PENNSYLVANIA LANDOWNERS SHARE FRACKING EXPERIENCES
On Thursday, November 10, 7 PM at the Days Inn Of Southern Pines, the nonprofit organization Save Our Sandhills will host Carol French and Carolyn Knapp, dairy farmers from Bradford County, Pennsylvania, who have witnessed firsthand the effects of the gas extraction boom, known as fracking, and Hope Taylor, Executive Director of Clean Water for North Carolina (CWFNC).
As you may know, this natural gas boom that is sweeping across the United States may soon reach Lee County and northern Moore County. Geologists believe that there is a major sub-basin of natural gas that extends from Granville County above Durham southward through the Sanford area and into Moore County to the vicinity of Carthage. Some early estimates indicate that this area might yield as much as a 40-year supply of natural gas. Fracking of natural gas wells would take place in northern Moore County within the Triassic Deep River Basin/Sanford Sub-basin, and it could have great implications through all of Moore County. The Marcellus Shale gas deposits in Pennsylvania are different from those in our Triassic Deep River Basin/Sanford Sub-basin. Our gas deposits lie closer to the surface, have more faults, and may be less extensive.
We keep hearing that fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, has been around for decades. Therefore, why the big fuss now? Well, until recently, natural gas drilling consisted of “vertical” wells being drilled or fracked in order to retrieve the gas from porous rocks such as limestone and sandstone. Other gas in tight rock formations, such as shale, tight sand and coal beds, was uneconomical to extract until fracking with “horizontal” wells was conceived. This method of drilling involves injecting more than a million gallons of water and sand, as well as a toxic cocktail of chemicals under high pressure into the rock formation to release the gas. It has been estimated that over a 4-year period, up to 140 million gallons of water can be used by just one gas well.
Hope Taylor, Executive Director of CWFNC, will speak on the environmental and health impacts of hydraulic fracturing as well as current regulations and legislation in North Carolina. Following this, French and Knapp will talk about their firsthand experiences regarding fracking on their farms. Since 1999, Taylor has served as Executive Director of Durham-based CWFNC, a statewide science-based nonprofit that focuses on environmental health, drinking water and the impacts of energy production on water. Her background, which includes a Master of Science in Public Health degree in Environmental Science and Engineering from UNC-Chapel Hill, plus twenty years as a biomedical researcher at National Institutes of Health and Duke University, makes her an effective and knowledgeable advocate for the people and communities of North Carolina. In 2009, the EPA appointed Taylor to its National Drinking Water Advisory Council. In her spare time, Taylor is also a dairy goat farmer in the upper end of the Triassic Basin shale area. CWFNC promotes clean, safe ground and surface water and environments through organizing, education, advocacy and technical assistance.
Carol French and Carolyn Knapp are dairy farmers, one conventional and one organic, whose families had leased their farmland to gas companies for a small source of income for years. They had no expectation that gas development was imminent or that horizontal fracking would be developed and permitted in Pennsylvania. When Marcellus shale gas extraction with horizontal drilling began rapidly developing in 2007, many landowners were caught completely off guard. In 2010, French and Knapp founded Pennsylvania Landowners’ Group for Awareness and Solutions, an organization committed to educating farmers, landowners and the public about the consequences of rapid gas development. Both are familiar with the ‘good,’ the ‘bad,’ and the ‘ugly’ concerning gas extraction, as they live in Pennsylvania’s county that has been most impacted from rapid gas development. They presented a very powerful presentation at a Statewide Summit on Fracking Impacts in Pittsboro on September 10. Knowing that both sides of the issue need to be explored, they discuss the ‘good’ that can come from gas exploration: revenue for landowners from leasing agreements, jobs in the gas industry, business for restaurants, hotels and lawyers. And they raise awareness about the ‘bad’: questionable leases favoring gas companies, liens on property, mortgage conflicts, heavy truck traffic, social disintegration, loss of agricultural land, ground water contamination, increased community and farming costs, loss of tourism. They will also respond to industry messaging about the potential for shale gas to contribute to “energy independence” in the US, and to create sustainable jobs and other widespread economic benefits. Both suggest that we learn from other states by setting up support centers in our local communities.
Hear personal accounts from Carol French and Carolyn Knapp who are living with fracking on their lands on a daily basis. Their personal experiences can help us sort the good from the bad, and help us put guidelines in place to protect our communities if fracking is legalized as proposed in North Carolina. These guidelines can safeguard our air and water, our environment, and our way of life for future generations. We need to balance the promise of riches with the peril of drilling.
Join us for an informative presentation on Thursday November 10, 7 PM at the Days Inn Of Southern Pines, located at 650 US Highway 1 South (near the intersection of Morganton Road). Refreshments will be served. All are welcome.
Showing posts with label air quality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label air quality. Show all posts
4/01/2011
Development and Urban Sprawl, movie, April 28, Sou. Pines
SAVE OUR SANDHILLS WILL SHOW GRIPPING DOCUMENTARY ON
REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT AND SPRAWL
On April 28, Save Our Sandhills will show the breathtaking documentary The Unforeseen, which was produced by Terrence Malick and Robert Redford. This film questions what we – as members of communities around the country – are willing to sacrifice in the name of growth.
This 90-minute film depicts the transformation of thousand of acres of pristine hill country in Austin, Texas, into suburban development by an ambitious real estate developer. In the process, a nearby natural spring is threatened, community conflict ensues, land is devastated, and lives are ruined. The Unforeseen, beautifully crafted, explores in-depth all sides of this politically-charged situation, showing the effects of development and sprawl on landowners, developers, and members of the community.
