Duke Energy's Proposed Cliffside Power Plant will mean another 40 years of Coal Dependence for WNC
Parker Millar
Issue date: 6/21/08 Section: campus news
Duke Energy, one of the largest electric utilities providers in the nation, is also the third largest user of pulverized coal technology that does not allow for the control of carbon dioxide or mercury emissions.
After the release of films like Al Gore's "An Inconvienent Truth" seems to have woken the public up to the fact that we are responsible for the condition of our environment.
The term, "Carbon Footprint" seems to have become a buzzword for the green movement. For those of us who don't know, a "Carbon Footprint" refers to the amount of Carbon Dioxide that a person is responsible for generating.
In the interest of making people aware of their carbon footprint and it's affect on the environment, Radiohead have commissioned a report from Oxford based company, Best Foot Forward. The report showed that "Fan Travel and Consumption" was responsible for 97% of the carbon emissions created during the "Hail to the Thief" tour in 2003.
Radiohead have added a CO2 calculator to their website. The idea is that fans who plan on attending a Radiohead show during the "In Rainbows" tour can input their method of travel and where they are traveling from and figure out which method of travel will generate the smallest amount of CO2.
Apparently, driving a Honda Civic Hybrid from Cullowhee to Charlotte and back generates 38 kilograms of CO2. For those of us who aren't metrically inclined, 38 kg translates to about 84 pounds of carbon dioxide.
However, the real problem in tackling CO2 emissions doesn't lie completely with the consumer. Duke Energy plans to build a new 800 megawatt convention coal-fired power plant at Cliffside, NC (about 50 miles west of Charlotte).
According to Avram Friedman of the Canary Coalition the construction of this plant would, "commit Western North Carolina to at least forty years of coal dependence.
To give some perspective, Friedman says, "If every household in North Carolina changed a 60-watt incandescent light bulb to a compact fluorescent, the CO2 emissions from the proposed Cliffside plant would, within 16 days of operation, negate this entire effort."
After the release of films like Al Gore's "An Inconvienent Truth" seems to have woken the public up to the fact that we are responsible for the condition of our environment.
The term, "Carbon Footprint" seems to have become a buzzword for the green movement. For those of us who don't know, a "Carbon Footprint" refers to the amount of Carbon Dioxide that a person is responsible for generating.
In the interest of making people aware of their carbon footprint and it's affect on the environment, Radiohead have commissioned a report from Oxford based company, Best Foot Forward. The report showed that "Fan Travel and Consumption" was responsible for 97% of the carbon emissions created during the "Hail to the Thief" tour in 2003.
Radiohead have added a CO2 calculator to their website. The idea is that fans who plan on attending a Radiohead show during the "In Rainbows" tour can input their method of travel and where they are traveling from and figure out which method of travel will generate the smallest amount of CO2.
Apparently, driving a Honda Civic Hybrid from Cullowhee to Charlotte and back generates 38 kilograms of CO2. For those of us who aren't metrically inclined, 38 kg translates to about 84 pounds of carbon dioxide.
However, the real problem in tackling CO2 emissions doesn't lie completely with the consumer. Duke Energy plans to build a new 800 megawatt convention coal-fired power plant at Cliffside, NC (about 50 miles west of Charlotte).
According to Avram Friedman of the Canary Coalition the construction of this plant would, "commit Western North Carolina to at least forty years of coal dependence.
To give some perspective, Friedman says, "If every household in North Carolina changed a 60-watt incandescent light bulb to a compact fluorescent, the CO2 emissions from the proposed Cliffside plant would, within 16 days of operation, negate this entire effort."
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