Special commission examines global warming
Led by Rep. Joe Hackney and John Garrou, a special North Carolina commission has begun meeting to examine the problem of global warming in North Carolina.

Scientists predict that warming will cause sea levels to rise by as much as three feet on the Atlantic coast before the century’s end. Warmer seas will produce more severe tropical storms and hurricanes.

Environment North Carolina is calling on the members of the commission to pledge to reduce global warming pollution by 10 percent in the next 15 years. Shifting to clean, renewable sources of energy, such as wind, solar and farm-based fuels, and by making power plants, appliances and automobiles more efficient, the state can reduce carbon dioxide pollution and help boost the economy. Studies from the NC Climate Stewardship task force show that new, clean energy sources could create as many as 22,000 jobs in the state.

Public comment period on Jordan Lake plan
Officials will begin taking input from the public on a cleanup plan for the Triangle’s Jordan Lake in the coming months.

A favorite spot for fishing and swimming in the Triangle, Jordan Lake will be the first in the state to receive treatment afforded by the new Environment North Carolina-backed Clean Lakes Law. The clean-up plan officials developed for Jordan Lake will not only protect the lake; it will set the stage for how the rest of our lakes are protected and restored.

Environment North Carolina is calling on state officials to adopt a cleanup plan that includes protection of existing vegetative buffers to filter out pollutants as well as requirements for existing and future developments in the areas that drain into Jordan Lake.

A call for open space protection
Poorly planned, sprawling development is already eating up nearly 400 acres of forest and farmland every year across the state. Environment North Carolina research shows that farmland in the Triangle and in the rural western mountains will completely disappear if current development rates continue.

To slow the loss of open space in the state, lawmakers pledged six years ago to preserve 1 million acres. Since then, the state has made progress. Last year, they approved generous funding for the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, the state’s premier open space conservation program. But to keep the million-acre pledge, more funds are needed. That’s why Environment North Carolina and Land for Tomorrow are calling on legislators to dedicate the equivalent of two percent of the state’s budget for the next five years to land conservation.