This same struggle is playing out in cities and towns across the United States and, at this moment, it is playing out in Moore County, particularly in Area A, which is the fastest growing area in the county. Moore County has had – and continues to have – controversy surrounding projects known as Stonehill Pines, Dormie Club, Pine Forest, Pine Needles, and Tyler’s Ridge. The question this film poses, “What are we willing to give up in the name of growth?” is not rhetorical. It is based in a reality that we must ponder. What do we envision Moore County to become in the future? Will it resemble “Everywhere USA?” or will it continue to have the charm and ambiance that has brought people to visit and settle here for years?
Join us for an informative and provocative evening; refreshments will be served. We will meet Thursday, April 28 at 7 PM in the Southern Pines Civic Club at the corner of Ashe Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. All are welcome.
REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT AND SPRAWL
On April 28, Save Our Sandhills will show the breathtaking documentary The Unforeseen, which was produced by Terrence Malick and Robert Redford. This film questions what we – as members of communities around the country – are willing to sacrifice in the name of growth.
This 90-minute film depicts the transformation of thousand of acres of pristine hill country in Austin, Texas, into suburban development by an ambitious real estate developer. In the process, a nearby natural spring is threatened, community conflict ensues, land is devastated, and lives are ruined. The Unforeseen, beautifully crafted, explores in-depth all sides of this politically-charged situation, showing the effects of development and sprawl on landowners, developers, and members of the community.
This same struggle is playing out in cities and towns across the United States and, at this moment, it is playing out in Moore County, particularly in Area A, which is the fastest growing area in the county. Moore County has had – and continues to have – controversy surrounding projects known as Stonehill Pines, Dormie Club, Pine Forest, Pine Needles, and Tyler’s Ridge. The question this film poses, “What are we willing to give up in the name of growth?” is not rhetorical. It is based in a reality that we must ponder. What do we envision Moore County to become in the future? Will it resemble “Everywhere USA?” or will it continue to have the charm and ambiance that has brought people to visit and settle here for years?
Join us for an informative and provocative evening; refreshments will be served. We will meet Thursday, April 28 at 7 PM in the Southern Pines Civic Club at the corner of Ashe Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. All are welcome.
3/28/2011
Legislative Update, NC League of Conservations Voters
Legislative Watch: Dismembering DENR; Turning Off the Green Lights; Hot Rail
Outrageous attacks on past environmental gains continue in the General Assembly.
Dismembering DENR: The N.C. Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is our state's primary executive agency for implementing state laws and programs managing natural resources, and protecting clean air and water and public health. As such, it is the natural lightning rod for those politicians who do not believe in supporting any of those missions. That opposition is now manifesting itself in the open hostility of bills which would cut away key sub-parts of DENR and send them to other agencies. Last week saw the filing of SB 388, "Transfer Forestry & Forestry Council to DACS", joining the previously filed SB 229, "Transfer DENR Soil & Water to DACS". These bills would remove the forestry management and soil erosion control agencies from DENR and send them to the state Agriculture department, which is run by the independently elected Agriculture Commissioner instead of the governor. (The Ag department has traditionally been regarded as more firmly controlled by the agribusiness lobby and hostile to most environmental regulations.) Other proposals would cut away still other offices from DENR and send them to Commerce or the Wildlife Resources Commission. Commenting on these moves, Rep. Joe Hackney (D-Chatham) told the Raleigh News & Observer, "What I perceive is a generalized attack on all parts of DENR. There are some people who want to dismantle it and reduce it to little or nothing. There are others who want to neuter its regulatory side, which the public will not like. The public places a high value on clean water and clean air."
Turning Off the Green Lights: Meanwhile, the opponents of expanding North Carolina's use of renewable energy sources in the generation of electricity are weighing in through HB 431, "Repeal Senate Bill 3 of the 2007 Session". SB 3 (2007) contained both good (i.e., REPS) and bad (i.e., CWIP financing) provisions, but it's on some groups' hit parade today because of its good points: It directs that electric utilities produce a minimum percentage of their electricity from renewable energy resources. Anti-environmental policy groups like the John Locke Foundation have an abiding disdain for green energy, and continue to wail that the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (REPS) will raise electric rates (without contributing to their friends in the oil and nuclear industries). It's uncertain how far HB 431 will progress, since even the power companies now support the 2007 SB 3 as adopted, and have entered into a number of power-purchase contracts from renewable energy sources as a result.
Hot Rail: Rail has become the energy-efficient transportation system that anti-environmentalists love to hate. Incredibly, a Mecklenburg County legislator (Rep. Ric Killian, R-Mecklenburg) has filed a bill (HB 422, "No High-Speed Rail Money from Federal Gov't.") which would turn back a federal grant which includes $152 million now slated to improve rail safety and efficiency in his home county. That's how much of the total grant of $461 million in high-speed rail-enabling track and intersection improvements is targeted for improvements in Mecklenburg. The rest would go to improving track and addressing rail/street intersection problems across the Piedmont between Charlotte and Raleigh. The excuse for this anti-rail money madness is that high-speed rail would cost tax money to maintain on an ongoing basis. However, does anyone wish to bet that Rep. Killian would be...ahem...tarred & feathered & ridden out of town on a rail...by his constituents if he introduced legislation to turn down Charlotte beltway funds on similar grounds? The hypocrisy involved is staggering. Twelve other Representatives (all Republicans) have signed on to this legislation, which would cost North Carolina up to an estimated 5,000 construction-related jobs at a time when the state's unemployment rate exceeds 9%. The bill is scheduled to be heard in the House Transportation Committee tomorrow (Tuesday, March 29) at noon.
