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NC Outings Calendar

What's New for 2008 - Updated March 24th
We're Working on Updates to our Outings Calendar

NC Backpacker's Bookclub
Check out our reading list

Navigation 101: Map & Compass Primer
This document presents an introduction to backcountry navigation.

May 17
Wildflower Hike - Bluff Mountain
Join us as we explore the Nature Conservancy's preserve at Bluff Mountain to appreciate the spring flowers.

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Sign up for NC Sierra Club Lobby Day on Tuesday, June 24.

Combatting Coal in North Carolina - Cliffside

On May 6th, 2008, the Sierra Club - along with three other environmental groups - gave Duke Energy Carolinas notice that it is violating federal law by constructing a new coal unit at its Cliffside power plant. The notice warns that continuing construction could result in a lawsuit, since Duke Energy is not complying with Clean Air Act standards for mercury and other hazardous air pollutants.

On March 27th, 2008 the Sierra Club filed suit with the State of North Carolina, contending the air quality permit given to Duke Energy for the construction of an 800-Megawatt coal-plant at its Cliffside facility in Western North Carolina.

In both suits, the Sierra Club is represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center.

"Cliffside is a nationally significant coal fight," said Bruce Nilles, director of Sierra Club's National Coal Campaign. "Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers has gained national prominence with his repeated calls for action on global warming. But his green rhetoric doesn't match Duke's actions. The nation needs businesses and industry to take a leadership role in fighting global warming, but Cliffside shows that Duke is not yet ready to take on that role."

To see the press release on the notice given to Duke Energy Carolinas, click here. For the press release on the State of North Carolina suit, click here. To visit the NC Sierra Club page on Cliffside, click here.  

 

Footnotes Online

Volume 1, Issue 1 of Footnotes Online, the bimonthly email newsletter of the NC Sierra Club launched in March. With Footnotes Online, you can look forward to - among other things - legislative updates, current issues, volunteer and group highlights, news clips, and info on upcoming outings. Each issue will contain useful tidbits you might not have known about the chapter, our groups, or our activities.

Want to contribute? We encourage our groups and volunteers to submit content and info on current happenings around the state. And if you can't let go of paper, dont worry; the print version of Footnotes will still arrive in your mailbox twice a year.

Drought and North Carolina's Future

On Tuesday, March 25, the NC Sierra Club co-hosted the 2008 gubernatorial candidate forum: "The Future of Water in North Carolina." In the midst of an historic drought, and with the state's population expected to grow and keep growing, North Carolina could make changes to ensure adequate flows in rivers to support recreation, fish, wildlife and other aquatic species. If you'd like to hear the vision and policy proposals of candidates seeking to be North Carolina's governor, video of the forum is available at www.nicholas.duke.edu/candidatesforum.

Event Sponsors: Conservation Council of NC, NC Association of County Commissioners, NC Association of Realtors, NC Farm Bureau Federation, NC League of Municipalities, NC Rural Center, Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, and the NC Chapter of the Sierra Club.