Global Warming Task Force
         of Henderson County NC
     A nonpartisan and nonprofit organization working to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and pollution.

NASA Scientist Warns Carbon Dioxide Targets Too Low...
England ... One of the world's leading climate scientists warns today that the EU and its international partners must urgently rethink targets for cutting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere because of fears they have grossly underestimated the scale of the problem. Continued

Coal Destructive and Dirty ...
Citizen-Times, Mar. 28, Asheville ... Armed with behemoth earth-moving machines, bunker-busting explosives and other terrors of modern technology, surface mining operations exact a devastating, far too often deadly, toll on the people, communities and ecosystems in which they occur. Rapaciously transforming majestic forested mountain ranges into flattened, eerily lifeless moonscapes, mountaintop-removal coal mining in the Appalachian Mountains is by far the most egregious type of surface mining.  Continued

Southern Baptists Sign Global Warming Declaration ... A growing number of Southern Baptist leaders are signing onto a global warming declaration. They say their church's official stance is "too timid" and call for more action on climate change. Continued

Massive ice shelf collapsing off Antarctica
March 26, 2008 ..... Scientists are citing "rapid climate change in a fast-warming region of Antarctica" as the cause of an initial collapse of the Wilkins Ice Shelf. . . Continued

Coal Can't Fill World's Burning Appetite
With Supplies Short, Price Rise Surpasses Oil and U.S. Exporters Profit
Thursday, March 20, 2008 ...Long considered an abundant, reliable and relatively cheap source of energy, coal is suddenly in short supply and high demand worldwide....Continued

Environmentalists appeal permit for coal plant in Rutherford
Duke plant not clean enough, attorneys argue
T-N, Mar. 19 ... An environmental group plans to appeal a state air quality permit granting Duke Energy permission to build a coal-fired power generator in Rutherford County....Continued

Carbon Output Must Near Zero To Avert Danger, New Studies Say
Washington Post - Mar. 10, 2008 ...The task of cutting greenhouse gas emissions enough to avert a dangerous rise in global temperatures may be far more difficult than previous research suggested, say scientists who have just published studies indicating that it would require the world to cease carbon emissions altogether within a matter of decades.
.... Continued

Environmentalists look to derail new Rutherfordton coal-fired plant
CHARLOTTE (AP) — Duke Energy Corp.’s newest coal-fired power generator located in Rutherfordton county will pump 5 1/2 million tons of carbon dioxide into the North Carolina sky every year, outraging environmentalists worried about the threat of global warming.  Continued

Nanosolar Ships First Panels
San Jose CA ... This CA based manufacturer claims to have shipped the world’s first printed thin-film solar cell in a commercial panel. The company expects to be able to profitably sell solar panels at $.99/Watt. Continued

Ominous Arctic Melt Worries Experts
WASHINGTON (AP) - An already relentless melting of the Arctic greatly accelerated this summer, a warning sign that some scientists worry could mean global warming has passed an ominous tipping point. One even speculated that summer sea ice would be gone in five years.  Continued

Interfaith Environmental Gathering Creates Climate of Sharing
How many people of faith does it take to change the environment? As many as are willing to believe they can make a difference. In this day and age members of different faiths are working together to foster sustainability and address global warming. Continued

Climate Talks Take on Added Urgency After Report
JAKARTA, Indonesia, Dec. 2 — Thousands of government officials, industry lobbyists, environmental campaigners and observers are arriving on the Indonesian island of Bali for two weeks of talks starting Monday that are aimed at breathing new life into the troubled 15-year-old global climate treaty.  

Fall Season Cancelled by Global Warming
Washington DC ... “Fall, the long-running series of shorter days and cooler nights, was canceled earlier this week after nearly 3 billion seasons on Earth, sources reported Tuesday....  Continued

Mayors Sign On
Seattle ... "We've created 700 laboratories across the country where we are trying to find answers to this global problem," Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels told the audience, referring to the more than 700 mayors who have promised that their cities will comply with Kyoto.... Continued

'Unexpected growth' in CO2 found
Inefficient use of fossil fuels has been singled out. Carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere have risen 35% faster than expected since 2000, says a study. International scientists found that inefficiency in the use ... Continued

Critics of Gore Rebuked
Shortly after Vice President Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on global warming, an article appeared about a recently concluded court case in Britain that questioned some of the facts in his movie, "An Inconvenient Truth."  Gore's spokeswoman, Kalee Kreider, responded to the criticisms of the British judge. Kreider also serves as Gore's environmental adviser. You will find this a very revealing refutation of the tactics used by those who seek to discredit the environmental movement.  Click Here to Read

Clean Cities Program Saves
375 Million Gallons Of Gas In 2006
October 18 ... Clean Cities coalitions around the nation saved the equivalent of 375 million gallons of gasoline in 2006 -- 50 percent more than the 250 million gallons in 2005 -- by transforming government and private vehicle fleets into more energy efficient, cleaner burning forms of transportation.

According to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, if current progress continues, Clean Cities coalitions will be on track to reach 3.2 billion gallons of gasoline saved in 2020 .... Continued

The Age Of Warming

Free Educational Workshop Oct. 16, Oct. 17
Reducing Energy Expenses in Public Buildings, Commercial Facilities and Homes
As thermometers drop and energy prices climb this fall, public agencies and local residents can learn no- and low-cost ways to save on energy bills by attending the free educational workshops "Reducing Energy Expenses in Public Buildings, Commercial Facilities and Homes," sponsored by the State Energy Office (SEO) of the N.C. Department of Administration and the E-Conservation Program of North Carolina Cooperative Extension.

