Global Climate Change

As if we needed another facet to the global climate change and energy demand debates, we can now add the following: evidence is mounting that our insatiable consumption of petroleum has finally (and inevitably) brought us to the cusp of Peak Oil. More hard decisions are going to be required in the near future, and it is critical that we avoid succumbing to our natural inclination towards easy fixes.

This week, the Emerging Issues forum is taking a long, intense look at energy and the future of North Carolina with respect to climate change, greater energy efficiency and self-sufficiency and so on. While there is a lot of emphasis on green and alternatives, there's also going to be a heavy focus on the corporate sector including a panel with both Bill Johnson of Progress Energy and Jim Rodgers of Duke Energy and another panel on "converting Green to Green" with Jeff Immelt, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, General Electric Corporation.

Watch this. You will not be sorry.

Fellow North Carolinian James Hrynyshyn (pronounced James "H") has written an alarming piece about an alarming discovery. The Arctic summer sea ice was supposed to last until 2040, which gave us time to fix things, at least a little bit. Now, it looks like it will be gone by 2020.

I will leave it up to James to give you the whole story, but below the fold are a few puckering blockquotes. I'm off to Dick's Sporting Goods to buy a kayak and life vests.

We have a lot to thank the Env. Defense folks for persuading Duke Energy that NC is ready to NOT BE COAL DEPENDENT.

There are so many things going on, it will be hard to choose. If the weather holds then you should march downtown or to Polk Place for a march. Myself, I'll be volunteering at the John Edwards office on Saturday and on Daddy duty the rest of the weekend, as my wife has a term paper due. This is also a good weekend to hit the Carrboro farmer's market, so I'll put a link in there for that. Time to plant the tomatoes yet?

It is always a surprise when you begin to write one story and end up writing another, and that is the situation we have today.

Originally this was to be a story set in the future, but it turns out the future is now.

Here’s the deal: while watching the Super Bowl (love the mouse commercial!), I was considering the economic consequences of a flooded Miami, seeing as the ocean level is projected to rise over the next century, and Florida isn’t.

Specifically, I was thinking about what will happen to the economy of the state when you can no longer transfer real estate because the property is uninsurable.

In my mind, there would be a sort of tipping point where the State would have to look for outside assistance for their collapsing insurance situation, perhaps even seeking some sort of Federal bailout.

The N&O's editorial board has seen the light, calling on the NC Utilties Commission (NCUC to deny Duke's request to build two new coal fired power plants at their Cliffside operation). They also call on the Legislature to pick up the pace and work to find better solutions to the energy supply vs. global climate change conundrum.

The good news: Senator Charlie Albertson has already filed a Renewable Portfolio Standard bill. The bad news: legislators filed a RPS bill last session which didn't go anywhere, and the utilities are one of the strongtest forces in the Legislature.

Before the fight goes to the Legislature, stopping the Cliffside project must happen. Duke is calling on the NCUC to make a decision on Cliffside by February 28.

Below the fold for more on how to help...

If any of the meetings and conversations I've been privy to in the last three weeks hold water, 2007 will be an environmental crossroads for Tarheels. Duke Energy is pushing for new coal plants at Cliffside, the Legislature has formed a committee on Global Climate Change, the State Energy Office is still on the chopping block down on Jones St., I now I sit in the 5th meeting on the Climate Action Plan Advisory Group (CAPAG). Blogging live from RTP's EPA Building (which is amazing...take the virtual tour)!