Enviornment 4-13-07

Environment North Carolina release a new report April 11, 2007, ranking North Carolina fourth in the nation for the largest increase in carbon dioxide emissions from 1990 to 2004, underscoring the state's need to develop policies encouraging the use of renewable energy sources. The report stated that carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants in North Carolina jumped 50 percent between 1990 and 2004. The report also found carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel consumption increased 36 percent during the same period. I have sponsored several bills in the NC House which will lead NC toward a more renewable energy policy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions: House Bills 77, 838, 1073, 1074, 1075, and 1179 (summarized in previous newsletters). Global climate change is real, it is here, and we must act.