Regulatory Watch: Speak Up for Public Health and a Clean Environment
Two weeks ago CIB advised our readers of a series of so-called "regulatory reform" hearings planned as a means of generating support for stripping clean air and water protections off the rulebooks in North Carolina. Those hearings kicked off last week, and they continue this afternoon in Guilford County.
The good news is that opponents of environmental quality have not had the public stage to themselves thus far. At the first hearing in Wilmington on March 11, supporters of environmental quality were also present in force and spoke eloquently. According to the Wilmington Star-News, area resident Laura Parks kicked off the public comments by reminding committee members, "When you seek to weed through these regulations, know that we also rely on regulations to protect us...We may not be a business, just operating the business of our homes."
Environmental allies cannot afford to rest, however. Several additional hearings are planned by the "Joint Regulatory Reform Committee", including one today (Monday, March 28) from 1 to 3 p.m., at the Jamestown campus of Guilford Technical Community College, 601 High Point Road, Jamestown NC. Speakers will have up to two minutes to address the committee. Sign-up to speak begins at 12:30 p.m. Those who cannot attend can send comments to the committee care of regreform@ncleg.net.
Supporters of protecting clean air and water and public health are being called upon to stand up at these hearings to defend the laws and programs which protect our health and environment. Time and place details for the remaining public hearings (April 4, Winterville; April 15, Flat Rock; and April 21, Raleigh) can be found here: http://www.ncleg.net/documentsites/committees/jointregreform/Joint%20Regulatory%20Reform%20Meeting%20Schedule.pdf.
According to U.S. PIRG (Public Interest Research Group), 108 million Americans live within 50 miles of one of the 104 operating commercial nuclear power plants in the United States. How many of them have received any information on emergency response or evacuation alternatives in the event of radiation releases similar to those taking place in Japan now?
Fears also continued to grow regarding the risk of further radiation leaks from spent fuel rods stored in pools outside the damaged reactors. In Japan as in the United States, tons of highly radioactive waste are stored in pools near but outside the reactor buildings. In the United States, almost 72,000 tons of these spent fuel rods are in temporary storage on plant sites, with more than three-quarters of the waste still very hot and sitting in water-filled pools for cooling. The amount of this intensely radioactive waste, which will remain toxic for tens of thousands of years, is currently growing in the U.S. at a rate of about 2,200 tons per year. When pools with the hot spent fuel are not kept filled with water, the residual heat of the rods can melt their casing and release highly dangerous radioactive isotopes to the environment. There is substantial concern that such releases already may have occurred in Japan.
Campaign Watch: Early Attacks Begin Against Environmental Ally
With the 2012 election year still nine months away, an automated telephone call attack campaign has already been launched against environmental ally U.S. Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC13). Miller's Congressional district is considered a likely target of redistricting efforts this year to reduce his support in 2012. In preparation for the expected campaign targeting Miller, the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee has initiated recorded calls to voters in the 13th District accusing Miller of supporting policies to raise gas prices. The calls implicitly refer to Miller's support for common-sense restrictions on offshore drilling. Miller responds that "according to the Bush Administration's Department of Energy, opening our entire continental shelf to oil drilling without regard to any environmental concern would not lower the price at the pump [for gasoline] at all. No amount of chanting 'drill, baby, drill' is going to change all that."
Education & Resources: Chances to Support Rail Transit
Finally this week, we note that residents of the Research Triangle region will have an opportunity to support development of its local, energy-efficient rail and bus transit system at four public workshops this week (March 28, 29, 30 and 31). For details on when, where, and how, see www.ourtransitfuture.com.
Outrageous attacks on past environmental gains continue in the General Assembly.
Dismembering DENR: The N.C. Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is our state's primary executive agency for implementing state laws and programs managing natural resources, and protecting clean air and water and public health. As such, it is the natural lightning rod for those politicians who do not believe in supporting any of those missions. That opposition is now manifesting itself in the open hostility of bills which would cut away key sub-parts of DENR and send them to other agencies. Last week saw the filing of SB 388, "Transfer Forestry & Forestry Council to DACS", joining the previously filed SB 229, "Transfer DENR Soil & Water to DACS". These bills would remove the forestry management and soil erosion control agencies from DENR and send them to the state Agriculture department, which is run by the independently elected Agriculture Commissioner instead of the governor. (The Ag department has traditionally been regarded as more firmly controlled by the agribusiness lobby and hostile to most environmental regulations.) Other proposals would cut away still other offices from DENR and send them to Commerce or the Wildlife Resources Commission. Commenting on these moves, Rep. Joe Hackney (D-Chatham) told the Raleigh News & Observer, "What I perceive is a generalized attack on all parts of DENR. There are some people who want to dismantle it and reduce it to little or nothing. There are others who want to neuter its regulatory side, which the public will not like. The public places a high value on clean water and clean air."
Turning Off the Green Lights: Meanwhile, the opponents of expanding North Carolina's use of renewable energy sources in the generation of electricity are weighing in through HB 431, "Repeal Senate Bill 3 of the 2007 Session". SB 3 (2007) contained both good (i.e., REPS) and bad (i.e., CWIP financing) provisions, but it's on some groups' hit parade today because of its good points: It directs that electric utilities produce a minimum percentage of their electricity from renewable energy resources. Anti-environmental policy groups like the John Locke Foundation have an abiding disdain for green energy, and continue to wail that the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (REPS) will raise electric rates (without contributing to their friends in the oil and nuclear industries). It's uncertain how far HB 431 will progress, since even the power companies now support the 2007 SB 3 as adopted, and have entered into a number of power-purchase contracts from renewable energy sources as a result.
