it comes to approving natural gas pipelines, North Carolina’s environmental regulators apparently can’t keep their standards straight.
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.
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Natural Gas Plants — News & Observer
Letter to the Editor from Drew Shindell and Dale Evarts. It’s time for leaders across the country to stop the expansion of natural gas infrastructure.
Huge Battery Investments Drop Energy-Storage Costs Faster Than Expected, Threatening Natural Gas — Forbes
The global energy transition is happening faster than the models predicted, according to a report released today by the Rocky Mountain Institute, thanks to massive investments in the advanced-battery technology ecosystem.
A warning for NC on the climate cost of natural gas — Editorial
From the editorial boards of the News & Observer and Charlotte Observer. It sounded good a few years ago: natural gas, cleaner than coal and better for the environment. But now burning more natural gas is sounding like the wrong turn at the wrong time.
Hundreds of WUNC Radio Listeners Call for Attention to Climate Solutions, Fracked Gas and Duke Energy — News Release from NC WARN
More than 400 public radio supporters and listeners have called on WUNC Radio management to help the public better understand the causes and potential solutions to the accelerating climate crisis, and they expressed their concern that “WUNC may be downplaying the dangers of Duke Energy’s growing use of natural gas,” particularly in light of Duke’s prominent advertising on the station.
Duke scientist: Stop building natural gas infrastructure now — WRAL
A climate scientist at Duke University, in a letter backed by two dozen former officials at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, called Thursday for a halt to natural gas development in North Carolina.
Experts’ Letter Asks Gov. To Halt Construction Of New Gas Plants And Pipelines — WFAE
A Duke University climate scientist and 27 former federal environmental officials are calling on Gov. Roy Cooper to order a halt on building new gas pipelines and power plants in North Carolina.
Duke climatologist seeks a halt on gas-fired power plants, Atlantic Coast Pipeline — News & Observer
One of the world’s leading climate scientists said the state’s long-range clean energy plan doesn’t go far enough to curb a potent greenhouse gas. In a letter to Gov. Roy Cooper dated Thursday, Drew Shindell, Nicholas Professor of Earth Science at Duke University, takes aim at methane, a gas more efficient than carbon dioxide at holding heat.
Top Climate Expert Says Stop Utility Gas Expansions — News Release From NC WARN
Leading Climate-Methane Expert Calls for Halt to Expansion of Natural Gas for Electricity across the United States. NC governor, other U.S. leaders urged to issue moratorium on new pipelines, power plants by Duke Energy and other major utilities.
See articles by News & Observer, WRAL, WFAE
PacifiCorp’s transition to renewables and battery storage sets a new industry pace — IEEFA
PacifiCorp’s announcement last week that it will build thousands of megawatts of new wind, solar and battery storage capacity in its transition away from coal will reshape electricity markets across the West over the next 10 years. Its impact will be felt nationally, too, perhaps nowhere as much as in the Southeast.