Press release from the Canary Coalition:
At their meeting on Thursday, April 13, the Board of Commissioners of the Town of Sylva became the latest local government in North Carolina to pass the resolution being circulated by the NC Climate Solutions Coalition that includes The Canary Coalition, a local environmental organization based in Jackson County. The vote was unanimous.
The NC Climate Solutions resolution calls for a statewide commitment to achieve a 100% transformation from fossil fuels to renewable energy, such as solar and wind, by no later than the year 2050, in accordance with the worldwide scientific community’s virtual consensus of necessity for this schedule to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.
The Climate Solutions Project is a nationwide effort formulated by a team of American scientists led by Dr. Mark Jacobson of Stamford University. This group of scientists underwent a comprehensive nationwide research project to determine how each of the 50 states could meet 100% of its energy needs through the use of available solar, wind, geothermal, hydro-electric, or ocean-derived energy by mid-century.
The results of the North Carolina study indicate that a combination of offshore and onshore wind energy will provide an estimated 55% of all energy needs in this state. Solar electric and thermal systems will account for another 41.5%. Hydroelectric power will provide 2.7%. Ocean wave devices will produce .8%.
The average annual energy cost savings per person will be $131.
The study indicates that approximately 64,200 statewide permanent operational jobs will be created by this transformation. Another approximate 99,500 temporary construction jobs will be created during the process.
In addition, $19 Billion in healthcare costs will be avoided due to the elimination of air and water pollutants from the burning of fossil fuels.
The total energy, health and climate cost savings per person in 2050 will be $6623.
Only an estimated 0.56% of North Carolina’s total land mass will be needed to accommodate all solar, wind and other renewable power generating facilities.
Prior to Sylva, the Town of Boone and the Watauga County Commission passed the NC Climate Solutions Resolution. It is being introduced to municipalities and counties throughout the state and a vote is currently pending in many local governments.A statewide resolution has been introduced to the NC General Assembly in the 2017 session. It was filed as House Bill 401, with 16 legislative sponsors, currently assigned to the House Rules Committee.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.