Hot Rail: Rail has become the energy-efficient transportation system that anti-environmentalists love to hate. Incredibly, a Mecklenburg County legislator (Rep. Ric Killian, R-Mecklenburg) has filed a bill (HB 422, "No High-Speed Rail Money from Federal Gov't.") which would turn back a federal grant which includes $152 million now slated to improve rail safety and efficiency in his home county. That's how much of the total grant of $461 million in high-speed rail-enabling track and intersection improvements is targeted for improvements in Mecklenburg. The rest would go to improving track and addressing rail/street intersection problems across the Piedmont between Charlotte and Raleigh. The excuse for this anti-rail money madness is that high-speed rail would cost tax money to maintain on an ongoing basis. However, does anyone wish to bet that Rep. Killian would be...ahem...tarred & feathered & ridden out of town on a rail...by his constituents if he introduced legislation to turn down Charlotte beltway funds on similar grounds? The hypocrisy involved is staggering. Twelve other Representatives (all Republicans) have signed on to this legislation, which would cost North Carolina up to an estimated 5,000 construction-related jobs at a time when the state's unemployment rate exceeds 9%. The bill is scheduled to be heard in the House Transportation Committee tomorrow (Tuesday, March 29) at noon.
Regulatory Watch: Speak Up for Public Health and a Clean Environment
Two weeks ago CIB advised our readers of a series of so-called "regulatory reform" hearings planned as a means of generating support for stripping clean air and water protections off the rulebooks in North Carolina. Those hearings kicked off last week, and they continue this afternoon in Guilford County.
The good news is that opponents of environmental quality have not had the public stage to themselves thus far. At the first hearing in Wilmington on March 11, supporters of environmental quality were also present in force and spoke eloquently. According to the Wilmington Star-News, area resident Laura Parks kicked off the public comments by reminding committee members, "When you seek to weed through these regulations, know that we also rely on regulations to protect us...We may not be a business, just operating the business of our homes."
Environmental allies cannot afford to rest, however. Several additional hearings are planned by the "Joint Regulatory Reform Committee", including one today (Monday, March 28) from 1 to 3 p.m., at the Jamestown campus of Guilford Technical Community College, 601 High Point Road, Jamestown NC. Speakers will have up to two minutes to address the committee. Sign-up to speak begins at 12:30 p.m. Those who cannot attend can send comments to the committee care of regreform@ncleg.net.
Supporters of protecting clean air and water and public health are being called upon to stand up at these hearings to defend the laws and programs which protect our health and environment. Time and place details for the remaining public hearings (April 4, Winterville; April 15, Flat Rock; and April 21, Raleigh) can be found here: http://www.ncleg.net/documentsites/committees/jointregreform/Joint%20Regulatory%20Reform%20Meeting%20Schedule.pdf.
According to U.S. PIRG (Public Interest Research Group), 108 million Americans live within 50 miles of one of the 104 operating commercial nuclear power plants in the United States. How many of them have received any information on emergency response or evacuation alternatives in the event of radiation releases similar to those taking place in Japan now?
Fears also continued to grow regarding the risk of further radiation leaks from spent fuel rods stored in pools outside the damaged reactors. In Japan as in the United States, tons of highly radioactive waste are stored in pools near but outside the reactor buildings. In the United States, almost 72,000 tons of these spent fuel rods are in temporary storage on plant sites, with more than three-quarters of the waste still very hot and sitting in water-filled pools for cooling. The amount of this intensely radioactive waste, which will remain toxic for tens of thousands of years, is currently growing in the U.S. at a rate of about 2,200 tons per year. When pools with the hot spent fuel are not kept filled with water, the residual heat of the rods can melt their casing and release highly dangerous radioactive isotopes to the environment. There is substantial concern that such releases already may have occurred in Japan.
Campaign Watch: Early Attacks Begin Against Environmental Ally
With the 2012 election year still nine months away, an automated telephone call attack campaign has already been launched against environmental ally U.S. Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC13). Miller's Congressional district is considered a likely target of redistricting efforts this year to reduce his support in 2012. In preparation for the expected campaign targeting Miller, the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee has initiated recorded calls to voters in the 13th District accusing Miller of supporting policies to raise gas prices. The calls implicitly refer to Miller's support for common-sense restrictions on offshore drilling. Miller responds that "according to the Bush Administration's Department of Energy, opening our entire continental shelf to oil drilling without regard to any environmental concern would not lower the price at the pump [for gasoline] at all. No amount of chanting 'drill, baby, drill' is going to change all that."
Education & Resources: Chances to Support Rail Transit
Finally this week, we note that residents of the Research Triangle region will have an opportunity to support development of its local, energy-efficient rail and bus transit system at four public workshops this week (March 28, 29, 30 and 31). For details on when, where, and how, see www.ourtransitfuture.com.
11/04/2010
Important TED Talks: Prosperity Without Growth and KIVA.org
Friday, November 5th - Two TED Talks
Raven's Wing, 325 N Page St, SP
"Economics and Sustainability"
featuring the author of "Prosperity without Growth" and the founder of Kiva.org
Film starts at 7:00 pm Discussion to follow.
A suggested donation of $5 is greatly appreciated!
(Arrive around 6:15 for potluck between meditation and film.)
Raven's Wing, 325 N Page St, SP
"Economics and Sustainability"
featuring the author of "Prosperity without Growth" and the founder of Kiva.org
Film starts at 7:00 pm Discussion to follow.
