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The documented effects of a new coal boiler

The plant could have adverse effects on the air quality of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Shining Rock Wilderness Area, Linville Gorges and other so-called "Class 1" air sheds

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Richard Louv and the Out of Doors

Louv won’t be discussing classroom size or health care but he will be discussing something of critical importance - getting our children out of the house and into the great outdoors.

Asides

• “A lot of local governments were just trying to dodge the bullet,” said Molly Diggins, state director of the N.C. Sierra Club, about meeting the EPA rules. “They hoped conformity would go away.” ------------------- There's some recent converage in the Charlotte paper about the Queen City and ozone, mainly on the EPA's ozone rules and how Charlotte has massaged its planning numbers to get federal road monies. From a recent Charlotte editorial on ozone non-attainment: Why should anyone take seriously the Environmental Protection Agency's ozone rules if the rules let cities such as Charlotte use questionable projections in order to keep federal road money flowing? As the Observer's Steve Harrison reported Wednesday, local transportation planners, in following the complex EPA rules about transportation and emissions modeling, have over the years included projections that look just plain silly. #
• Raleigh's City Council passed the 2030 Comprehensive Plan. Read about it at New Raleigh. #
• Why the microgrid could be the answer to our energy crisis (Fast Company article). "It's a similar story in North Carolina. "Because of its rate structure, Duke Energy has acted as the greatest impediment in the state to the rapid adoption of energy efficiency and renewables," says Ivan Urlaub, the executive director of the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association, who has worked closely with the state utility commission and with Duke to draft policy. "They've explained to us that net metering puts them at higher risk of losing revenue. Jim Rogers, Duke Energy's CEO, told FAST COMPANY he's a fan of putting solar panels on his customers' homes and businesses -- he just thinks Duke should own them. "I believe at the end of the day, we'll be able to do it cheaper and better than everybody else." But Urlaub says, "We know that's not true," pointing out that Duke recently submitted a public bid for a utility-owned 20-megawatt rooftop-solar program and came in higher than several independent, nonutility solar companies." #
• You can find all of our older posts on blogger. We've just made the switch to Wordpress. #
• Been on a Sierra Club outing? Here's our statewide outings calendar. #