We need a movement to combat climate change, we need it fast, and we need it to involve as many congregations as possible... But why should church people be at the forefront of this movement?... If you care about social justice, this is the biggest battle we've ever faced... If you care about the rest of God's creation, then get to work. God made (in whatever way) the creatures of the earth and of the sea; we're now engaged in a massive, rapid act of decreation... If you care about the future - about 10,000 generations yet unborn - then this is your cause... If you care about the selfish individualism that has come to define too much of our culture, then this is the chance to act.
Bill McKibben, a Methodist Sunday School teacher, is the author of The End of Nature and is a scholar in residence at Middlebury College. These excerpts are from “Meltdown”, an article in The Christian Century, February 20, 2007.
Faith in Action
While our senses and science tell us that we are witnessing the consequences of rapidly accelerating climate change across the globe, politicians in North Carolina, Washington, DC, and internationally are unwilling to face this reality with meaningful policy changes. All of us will be challenged to adapt to a hotter, less productive, less diverse and less ecologically stable earth. No one will be immune or exempt from this predicament.
Our work therefore becomes more urgent and meaningful. The need for the faith community to engage and lead is more important than ever. Our job, as committed people of faith, is to work within our congregations and wider community to encourage engagement in the political arena.
NC IPL will be working closely with national IPL to develop priorities, but it is clear from all analyses that we need a larger and stronger base of individuals to replace the culturally established dominance of our fossil fuel-based consumer culture with a more integrated, gentle and sustainable way of life. The values of the faith community are an important foundation of the change we need to become.
The 112th Congress is now in session, and we continue to see a frontal assault on the EPA and its ability to protect public health and the enviornment. We will be updating the Faith in Action page and will be sending out action alerts as new opportunities to influence policy arise.
In North Carolina, the General Assembly has finished its work for this year. Unfortunately, it has prevented any significant positive legislation that protects God's Creation from being passed. It has also managed to dismantle some of the regulatory powers of state agencies that have been in place and have protected our environment and public health for decades.
We at NC Interfaith Power & Light remain hopeful that the faith community can help lead humanity towards a more loving relationship with Creation. But this requires that faithful people remain actively engaged in political discourse with our elected officials.
Please visit our website regularly to learn more about our programs and to this Faith in Action section for our policy alerts. Our plates will be full of important opportunities.
North Carolina State Priorities:
Our health and general economic, environmental, and social well being depend on moving quickly away from a fossil fuel based energy economy.
North Carolina Needs Clean Energy Now
Personal conservation is the basis of our moral response to the devastating public health and environmental consequences of our addiction to cheap energy. But personal conservation alone, without public policy that supports and incentivizes energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) will not provide the necessary impetuous to bring the development of EE and RE to scale, and thus begin to reduce our CO2 emissions.
A Win for the public, but still waiting for N.C Utilities Commision's final rule on Duke Energy's proposed rate increases
Thanks to all who contacted the Utilities Commission, showed up at the Hearings, or testified in person.
Duke Energy had proposed new rate increases for all customers. If approved by the NC Utilities Commission, residential customers would be burdened with a 17% rate increase. For the average household, using 1000kwh of electricity per month, that translates into over $19 /month additional on the electric bill. Duke was asking for the rate increase at a time of astonding profitability. They were asking for their rate of return on investements to increase from 10.7% to 11.5%.
NCIPL believes that such a rate increase in times of economic decline and uncertainty place an unfair burden on the "least among us", the elderly, poor, those on fixed incomes, the underemployed and the unemployed. Such a rate increase that guarantees corporate profitability, even increases corporate profitability at the expense of struggling families is patently unjust.
After 6 public hearings, in which hundreds of ordinary citizens, business owners, representatives of county and city governments, school districts, technical colleges and social justice and environmental organizations, the Public Staff of the NC Utilities Commission agreed to a settlement with Duke. As reported in the Charlotte Business Journal "Duke gave significant concessions on the rate hike in North Carolina. The amount of new revenue to be raised from the rate increase will total about $310 million, down from the $638 million the company originally sought. But it also won an important concession. The Public Staff of the N.C. Utilities Commission had proposed holding Duke's return on equity to 9.25%. But the settlement calls for a return of 10.5%."
Robert Gruber, Director of the Public Staff, said that residential customers will be the big winners if the agreement is approved. Under the original proposal, they faced a 17.4% rate increase. That would have boosted an average monthly bill by more than $14 to $104. Under the new agreement, they face just a 7.2% increase, which will raise a monthly bill by about $8.
Bob Rodriquez, a long time member of our Steering Committee testified on behalf of NCIPL. You can read his testimony here.
Thank You for Taking Action - Duke and Progress Energy Merger
The proposed Duke Energy and Progress Energy merger was put on hold in early December, 2011. FERC (The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) said it cannot “unconditionally approve the merger until the applicants remedy the harmful effects on competition.” Duke and Progress quickly submitted new testimony addressing FERC’s concerns, but the agency again rejected the proposal.
Roger Colton, who testified for consumer groups at the NC Utilities Commission Hearing against the merger spoke about the consumer protections needed for any merger to proceed.