A suggested donation of $5 is greatly appreciated!
(Arrive around 6:15 for potluck between meditation and film.)
9/19/2010
Must Watch Video re: Slow Food, Terra Madre Conference
http://www.slowfood.com/dossier2010/eng
And Sandhills Farm2Table reps will be there in October, very exciting! Let's help them when they bring those excellent ideas and motivations back home. Slow Food for all, sustainable farming methods for all, cleaner air and water for all, community-building for all! Congratulations to Jan and Fenton, buen viaje, Amigos!
And Sandhills Farm2Table reps will be there in October, very exciting! Let's help them when they bring those excellent ideas and motivations back home. Slow Food for all, sustainable farming methods for all, cleaner air and water for all, community-building for all! Congratulations to Jan and Fenton, buen viaje, Amigos!
4/03/2010
11/04/2009
PUD Proposal, Nov. 5, Carthage, 6 pm
The proposed Pine Forest Development covers around 1,799 acres of forested land between Pinehurst and West End. This tract contains the headwaters of Nick's Creek and is one of the last large expanses of undeveloped land remaining in the greater Pinehurst area.
It is located in Area A.
Tomorrow, Thursday, Nov. 5, 6 PM at the old courthouse in Carthage, the Moore County Planning Board will hear a proposal by the developer for rezoning the tract to PUD.
Of interest will be how the Board will see this proposal in view of the provisions in the Moore County Land Use Plan, which calls for the protection of the rural landscape.
It is located in Area A.
Tomorrow, Thursday, Nov. 5, 6 PM at the old courthouse in Carthage, the Moore County Planning Board will hear a proposal by the developer for rezoning the tract to PUD.
Of interest will be how the Board will see this proposal in view of the provisions in the Moore County Land Use Plan, which calls for the protection of the rural landscape.
10/15/2009
Sustainability Master Plan , Fayetteville
Sustainable Sandhills eBlast
October 14, 2009
www.sustainablesandhills.org · PO Box 144 · Fayetteville · NC 28302 · 910-484-9098
City of Fayetteville Sustainability Master Plan Adopted!
The City of Fayetteville’s Environmental Services Department, with help from their consultant Greenworks Partners and Sustainable Sandhills, engaged key citizens and stakeholders in creating a comprehensive and visionary Sustainability Master Plan to guide the City’s efforts over the coming years. The plan was adopted – UNANIMOUSLY – by the City Council on October 12, 2009!
The final and adopted Sustainability Master Plan can be downloaded from the city’s website. The Master Plan includes a set of seven Guiding Principles:
1. Promote national energy independence, reduce carbon emissions and contribute to a healthier environment.
2. Increase competitiveness and produce economic benefits.
3. Promote regional cooperation.
4. Preserve neighborhoods and maintain housing affordability.
5. Develop healthier communities and social equity.
6. Lead by example.
7. Utilize performance metrics and ensure accountability.
The Master Plan is organized into 4 sections, each with its own specific goals and a list of current efforts and future proposed efforts.
1. Environment and Natural Resources Air, climate, energy, water, solid waste
2. Planning Green buildings, land use & open space
3. Community Health, economic development, social equity, education
4. City Agencies (internal operations) City and Public Works Commission facilities & operations
The Master Plan will further the Greater Fayetteville Futures II vision of the Greater Fayetteville community becoming one of the top 10 places to live in the Southeast.
Congratulations to City staff (especially the City’s Environmental Services Department), Liz Burdock from Greenworks Partners, the residents and stakeholders whose input created the Master Plan, and to the City Council for adopting this plan.
October 14, 2009
www.sustainablesandhills.org · PO Box 144 · Fayetteville · NC 28302 · 910-484-9098
City of Fayetteville Sustainability Master Plan Adopted!
The City of Fayetteville’s Environmental Services Department, with help from their consultant Greenworks Partners and Sustainable Sandhills, engaged key citizens and stakeholders in creating a comprehensive and visionary Sustainability Master Plan to guide the City’s efforts over the coming years. The plan was adopted – UNANIMOUSLY – by the City Council on October 12, 2009!
The final and adopted Sustainability Master Plan can be downloaded from the city’s website. The Master Plan includes a set of seven Guiding Principles:
1. Promote national energy independence, reduce carbon emissions and contribute to a healthier environment.
2. Increase competitiveness and produce economic benefits.
3. Promote regional cooperation.
4. Preserve neighborhoods and maintain housing affordability.
5. Develop healthier communities and social equity.
6. Lead by example.
7. Utilize performance metrics and ensure accountability.
The Master Plan is organized into 4 sections, each with its own specific goals and a list of current efforts and future proposed efforts.
1. Environment and Natural Resources Air, climate, energy, water, solid waste
2. Planning Green buildings, land use & open space
3. Community Health, economic development, social equity, education
4. City Agencies (internal operations) City and Public Works Commission facilities & operations
The Master Plan will further the Greater Fayetteville Futures II vision of the Greater Fayetteville community becoming one of the top 10 places to live in the Southeast.
Congratulations to City staff (especially the City’s Environmental Services Department), Liz Burdock from Greenworks Partners, the residents and stakeholders whose input created the Master Plan, and to the City Council for adopting this plan.
