As the sky grew light on the morning of April 1, a half-dozen activists locked themselves to the heavy earth-moving equipment parked at the Cliffside power plant construction site in Rutherford County. At least three Asheville residents joined others from across the state to protest Duke Energy’s recently permitted, 800-megawatt coal-fired facility. The 20 or […]
Tag: climate change
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The Green Scene
Asheville’s air quality “borderline” under new standard Every five years, the Environmental Protection Agency is required to take a hard look at its air-quality standards to verify that they’re strict enough to protect public health. During the latest assessment, announced March 12, the federal agency concluded that its restriction on ground-level ozone—the pollutant that causes […]
The Green Scene
Tracking N.C.‘s carbon footprint A new online database called Carbon Monitoring for Action could prove to be a powerful tool for activists who are pushing companies and policy-makers to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Available at no cost to users, the easy-to-navigate database displays information about how much carbon dioxide individual power plants, utilities and geographic regions […]
About that climate change business …
While environmentalists’ discussions tend revolve around how to avert catastrophic climate change, the business world is slowly starting hatch plans for adapting to the looming repercussions of an altered climate. Wired earth: On a tour of the National Climatic Data Center, staffer Carmella Watkins introduces “the magic planet,” an educational tool that creates a visual […]
The Green Scene
Black Mountain and Clyde are officially “cool” “Black Mountain is leading the way,” Tom Jensen proclaimed during a Sept. 4 ceremony at the Town Hall. Not wanting to sound insincere, he added, “I’m dead serious. … Folks out here have an amazing amount of vision and common sense.” “Does this mean I am officially a […]
Climate change culture clash
With chants of “Stop mountaintop removal, it kills!” and “No more coal!” some 40 protesters—some dressed as canaries and polar bears—swarmed around the Bank of America on Patton Avenue around 2 p.m. on Aug. 13. A handful of the young activists entered the bank, where they dumped coal on the floor and locked themselves together […]
Dog day afternoon
Like a bank officer turning down a loan, Doug Stachura sat behind his desk late last week in his office at Bank of America’s main local branch, at 68 Patton Ave., with arms crossed resolutely. His gaze, while not unfriendly, spoke volumes. With two acts of protest against the Charlotte-based bank’s financing of coal companies […]
Policing the protest
At 2:10 p.m. on Aug. 13, the Asheville Police Department received a call about the protest at Bank of America. Later in the afternoon, they announced the arrests of five protesters inside the bank on charges of trespassing, failure to disperse and resisting arrest. photo by Jon Elliston Sgt. Lizz Budd was the first to […]
Sticking their necks out
The day before the demonstration at Bank of America, the activists gathered at the Southeast Convergence for Climate Action were feeling stressed out. Despite the tranquil wooded surroundings at their camp near Brevard, the solar-powered van providing their electricity and the spicy rice and vegetables being served up for lunch, the air crackled with tension. […]
Major sea change predicted for N.C.
New economic study predicts massive changes in Carolina coast by 2080.