It may take months to resolve the issues, and new Hearings before the NC Utilities Commission may be required. Stay tuned!
Read more background about the merger below.
The combined company will be called Duke Energy, and will be the largest electric utility in the nation. The new company will be leaner (2000 or more Duke and Progress Energy employees will likely loose their jobs) and be able to save money on fuel costs because of the ability to purchase fuel in greater quantities at lower cost. The CEO's have also stated that the new company will be have greater financial capacity to build new nuclear reactors. There are no plans for the new company to promote significant improvements in reducing demand through energy efficiency or to engage in promoting more renewable energy as part of their mission.
The merger requires the approval of the North Carolina Utitlites Commission, and it is the duty of the Commission to regulate electric utilites in the interests of the public. Concretely, the Commission is required to choose the least cost option. In our view, the merger should uphold the strongest benefit to the public that is achievable. The Public Staff is an independent arm of the Commission whose job it is to intervene in behalf of the public interest. We believe that, by agreeing to the terms of the merger as proposed by Duke and Progress Energy, the Public Staff has not served the public welfare to the best of their ability. We believe that much more can be done to protect consumers, especially by having comphrehensive energy efficiency measures across all sectors of our economy that reduce consumption.
The poor and those on fixed income are especially vulenerable to increasing electricity rates, so that weatherization of their residences should be a top priority for regulators. The Public Staff has failed to consider making energy efficiency improvements and funding for low income energy efficiency part of the merger requirements. Please read our coalition's Fact Sheet and our Energy Efficiency First policy recommendations that we would like the Commission to stipulate as part of the merger agreement. You may wish to read the expert testimony of John Colton, who clearly outlined the reasons that the Commission should require Duke Energy to adopt a strong Energy Efficiency Portfolio and funding for low income households.
On Tuesday, September 20th, Susannah Tuttle, our Co-Director, testified at the Public Hearing before the Commission and Public Staff. You may wish to read Susannah's testimony, which beautifully captures our thinking. Bob Rodriques, a member of our Steering Committee also testified. Many of you called or sent emails to Edward Finely, the Chair of the NC Utilites Commissiion and Robert Gruber, Director of the Public Staff. We thank you for your commitment to faith in action.
Super CWIP
In 2012 Duke Energy and Progress Energy intend to introduce legislation that would allow them to raise utility rates on customers for construction of new power plants without going through the public rate review process through the NC Utilities Commission currently required by law. The utilities are considering beginning the process of building up to four new nuclear power plants in the territory of their North Carolina customers to meet projected increase in demand. The current estimated cost of a single new nuclear power plant is over $10 billion, and projected costs have been increasing yearly. The utilities have been unable to fund these expensive nuclear projects because banks are refusing to lend them money believing that such investments are too risky, as often these projects are delayed and cancelled. This proposed legislation would bypass the only remaining consumer protection barrier to having ratepayers assume all the risk of these expensive plants while protecting the utilities and their stockholders. The Governing Board of the NC Council of Churches has passed a Resolution opposing such legislation. You can learn more about this issue at our coalitions website, Consumers Against Rate Hikes.
Federal Priorities
EPA
Great News: The EPA issues final rules on Mercury and other air toxics from power plants.
The issuance of this rule is a milestone for the EPA in regulating the worst pollutants from fossil fuel generating power plants and other sources. The rules will protect the public's health, and will be especially beneficial to people who live close to coal burning facilities. Most experts agree that this is a really big deal. So we can expect more pushback from the energy companies and coal industry in 2012 which may come in the form of Congressional attempts to delay or modify the new rules.
The result of these rules is that coal ash from all power plants will be more toxic, as more harmful chemicals are scrubbed from coal burning smokestacks. This means that it is imperative that we continue to advocate for the strongest possible coal ash regulations throughout 2012, as the EPA has stated that the final rules would not be publiished until 2013. You can read more about coal ash below.
In 2012, the number one priority for the 112th Congress is to preserve the EPA's authority to regulate CO2 as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act. You can read a letter from over 2500 scientists from all 50 states asking our Legislators to preserve this authority. As the Congress failed to pass any comprehensive climate legislation in the last session, the EPA remains our best and last hope to reduce greenhouse gases in the next few years.
Many bills restricing the EPA from regulating toxics in our water and air have been passed or are being proposed by the House of representatives. Congress is using all mechanisms from direct legislation to budgetary tactics to stop the EPA from being an effective regulatory body.
One such bill is the TRAIN ACT (H.R. 2401), which recently passed the House of Representatives. This Bill would delay and even prevent the EPA from regulating toxics such as mercury, soot, smog, and dioxins. The NRDC estimates that if implemented, the result would be tens of thousands more deaths annualy in the U.S. The Bill would also prevent the EPA from implementing new vehicle fuel rules that President Obama requested in 2009. We hope this Bill is rejected in the Senate, but if not, we hope the President will veto the Bill.
We have expected President Obama to stand firmly being the EPA, but were disappointed in early September when he asked the EPA to delay in implementing the Ozone Rule. We, like others in the health and justice community believe that cost of this delayed action will be measured in lost lives and poorer health in vulnerable groups, especially children.
