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Averting climate catastrophe

Posted on November 7, 2007 by Staff

 By Jim Warren

“Business-as-usual, if it continues for even another decade, will be disastrous …”
James Hansen, the nation’s foremost climate expert, is issuing this call for public action — before climate disruption becomes irreversible. On November 17 in Chapel Hill, Dr. Hansen will focus on the need for dramatic reductions in greenhouse gases. His top priorities include a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants such as the 800-megawatt unit Duke Energy wants to build near Charlotte; a turn toward energy efficiency; and the removal of corporate influence from what should be public decisions.

As director of NASA’s Goddard Institute, Hansen has courageously withstood White House efforts to muzzle him. He appeared on 60 Minutes because of his conviction that the public must hear from scientists about the gravity of climate change. There, he emphasized that, “The speed of the natural changes is now dwarfed by the changes humans are making to the atmosphere and the surface.”

To be clear: Global warming is already causing extensive damage at an accelerating rate.

New evidence adds to the imperative that North Carolina must take all possible actions to decrease greenhouse gas emissions. In September, researchers reported that Arctic sea ice shrank to a new low this summer — far worse than the previous 2005 record. This has enormous implications for weather patterns – which are already changing rapidly — long before the ice entirely disappears. The lead author wrote:

“[T]he rate of loss is faster than any of [previous] projections … And some people have termed it that we’re on a death spiral at this point. … [W]e could lose that summer sea ice cover as early as the year 2030.”

Hansen goes further regarding business as usual, warning of a planet “with worldwide, repeated coastal tragedies associated with storms and a continuously rising sea level. … Heavy rains and floods will increase. … Early stages of increased drought and fires are already beginning in the American West [and elsewhere, as seen this year].”

The potential for social and economic devastation is real — and not just a problem for our children.

Trying to build big power plants, coal or nuclear, is squandering the time and resources needed to slow global warming. North Carolina must cut greenhouse gas emissions rapidly, which is entirely feasible — despite projected population growth — via energy efficiency and proven, economical technologies for cogeneration and clean electricity generation.

The primary barriers to making this transition are the utility CEOs who apparently hope climate change will subside so they can continue business-as-usual — building large, lucrative power plants.

In contrast to Hansen’s commitment to advocating real solutions to this emergency, Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers is a would-be champion with a prodigious PR machine. He’s repeatedly been lauded on the national stage for touting climate protection and energy efficiency, even while trying to build the Cliffside plant — with no means to capture CO2 emissions. Moreover, Rogers insists Cliffside should be exempt from the very carbon regulations he’s gaining kudos for nationally.

Despite energy companies’ persistent campaign to muddy the issue, Americans are belatedly awakening to the severity of global warming. Increasingly, families and institutions are cutting emissions by becoming energy efficient in homes, buildings and transportation. But if Cliffside becomes a reality, its six million tons of annual CO2 emissions would negate much, if not all, of the carbon reduction efforts statewide.

So North Carolina is at a crucial decision point. A statewide alliance of public interest groups stopped one of Duke Energy’s new Cliffside plants and our campaign is working furiously to block the second before construction could begin late this year. We’ve exposed gigantic cost overruns (latest estimate, $2.4 billion) and are urging CEO Rogers to avoid continuing legal fights over mercury and other air pollution, rate impacts and the millions of gallons of water Cliffside uses
each day.

The public-interest community supports profitability for the utilities in efficiency and renewables. But it appears that both Duke and Progress Energy want to exploit those technologies to make exorbitant profits off limited programs, polish their corporate images and gain cover to build huge power plants.

As Hansen says, special interests have wounded our democracy, but we can make the needed changes if we assert public decision-making at this crucial time. In particular, we must counter the corporate control over politicians, the media and institutions that receive their targeted philanthropy.

We urge North Carolinians to contact CEO Rogers directly (see www.ncwarn.org). Call on him to cancel Cliffside and become the leader he purports to be — the one we desperately need.

Hear Hansen’s plan for cutting global warming pollution: November 17, 3 p.m. at the Friday Center. Admission is free but early reservation of seats is recommended. Call 416-5077 or visit www.ncwarn.org.

1 thought on “Averting climate catastrophe”

  1. Sol Shapiro says:
    November 8, 2007 at 11:50 am

    Ask Dr. Hansen if he believes that climate geo-engineering can stop global warming in short order. This process, in one implementation would emulate the cooling effect of a large volcanic eruption. Paul Crutzen, an Nobel prize winner, among others published a paper in the journal Climate Change in August 2006 recommending study. Ralph Cicerone, endorsed this study.
    The IPCC, the environmental community and much of the press does not want to discuss this with the public, to paraphrase a statement in a paper by an IPCC member, “lest they continue to pollute.”
    But if Hansen’s “tipping point” may be close, perhaps we need to look seriously at this interim solution – as well as continuing to work toward a change in the WORLD’s energy base.

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