// author archive

Mike

Mike has written 12 posts for NC Sierra Club blog

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

Cliffside, A History

Expansion avoids requirements set forth in the Clean Air Act. The 800-megawatt Cliffside Unit 6 will use outdated, inefficient toxic control measures that will see more mercury and hazardous air pollutants enter our state’s air.

Charlotte and Ozone

“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.”
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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 [...]

Duke Energy proposed rate increase

Reports in the Indy Weekly and the Charlotte Observer indicate that the public hearings on proposed rate increases are turning into referendums on the Cliffside power plant. The 13.5 percent rate increase under consideration by the North Carolina Utilities Commisision will help foot the construction bill for the 800-megawatt boiler – now nearly 50% completed and coming in at around $2.4 billion in public dollars.

Raleigh 2030 Comprehensive Plan launches

Raleigh’s City Council passed the 2030 Comprehensive Plan. Read about it at New Raleigh.

Microgrid = fast, flexible, secure; macrogrid not so much

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 [...]

OBX: now with clean beaches, healthy turtles

Joining San Francisco, North Carolina’s Outer Banks became only the second community in the US to ban “single use” plastic bags on Tuesday.

Old blog

You can find all of our older posts on blogger. We’ve just made the switch to Wordpress.

National Political Director in Chapel Hill

Cathy Duvall, Sierra Club’s National Political Director, spoke last night in Chapel Hill about the future of climate legislation on Capitol Hill and the role North Carolina might play in the vital debate.

How not to power your state

ther than Georgia, North Carolina uses more  coal from mountaintop removal than any other state. Approximately 30% of our state’s electricity comes from impoverished and environmentally devastated communities in southern Appalachia.
Representative Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) tried to remedy North Carolina’s dirty secret in the past legislative session, introducing the Appalachian Mountains Preservation Act, which gained 27 co-sponsors from both sides of the [...]

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