We will be sending more information and action alerts as needed to support the President when his veto may be needed to support the EPA in its efforts protect the public health and God's creation.
Tar Sands/Keystone XL Pipeline
Stay Tuned - Keystone XL may be cancelled.
It appears that the Keystone XL pipeline may be cancelled. In the end of year rush to leave Washington, the Senate and House of Representatives sent a Tax Bill to the President which he immediately signed. The bill included language that forces the President to make a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline within 60 days. The State Department has stated that it will not be able to make a thorough evaluation of Keystone within that time frame, which may effectively kill Keystone as now planned.
Tar Sands/Keystone Pipeline facts and history:
Tar sands, also called oil sands, consist of bitumen — flammable mixtures of hydrocarbons and other substances that are components of asphalt and tar — embedded in sand or clay. In the raw state, tar sands are fairly useless, and require substantial processing to produce the finished product known as syncrude. Tar sands are mined and processed to extract the oil-rich bitumen, which is then refined into oil The mining of tar sands is an extremely destructive and resource intensive process that emits three times the carbon of conventional oil and destroys entire landscapes. To read the full IPL policy and learn why tar sands mining is both an climate change disaster and environmental justice issue click here and scroll down to Tar Sands.
It is vitally import to keep tar sands oil in the ground. Over 1200 citizens, including many people of faith, were arrested in Washington DC over a two week period in late August and September. IPL members took part in the rally and are engaged in future planning.
Below are some interesting articles on tar sands:
Catholic Bishop on moral legitimacy of tar sands production
Tar Sands Invasion: How Dirty and Expensive Oil From Canada Threatens America's New Energy Economy
Climate Scientist Jim Hansen on Tar Sands
New York Times: Say No To Keystone XL
Coal Ash - for people of faith, strong coal ash regulation is an important public health and environmental justice issue.
Coal ash is a toxic mix of substances including heavy metals such as arsenic that cause cancer and other neurologic and immune disorders.
In 2008 and 2009, N.C. electric utilities dumped over 3.8 million tons of coal ash into open-air ponds. North Carolina currently has 13 coal ash disposal sites, more than any other state, and 12 of these are currently rated as high-hazard by the EPA. All thirteen coal ash ponds are leaking contaminants into groundwater.
As was reported in the Charlotte Observer, Charlotte-Mecklenburg officials have expressed concerns over arsenic and zinc entering the main water supply from one of Duke Energy's ash ponds. You may also remember the Kingston, Tennessee coal ash disaster on December 22, 2008. It was called the Exxon Valdez of the fossil fuel industry, the worst environmental disaster in the U.S. prior to the BP Gulf Oil disaster.
Coal ash is also being reused and recycled, finding its way into building materials, publicly-used land, and even farmland. This is happening in many of the poorest communities in North Carolina.
You can learn more by reading these articles, including the press release about EPA's blind spot, referencing Physicians for Social Responsibility, Earthjustice and the Environmental Integrity's damaging report on hexavalent chromium found recently in groundwater leaking from at least 3 coal ash ponds in North Carolina. This is the cancer causing form of chromium that Erin Brockovich found in a California town's drinking water:
- Coal Ash Jeopardizes N.C. Residents' Health
- Pressure Builds for Better Regulation of Coal Ash Dumps
- Coal's Toxic Sludge
NC IPL has already stepped up to the plate:
Richard Fireman, our Public Policy Director, and two Steering Committee members, plus several IPL members from Charlotte testified at the EPA Coal Ash Hearing in Charlotte. You can read Richard Fireman's testimony here. The Reverend Nancy Allison, Pastor at Holy Covenant United Church of Christ gave beautiful and moving testimony while an Elder at her church performed a powerful repentance ritual. You can read her testimony here. Steering Committee Penny Hooper also had a wonderful guest editorial printed in the Wilmington Star News which you can read here. We also have sent in over 140 postcards to the EPA.
Unfortunately, the EPA has delayed a final rule on its coal ash rules until 2013.
Mountaintop Removal
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Nationwide, North Carolina is second only to Georgia in its use of mountaintop removal (MTR) coal, with thirteen power plants that purchase and burn coal from mountaintop removal mine sites. Mountaintop removal coal mining is an extremely destructive form of strip mining found throughout Appalachia, with some mines as big as the island of Manhattan. Coalfield residents say that it tears apart communities, poisons water supplies, pollutes the air and water, destroys our nation’s natural heritage—all while aggravating and perpetuating the climate crisis.
On December 1, 2009, the North Carolina Council of Churches adopted a Resolution asking Governor Perdue and the N.C. General Assembly to work to pass legislation prohibiting our state's electric utilities from using coal sourced from MTR mining. You can read about the destructive effects of MTR mining on the earth and human communities and the Resolution here.
To read an article about NC IPL's Interfaith Tour of Mountaintop Removal, click here.
 HOW YOU CAN HELP |
Two websites will help you understand the gravity of the problem and link you to actions you can take to influence your legislators on the Federal and State levels. Also, more information on the Appalachian Mountains Protection Act, includes End Mountaintop Removal.
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