8/21/2009
A Victory for Clean Energy
http://understory.ran.org/2009/08/11/judge-rules-dominions-wise-county-va-plant-air-permits-unlawful/
8/18/2009
Ratings on Airline Environmental Responsilbity
http://www.greenamericatoday.org/programs/responsibleshopper/industry/airlines.cfm
6/03/2009
1/26/2009
12/31/2008
12/19/2008
Climate Hangs on Coal
Climate outcome 'hangs on coal' *If the growth in CO2 emissions is to be constrained, the world cannot afford a coal renaissance, a major scientific meeting is told.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/science/nature/7789249.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/science/nature/7789249.stm
10/13/2008
Public Hearing, Air Pollution Deregulation, Oct. 28
NC Environmental Management Commission Public Hearing
October 28, 2008 7:00 PM
NC Division of Air Quality
Parker-Lincoln Building, Room AQ-526
2728 Capital Blvd.
Raleigh, NC 27604
AIR POLLUTION DEREGULATION: A GIANT STEP BACKWARD
We the people have a growing understanding of the dangers of deregulation—irresponsible, negligent deregulation. Now here comes the North Carolina Division of Air Quality with a proposal to deregulate more than 1,400 big air pollution sources. And they are using sleight-of-hand tricks to mask the harm.
On Tuesday October 28th in Raleigh the NC Environmental Management Commission will hear comments on this proposal to gut the health-based standards which have been in effect for decades. If adopted, the exemption would remove forever the requirement that industrial boilers limit air poisons at the property boundary. These boilers include coal-fired power plants, asphalt plants, paper mills and more. The poisons which these plants would never have to limit include arsenic, benzene, formaldehyde, hydrogen sulfide and more than a hundred others.
DAQ has added insult to potential injury by justifying the boiler exemption with a large human exposure study. The fatal flaw in the study is the use of an EPA computer model which measures inhalation only. For nearly twenty years the hardworking Science Advisory Board has conducted detailed analyses of air poisons to create the existing toxic air pollutant rules. The SAB sets specific limits for each toxin based on human exposure through every pollution pathway: water, soil and ingestion as well as inhalation. Toxic compounds deposited on soil, plants and water may be metabolized by microorganisms and ingested by fish, other animals and humans. Fat-soluble bio-accumulative substances concentrate in dairy products.
I repeat: the Human Exposure Model estimates risk from inhalation only. It cannot capture the health risks posed by, for example, formaldehyde, which is water soluble. The HEM under-reports the health impacts of dioxin—the world’s most dangerous poison. People living near smokestacks must be protected from the ingestion of dioxin.
The state’s study tells only a piece of the truth, the effect of which is a lie. The lie is that these industrial boilers are safe.
The question is obvious: why would anyone propose this exemption at all? The answer is also obvious: coal plants, asphalt plants, paper mills and others cannot now meet the pollution limits. We say if they can not meet these health-protective standards, the companies need to add pollution controls.
Moreover, the DAQ’s cost-benefit analysis which underlies the economic hardship loophole fails to take into account the costs to families of emergency room visits, missed work and school, health insurance, medicines and equipment, and chronic conditions.
We community organizers know that the people must lead. League members and concerned North Carolinians are going to Raleigh on October 28th to stand up for health-protective pollution limits and to say No to this dangerous deregulation.
Janet Marsh
Executive Director, Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League
BREDL@skybest.com
The NC DAQ is located at Exit 11 on I-440, the Raleigh Beltline.
Complete directions are posted at
http://daq.state.nc.us/motor/ms_grants/direct.shtml
October 28, 2008 7:00 PM
NC Division of Air Quality
Parker-Lincoln Building, Room AQ-526
2728 Capital Blvd.
Raleigh, NC 27604
AIR POLLUTION DEREGULATION: A GIANT STEP BACKWARD
We the people have a growing understanding of the dangers of deregulation—irresponsible, negligent deregulation. Now here comes the North Carolina Division of Air Quality with a proposal to deregulate more than 1,400 big air pollution sources. And they are using sleight-of-hand tricks to mask the harm.
On Tuesday October 28th in Raleigh the NC Environmental Management Commission will hear comments on this proposal to gut the health-based standards which have been in effect for decades. If adopted, the exemption would remove forever the requirement that industrial boilers limit air poisons at the property boundary. These boilers include coal-fired power plants, asphalt plants, paper mills and more. The poisons which these plants would never have to limit include arsenic, benzene, formaldehyde, hydrogen sulfide and more than a hundred others.
DAQ has added insult to potential injury by justifying the boiler exemption with a large human exposure study. The fatal flaw in the study is the use of an EPA computer model which measures inhalation only. For nearly twenty years the hardworking Science Advisory Board has conducted detailed analyses of air poisons to create the existing toxic air pollutant rules. The SAB sets specific limits for each toxin based on human exposure through every pollution pathway: water, soil and ingestion as well as inhalation. Toxic compounds deposited on soil, plants and water may be metabolized by microorganisms and ingested by fish, other animals and humans. Fat-soluble bio-accumulative substances concentrate in dairy products.
I repeat: the Human Exposure Model estimates risk from inhalation only. It cannot capture the health risks posed by, for example, formaldehyde, which is water soluble. The HEM under-reports the health impacts of dioxin—the world’s most dangerous poison. People living near smokestacks must be protected from the ingestion of dioxin.
The state’s study tells only a piece of the truth, the effect of which is a lie. The lie is that these industrial boilers are safe.
The question is obvious: why would anyone propose this exemption at all? The answer is also obvious: coal plants, asphalt plants, paper mills and others cannot now meet the pollution limits. We say if they can not meet these health-protective standards, the companies need to add pollution controls.
Moreover, the DAQ’s cost-benefit analysis which underlies the economic hardship loophole fails to take into account the costs to families of emergency room visits, missed work and school, health insurance, medicines and equipment, and chronic conditions.
