Tag Archives: north carolina

North Carolina sea level rise accelerating

Posted on October 30, 2009 by | Comments Off

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 29 (UPI) — A U.S.-led team of scientists says the sea level rise along the North Carolina coast is accelerating.

The researchers, led by the University of Pennsylvania, found the 20th-century sea level rise to be three times higher than the rate of sea level rise occurring during the last 500 years. The scientists said the jump apparently occurred between 1879 and 1915 — a time of industrial change that may provide a direct link to human-induced climate change.

Scientists said they found the rate of relative sea level rise during the 20th century was 3 to 3.3 millimeters per year, which is higher than the usual rate of one millimeter per year. That acceleration, they said, appears consistent with other studies from the Atlantic coast, although the magnitude of the acceleration in North Carolina is larger than at sites farther north along the U.S. and Canadian Atlantic coast and may be indicative of a latitudinal trend related to Greenland ice sheet melting.

Researchers said understanding the timing and magnitude of the possible acceleration in the rate of relative sea level rise is critical for testing models of global climate change and for providing a context for 21st-century predictions.

The study appears in the journal Geology.

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National Geographics names Outer Banks as ‘drive of a lifetime’

Posted on September 2, 2009 by | Comments Off

The 114-mile drive cruises from Corolla to Ocracoke Village. Start at the northern end of Highway 12, literally where the pavement turns to sand at the Currituck Banks Estuarine Reserve. Follow it to Route 158, which is the bypass road for Highway 12 and travels through Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head. Rejoin Highway 12 at Whalebone Junction (the entrance to Cape Hatteras National Seashore), and stay on it all the way to Ocracoke Village, including the car ferry from Hatteras Village to Ocracoke Island. The route, mostly two-lane, runs straight and flat, linking communities of weathered beach houses, offering ocean views amid the dunes, and serving up extended vistas of the sound.

This drive is ideal in the shoulder months of Sept.–Oct. and April–June; summer months can see a lot of traffic; Nov.–March can be bleak and weather-challenged. For information, visit www.outerbanks.org.

Check out the other drives at National Geographic.

I’ve made 22 of the drives, some in the days when it was more challenging than scenic.

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Wind Turbine Study

Posted on August 25, 2009 by | Comments Off

At the request of the North Carolina General Assembly the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill conducted a 9-month study to assess the feasibility of installing wind turbines in the sounds and off the coast of North Carolina. The request specified that the assessment include an analysis of the spatial distributions of available wind power, ecological risks and synergies, use conflicts affecting site selection, foundation systems and their compatibility with sound and ocean bottom geology and associated geologic dynamics, electric transmission infrastructure, utility statutory and regulatory barriers, the legal context, carbon reduction potential, and economics. Discrete work components were addressed by a project team that drew upon expertise within the University as well as consultants.

SUMMARY

This study finds there is potential for utility-scale production of wind energy off the coast of North Carolina and possibly within eastern Pamlico Sound. A synthesis of the geological, ecological and use conflict components indicates that wind energy development in North Carolina and offshore waters is subject to a variety of spatially-varying constraints. Areas unfavorable for wind energy development are identified and are found to exclude most State waters with the exception of eastern Pamlico Sound. This study confirms that, because of a promising wind resource, large areas offshore of the North Carolina coastline are potentially well-suited for wind energy development and worthy of further investigation. A high-level review of utility transmission infrastructure in eastern North Carolina suggests some capacity to accommodate offshore generation but upgrades may be required; further study is needed. Existing State law presents significant legal and permitting barriers to development in State waters and should be revised and new federal regulatory processes deserve careful attention. Few regulatory incentives exist for wind energy; several options to improve incentives are discussed. A high-level economic screening suggests the levelized cost of generation for either inshore or offshore development is in the $101-106 per MWh range. Significant carbon emission reduction is anticipated as a result of a utility-scale generation facility assuming an offset of fossil fuel power. North Carolina is well positioned to develop utility scale wind energy production and it is the opinion of the project team that the State should pursue it aggressively.
Click on map below to see detailed Study