Public agency operations and facilities staff will benefit from attending the morning or evening sessions, and local businesses and nonprofit organizations are invited to attend these workshops as well. Homeowners and renters are encouraged to attend the residentially-focused workshops which will be held in the evenings.

Learn how to implement energy-saving measures in your home and/or business. Discover energy-saving tips and information on assistance offered by the E-Conservation Program, the SEO and its partners.

Registration for the program is required. Contact your local Co-Op Extension office to register.

Henderson County:  Oct. 16 6:30 p.m. (residential) ------- Oct. 17 9:00 a.m. (public agencies and businesses)

KING COAL -- What It Costs Us

Sunday, August 26, 2007...Underground coal miners work in the darkness, invisible to most of us, and when they die -- also in the darkness, from methane explosions or rock falls or any of the hundreds of other hazards they face every day -- their deaths usually merit just a few paragraphs in the local newspaper.

Burning coal accounts for more than one-third of U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas. In a single year, a big coal plant emits as much carbon dioxide as 1 million SUVs. Coal plants that are built today emit just as much CO2 as those that were built 50 years ago (there have been some marginal gains in efficiency, but not many)...Continued

NASA Study - Global Warming More Severe Storms
WASHINGTON (AP) -- As the world warms, the United States will face more severe thunderstorms with deadly lightning, damaging hail and the potential for tornadoes, a trailblazing study by NASA scientists suggests.
Continued...

NOAA Blames Hot Year on Greenhouse Gases
by RANDOLPH E. SCHMID AP Science Writer Aug. 29, WASHINGTON (AP) -- "We have met the enemy, and he is us," the comic-strip character Pogo said decades ago. A new analysis of last year's near-record temperatures in the United States suggests he was right....Warming caused by human activity was the biggest factor in the high temperatures recorded in 2006, according to a report by researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  Continued...

60 Minutes Goes To The Bottom Of The World
And To The Top of A Glacier
To See The Fastest Warming Place On Earth  ... Continued

Environmentalists Win White House Suit
Wed., Aug. 22, Associated Press (published in Hendersonville Times-News ... A federal judge ordered the Bush administration to issue two scientific reports on global warming ....U.S. District Court Judge Saundra Armstrong ruled Tuesday that the Bush administration had violated a 1990 law when it failed to meet deadlines for an updated U.S. climate change research plan and impact assessment ... Continued...

Is This The Greatest Invention of the Century?

Gaseous Moose Generates 2,100 kilos of Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Aug. 21, Norway ... This is not a joke!  A scientific study in Norway has demonstrated that a grown moose will burp and pass so much methane gas in the course of a year that it amounts to 2,100 kilos of carbon dioxide emissions. Continued...

Bad air raises heart risks in young adults: study
Aug. 15, HONG KONG (Reuters) - Bad air can trigger in young, healthy adults a string of adverse biological changes that are linked to cardiovascular disease, a Taiwan study has shown.  Continued...

Hot weather caused Greenleaf Corp. explosion
Hendersonville Times-News, Aug. 15 ... Henderson County Fire Marshals have determined the hot weather caused hexane fumes to ignited causing an explosion at an East Flat Rock manufacturer last week... Continued...

The Fog Around Global Warming
August 9, 2007 - Ever wonder how some people can still deny global warming? It continues to shock me that deniers still refute climate change, even though most of the scientific community has made it clear that it's real and it's happening. Continued...

Extreme weather plague . . .
UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Extreme weather has plagued the globe this year, a U.N. agency says, causing some of the highest temperatures on record. The World Meteorological Organization said "global land surface temperatures for January and April will likely be ranked as the warmest since records began in 1880," . . . Continued CNN

Power plays
The legislature should not sign off on a new state energy policy without giving the pending compromise a further close look ... Continued in Charlotte News Observer
 

Group asks city to help fight climate change
July 14 Hendersonville -- The Henderson County Global Warming Task Force wants Hendersonville to join a nationwide effort to tackle climate change on the local level. The grassroots group has presented the city more than 160 petition signatures asking Mayor Greg Newman to sign the U.S. Conference of Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement. "We contribute to the global problem, so we have to contribute to the global solution," said Task Force member Eva Ritchey. ... Continued in Times News

Schwarzenegger says climate isn't political
July 14, 2007 MIAMI — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger brought his star power and California's vanguard environmental policies Friday to a climate conference, at which Florida joined the ranks of U.S. states and cities committed to fighting global warming... Continued in LA Times

Southern utilities, lawmakers resist call for renewable power
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Six of the nation's 10 largest sources of carbon dioxide emissions are coal-fired power plants in the heart of the South, clustered from Georgia to Texas. Yet year after year, when Congress tries to push utilities toward cleaner renewable energy, Southern lawmakers balk... Continued in Times News

County's Global Warming Task Force making strides
Leaders of the Henderson County Global Warming Task Force say
the young organization is showing surprising growth and activity... Continued in Times News

Carbon footprints key to climate change
London 3 June -- Scientific evidence suggests that unless we dramatically reduce our greenhouse
gas emissions we could face irreversibly damaging climate change. What does the term carbon
footprint mean and can it be measured? ... Continued in BBC News