We community organizers know that the people must lead. League members and concerned North Carolinians are going to Raleigh on October 28th to stand up for health-protective pollution limits and to say No to this dangerous deregulation.
Janet Marsh
Executive Director, Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League
BREDL@skybest.com
The NC DAQ is located at Exit 11 on I-440, the Raleigh Beltline.
Complete directions are posted at
http://daq.state.nc.us/motor/ms_grants/direct.shtml
8/19/2008
State of Emergency--Peru
[from Democracynow.org]
Peru Declares State of Emergency Following Indigenous Protests
Peru’s government has declared a state of emergency in three northern provinces following nine days of protests by indigenous groups in the Amazon basin. Members of sixty-five Indian tribes are protesting a law that would make it easier for communal land to be sold to developers. The protests began when the Indians blocked an important natural gas installation and oil pipeline. Peru’s Environment Minister Antonio Brack condemned the protests.
Antonio Brack: “The indigenous groups have occupied the Corral Quemado bridge, closed the marginal motorway and threatened to shut off the oil and gas pipelines in Camisea, and the Peruvian state can’t allow this to happen.”
But indigenous activists vowed to keep fighting to protect their land.
Indigenous activist: “We conserve the environment. We are not ignorant. We are prepared. We know that foreigners want to buy our Amazon lands, because they know they are the world’s lungs. We will not allow this. We will die fighting for our rights.”
Peru Declares State of Emergency Following Indigenous Protests
Peru’s government has declared a state of emergency in three northern provinces following nine days of protests by indigenous groups in the Amazon basin. Members of sixty-five Indian tribes are protesting a law that would make it easier for communal land to be sold to developers. The protests began when the Indians blocked an important natural gas installation and oil pipeline. Peru’s Environment Minister Antonio Brack condemned the protests.
Antonio Brack: “The indigenous groups have occupied the Corral Quemado bridge, closed the marginal motorway and threatened to shut off the oil and gas pipelines in Camisea, and the Peruvian state can’t allow this to happen.”
But indigenous activists vowed to keep fighting to protect their land.
Indigenous activist: “We conserve the environment. We are not ignorant. We are prepared. We know that foreigners want to buy our Amazon lands, because they know they are the world’s lungs. We will not allow this. We will die fighting for our rights.”
8/17/2007
Cutting Pollution
Beijing trials car reduction plan
Beijing begins a four-day trial of a car reduction scheme aimed at cutting the city's notorious pollution.
Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/6950738.stm
Beijing begins a four-day trial of a car reduction scheme aimed at cutting the city's notorious pollution.
Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/6950738.stm
4/22/2007
Environmental News to Use
Conservation Insider Bulletin
Published weekly for the Conservation Council of North Carolina
Conservation News to Peruse & Use
Editor: Dan Besse, earthvote@ccnccpac.org
April 20, 2007
The Navy's proposed landing field adjacent to Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge continued to lose altitude this week. We present that story and more environmental policy news in this week's CIB:
--Washington Watch: More Congressional Voices Add to No-OLF Chorus; EPA Finally Allowed to Act on Small-engine Pollution
--CoastWatch: Endangered Neuse; Nags Head Skeptics
--Administrative Watch: Duke Won't Appeal Half-a-Cliffside Order
Washington Watch: More Congressional Voices Add to No-OLF Chorus; EPA Finally Allowed to Act on Small-engine Pollution
More Congressional Voices Add to No-OLF Chorus: The big turnout in Charlotte against the OLF, including participation from traditionally conservative groups like the NRA and "property rights" organizations, seems to have knocked Elizabeth Dole off the fence. The day after hundreds of North Carolinians from western and central North Carolina turned out to the Navy's final public hearing on the OLF, Senator Dole publicly voiced her opposition to the Navy's "preferred" site adjacent to the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. Also speaking out against the site this week were other N.C. members of Congress, including Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC13), who called for the removal of funding for the OLF from this year's defense appropriations bill, pending a satisfactory resolution of the siting question. Both major Democratic candidates for governor in 2008 (Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue and State Treasurer Richard Moore) sent representatives to the hearing to oppose the proposed site as well.
EPA Finally Allowed to Act on Small-engine Pollution: It came after years of dispute, including being tied up by Congress at the behest of U.S. Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) (who was doing the bidding of his home-state small-engine-manufacturer, Briggs & Stratton Corp.). This week, the EPA finally issued proposed rules tightening pollution controls on small engines (less than 50 horsepower), primarily lawnmowers and outboard boat engines. (Studies show that in some areas those engines account for up to 10 percent of urban smog-forming emissions.) Environmental groups praised the rules as being needed and long overdue. Comments will be accepted on the rules through August 3.
CoastWatch: Endangered Neuse; Nags Head Skeptics
Endangered Neuse: The national conservation group American Rivers this week released its annual list of the top ten most endangered rivers in the United States, and once again one of our own has received this dubious honor. The Neuse River was included among these threatened waterways, making the list for the fourth time in the last 12 years. According to the group, the Neuse is threatened by sediment and stormwater runoff, excess nutrients, and massive hog waste operations. For more details, go to the Neuse River Foundation website at www.neuseriver.org or American Rivers' site at www.americanrivers.org.
Nags Head Skeptics: The voters of Nags Head went to the polls this week to say neigh...excuse us, nay...on a proposal to subsidize beach renourishment (i.e., sand pumping) in front of threatened private structures. The town's voters turned down a referendum to increase property taxes for five years to pay a $24 million share of a $32 million sand-pumping project. The measure lost both townwide and (narrowly) even within a special oceanfront/oceanside district which would allegedly benefit most from the project. It looks like even beachfront towns are starting to get tired of pouring their cash into the surf.
