In one of the strangest regulatory cases in state history, a 45-day rubber-stamp approval of a $1.1 billion gas-fired power plant in Asheville has been swamped by the subsequent 120-day battle over our right to appeal the pro-utility regulators’ ruling, a fight with no end in sight. Late yesterday NC WARN and The Climate Times filed an expert’s affidavit rebutting each point of Duke Energy’s recent call to escalate the appeal bond to $240 million.
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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130 Groups Seek Investigation of EPA Methane Scandal — News Release from NC WARN
NC WARN sent the Inspector General of the US EPA a statement signed by 130 diverse organizations calling for an investigation into our June 8 complaint that scientific fraud and cover-up by agency officials has already wasted crucial years in slowing the climate crisis and has enhanced hazards for gas facility workers and neighbors.
Temperature Record Shattered Again in May per NOAA
The combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for May 2016 was the highest for May in the 137-year period of record, at 0.87°C (1.57°F) above the 20th century average of 14.8°C (58.6°F), besting the previous record set in 2015 by 0.02°C (0.04°F). May 2016 marks the 13th consecutive month a monthly global temperature record has been broken—the longest such streak since global temperature records began in 1880.
NC WARN Letter to Duke Energy CEO on Methane Leakage
Erratic gizmo helps ignite methane controversy — ClimateWire
Key government reports were wrong about methane leaks’ severity, environmental group alleges — LA Times
Whistleblower: EPA Official Covered up Methane Leakage Problems across US Natural Gas Industry — News Release from NC WARN
NC WARN charged today that a high-ranking federal official connected to the fossil fuel industry committed scientific fraud and possibly criminal misconduct in a case with sweeping ramifications for global climate change and the safety of workers and neighbors of natural gas sites across much of the United States. Read coverage by the LA Times, Washington Post and other media outlets.
Appeals Court Deals Blow to Duke Energy and Regulators in Power Plant Fight — News Release from NC WARN
Late today the NC Court of Appeals dealt a rare blow to the state utilities commission and Duke Energy by reversing an order that would have blocked a court appeal of a controversial power plant in Asheville. The court agreed with NC WARN and The Climate Times, who argued that a $10 million bond set by the commission as a condition of appealing the plant approval was not based on evidence.