More than 20 citizen groups and statewide nonprofits told federal regulators late yesterday that the environmental review process for a proposed $5.6 billion fracked gas pipeline is incomplete, fatally flawed and that it unlawfully represents a moving target due to continuing, sweeping additions by Dominion and Duke Energy.
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, as revealed even more by recent science. Yet utilities and the gas industry are still 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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Duke University eyes biogas, not fossil fuels, for new power plant — Southeast Energy News
In the latest twist on the controversial power plant Duke University proposed last spring, an influential group of students, faculty and staff says it should be fueled from methane captured from hog waste, not natural gas.
House Bill 467 stinks — News & Observer
Think of waking up in the morning and stepping outside to get a breath of fresh air, but instead get hit with the stench of hog waste. This is life in Duplin County, which is not just where I live, it is my home.
Duke researchers warn of methane’s dangers, while the university presses for a new natural gas plant — NC Policy Watch
The scientists who work on climate issues at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University belong to an esteemed crowd. Their studies on the environmental, economic and public health perils of fracked natural gas have been featured in major peer-reviewed journals. Their findings on the role of methane leaks from natural gas in harming human health and driving climate change have earned the school scientific renown… And yet Duke University is proposing to build a $55 million, 21-megawatt natural gas plant on West Campus.
As neighbors complain of foul odors, NC lawmakers delay bill to protect hog farmers — News & Observer
North Carolina lawmakers put off voting Wednesday on a bill that would protect the state’s hog farmers from lawsuits filed by their neighbors over the odors and illnesses they say are caused by hog waste.
Activists want voice as Duke University considers campus power plant — News & Observer
Activists from two environmental groups faulted Duke University for not being more transparent in its handling of a proposal to build a gas-turbine power plant on campus. But at a forum Monday at Duke, representatives of the National Resources Defense Council and N.C. Waste Awareness and Reduction Network made clear they also want a seat at the table in the university’s in-house debate about whether to build the 21-megawatt facility in cooperation with the state’s primary electric company, Duke Energy.
Proposed power plant for Duke campus already generating heat — WRAL
Opponents of a power plant that has been proposed for Duke University’s campus say it is unneeded and would expand the use of natural gas obtained through the controversial process of “fracking.” Duke agreed last year to allow Duke Energy to build the 21-megawatt combined heat and power plant. A meeting for people to speak in favor of or against the $55 million plant took place Monday night and while the discussion remained peaceful, attendees made it very clear they felt the process was flawed from the beginning.
Flagrant Foul called by Duke University Neighbors due to Backroom Dealing over Duke Energy Fracked-gas Power Plant — News Advisory from NC WARN
Neighbors of Duke University plan to call a “flagrant foul” against the president of the basketball powerhouse at a Monday meeting that was quietly arranged just days ago by the administration. Durham residents are angry that university officials have blocked open debate about a Duke Energy proposal for a campus power plant that would burn fracked gas.
Outgoing Energy Regulator Urged his Agency to Improve its Review of Gas Pipelines — News Release from NC WARN
The showing of need made by the Commission should be based on more than the contracts between two parties who are, in the case of the proposed ACP, two of the owners of the pipeline. The impacts of fracking, and venting and leakage of methane throughout the natural gas infrastructure, should enter into every decision made by the Commission.
Ending fracking’s methane releases is crucial to averting a climate crisis — News & Observer
Op-Ed by Jim Warren. The fracking boom of recent years – which poisons air and water in thousands of communities and causes earthquakes – has also accelerated the climate crisis at the worst possible time. The good news is that scientists say reducing methane emissions can slow warming in the crucial short term, buying more time to replace fossil fuels with renewables and slowing deforestation.