Administrative Watch: Duke Won't Appeal Half-a-Cliffside Order
This is a good news—bad news kind of item from an environmental standpoint. Duke Energy announced this week that it won't seek court review of the N.C. Utilities Commission's order which authorized it to move forward with plans to build just one of two proposed new coal-fired units at the Cliffside plant in Cleveland and Rutherford counties.
From a clean air and climate change standpoint, that's considered good news, in that it reduces the chance that two new coal plants will be built at that location. Tactically, it's also bad news to some degree for environmental groups fighting the plants, as an appeal by Duke would have taken months or years. If those groups want the Utilities Commission's approval of one unit reviewed by the courts, now they will have to bring the appeal.
Alternatively, they could wait for the N.C. Division of Air Quality (DAQ) to issue the plant's air emissions permit, and challenge it. Duke says it won't make a decision on whether to actually build the plant until it reviews costs further, after DAQ acts on the permit request.
Plant opponents say that the additional coal-fired plant is unnecessary, and that Duke should instead be required to submit a plan for energy efficiency investments—which will cut both costs to consumers and air pollution.
That's CIB's report for this week. Happy Earth Day!
Published weekly for the Conservation Council of North Carolina
Conservation News to Peruse & Use
Editor: Dan Besse, earthvote@ccnccpac.org
April 20, 2007
The Navy's proposed landing field adjacent to Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge continued to lose altitude this week. We present that story and more environmental policy news in this week's CIB:
--Washington Watch: More Congressional Voices Add to No-OLF Chorus; EPA Finally Allowed to Act on Small-engine Pollution
--CoastWatch: Endangered Neuse; Nags Head Skeptics
--Administrative Watch: Duke Won't Appeal Half-a-Cliffside Order
Washington Watch: More Congressional Voices Add to No-OLF Chorus; EPA Finally Allowed to Act on Small-engine Pollution
More Congressional Voices Add to No-OLF Chorus: The big turnout in Charlotte against the OLF, including participation from traditionally conservative groups like the NRA and "property rights" organizations, seems to have knocked Elizabeth Dole off the fence. The day after hundreds of North Carolinians from western and central North Carolina turned out to the Navy's final public hearing on the OLF, Senator Dole publicly voiced her opposition to the Navy's "preferred" site adjacent to the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. Also speaking out against the site this week were other N.C. members of Congress, including Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC13), who called for the removal of funding for the OLF from this year's defense appropriations bill, pending a satisfactory resolution of the siting question. Both major Democratic candidates for governor in 2008 (Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue and State Treasurer Richard Moore) sent representatives to the hearing to oppose the proposed site as well.
EPA Finally Allowed to Act on Small-engine Pollution: It came after years of dispute, including being tied up by Congress at the behest of U.S. Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) (who was doing the bidding of his home-state small-engine-manufacturer, Briggs & Stratton Corp.). This week, the EPA finally issued proposed rules tightening pollution controls on small engines (less than 50 horsepower), primarily lawnmowers and outboard boat engines. (Studies show that in some areas those engines account for up to 10 percent of urban smog-forming emissions.) Environmental groups praised the rules as being needed and long overdue. Comments will be accepted on the rules through August 3.
CoastWatch: Endangered Neuse; Nags Head Skeptics
Endangered Neuse: The national conservation group American Rivers this week released its annual list of the top ten most endangered rivers in the United States, and once again one of our own has received this dubious honor. The Neuse River was included among these threatened waterways, making the list for the fourth time in the last 12 years. According to the group, the Neuse is threatened by sediment and stormwater runoff, excess nutrients, and massive hog waste operations. For more details, go to the Neuse River Foundation website at www.neuseriver.org or American Rivers' site at www.americanrivers.org.
Nags Head Skeptics: The voters of Nags Head went to the polls this week to say neigh...excuse us, nay...on a proposal to subsidize beach renourishment (i.e., sand pumping) in front of threatened private structures. The town's voters turned down a referendum to increase property taxes for five years to pay a $24 million share of a $32 million sand-pumping project. The measure lost both townwide and (narrowly) even within a special oceanfront/oceanside district which would allegedly benefit most from the project. It looks like even beachfront towns are starting to get tired of pouring their cash into the surf.
Administrative Watch: Duke Won't Appeal Half-a-Cliffside Order
This is a good news—bad news kind of item from an environmental standpoint. Duke Energy announced this week that it won't seek court review of the N.C. Utilities Commission's order which authorized it to move forward with plans to build just one of two proposed new coal-fired units at the Cliffside plant in Cleveland and Rutherford counties.
From a clean air and climate change standpoint, that's considered good news, in that it reduces the chance that two new coal plants will be built at that location. Tactically, it's also bad news to some degree for environmental groups fighting the plants, as an appeal by Duke would have taken months or years. If those groups want the Utilities Commission's approval of one unit reviewed by the courts, now they will have to bring the appeal.
Alternatively, they could wait for the N.C. Division of Air Quality (DAQ) to issue the plant's air emissions permit, and challenge it. Duke says it won't make a decision on whether to actually build the plant until it reviews costs further, after DAQ acts on the permit request.
Plant opponents say that the additional coal-fired plant is unnecessary, and that Duke should instead be required to submit a plan for energy efficiency investments—which will cut both costs to consumers and air pollution.
That's CIB's report for this week. Happy Earth Day!
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