NCLCV delivers a message on fracking from 11,000 citizens, plus more news, this week in CIB.
Administrative Watch: NCLCV Delivers 11,000 Public Comments on Fracking Rules
NCLCV last week hand-delivered 11,000 public comments on fracking rules to the N.C. Mining and Energy Commission (MEC), which is considering rules to regulate the practice of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) for natural gas in our state.
In a door-to-door public education campaign over the past two months, NCLCV explained the fracking issue to citizens and collected their responses to the MEC. “Over ten thousand people have joined our call for stronger rules,” said Aiden Graham, NCLCV Field Director. “We call on the MEC to heed the cries of North Carolinians across this state.”
Speaking at a news conference where the delivery of the massive number of public comments was announced, N.C. Rep. Duane Hall of Wake County noted his continuing opposition to fracking, while pointing to the need for strong rules to govern any fracking operations which actually take place. Hall says, “The risks are real and the tasks before the MEC are serious and difficult ones.”
A full news release and photos of the news conference can be found here.
NCLCV continues to encourage concerned citizens to submit well-informed comments calling for stronger regulation of any fracking that takes place in our state, including stronger rules on permitting of fracking wells and enforcement of applicable pollution controls.
Today and tomorrow (September 29 & 30) are the last days to make public comments, which can be submitted via email.You can use NCLCV’s convenient link to submit comments here.
If you haven’t commented yet, don’t miss the chance to make your voice heard.
Climate Change Update: Climate Summit 2014
The United Nations sponsored the one-day Climate Summit 2014 in New York last week, staging a showcase for intergovernmental announcements of various climate-change initiatives. The purpose was to inspire momentum toward a new international climate agreement in 2015. The complete agenda for the summit can be found at the official U.N. site here.
Announcements included a suite of new scientific and technological tools, additional efforts to reduce deforestation, renewable energy initiatives, further CO2 emission reductions, and carbon pricing proposals. The Climate Post 9/25/14 edition summarizes the most noteworthy initiatives here.
Around the States: Lighting Los Angeles With Wind?
One wind energy project proposal announced in the United States last week contemplates development on a particularly ambitious scale. Four energy companies proposed an $8 billion multi-state project. It would create one of the nation’s largest wind farms in Wyoming, connect its output to a massive underground energy storage facility in Utah, and send the electricity to power over 2.5 million homes in Southern California.
The consortium backing the plan indicated that it would submit the proposal to the Southern California Public Power Authority by early 2015. It would become one of the proposals seeking Authority contracts. The Authority is under California law mandate to boost its use of green energy production. For more details, see here.
Conservationists: NC Bike Summit
Proponents of the expanded use of bicycle transportation will meet in Greensboro October 10-12 at the third annual NC Bike Summit. Topics include bike-sharing, bicycle tourism, and other biking planning and development concepts. The sponsoring organization is Bike Walk NC. N.C. Rep. Pricey Harrison will give the opening address. Full details can be found here.
Education & Resources: Follow the Money (Advanced Edition)
Who’s financing the legislators who represent you? Big Oil? Power companies? The coal industry?
Want to know what industries are supporting candidates for state offices in your district? The National Institute on Money in State Politics (NIMSP) has brought back its “My District” online research tool to help you find out. Go to its site, click on “My District”, type in your address, and get clearly sorted data on contributors to the campaigns of candidates vying to represent you.
Take this link to more information.
NIMSP bills itself as “the nation’s only free, nonpartisan, verifiable archive of contributions to political campaigns in all 50 states.”
That’s our report for this week.