UNC Wind study

UNC Wind study

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National Resource Defense Council Reports on Water Quality on Local Beaches

Posted on August 4, 2009 by | Comments Off
Beach name Rating details
100 yrds ENE of Little Bridge, Causeway, Nags Head
100 yrds. offshore of 7517 S. Va. Dare Trail, Nags Head
100ft North of Jennett’s Pier
Beach at Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
Nags Head Bath House
AO- 5 miles SW of Ocracoke state ferry
Federal Campground- Ocracoke
Ocracoke- 1st public access SW of State Ferry

KEY: Water quality, 2008 | Water quality, last 3 years | Water quality testing frequency | Always issues advisories promptly | Posts closings/advisories online and at beach | Each star indicates that this beach met a specific standard in 2008

National Resources Defense Council is one of  the nation’s most effective environmental action organization. They  use law, science and the support of 1.2 million members and online activists to protect the planet’s wildlife and wild places and to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all living things.

NRDC used a five-star system to rate beaches across the country. NRDC evaluated 200 popular beaches, some with multiple segments that are monitored separately. In total, 344 beach water quality sampling points from these 200 beaches are rated. 

Water Quality, 2008

Of the water samples taken during the 2008 monitoring season, fewer than 5 percent exceeded the national health standard for bacteria.
These beaches rarely, if ever, violated the water quality standard. An adequately monitored beach whose water is consistently meeting the national standard is a smart choice for beachgoers looking for a safe and healthy swim. Some states have standards that are even more stringent than the national guidelines, so making sure that those standards are also being met is a good idea.

Water Quality, last 3 years

Fewer than 5 percent of the water samples taken any year for the last 3 years (2006-2008) exceeded the national health standard for bacteria.
These beaches rarely, if ever, violated health standards for the last three years and deserve special recognition. Water quality can fluctuate from year to year depending on the amount of rainfall, for example, particularly at beaches most susceptible to stormwater contamination. The safest beaches are those that meet public health standards during both wet and dry years.

Water quality testing frequency

These beach locations were monitored more than once a week.
The federal BEACH Act recommends that Tier 1 (heavily used and/or likely to be polluted) beaches be monitored at least once a week. Because this is the minimum, beachgoers cannot be sure they are safe on the day that they want to swim. For example, if a beach is tested on Monday and is found to be safe, that does not indicate the water quality the following Saturday when visitors come to swim. Beaches that are monitored more frequently are more protective of beachgoers.

Always issues advisories promptly

Closings and/or advisories at this beach are always issued promptly after an exceedance without waiting for resampling results or other information.
Beachgoers need to be notified when their beach is in violation of the state health standard, and they should get this information as soon as initial results are in. In some states, beachwater managers resample or gather other information before issuing an advisory, while other beachwater managers do this only when they have reason to doubt the results. Waiting for an exceedance of state standards to be confirmed before notifying the public puts swimmers at unnecessary risk. This is especially true given the 24 hours or more that it currently takes for test results to come in, leaving a window of time in which swimmers can be exposed to harmful pathogens.

Posts closings/advisories online and at beaches

Beachgoers are notified if the water is unhealthy for swimming through both the internet and a sign on the beach.
If beachwaters are unhealthy for swimming, beachgoers should be able to locate that warning information from home. Posting this information on the Internet is an important way for beach managers to give advance notice to the the public about advisories and closures. Some states have multiple ways of informing the public about beach closures, such as through e-mail, phone lines, press releases and Twitter. Not everyone has access to the Internet or looks for beach water quality information on-line, so signs should also be posted at the beach notifying all beach patrons whether the water is safe for swimming.

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Drill Baby Drill, the Sequel

Posted on July 29, 2009 by | Comments Off

From the Charlotte Observer:

A coalition of corporate, energy and agriculture leaders presented a report July 27 projecting that North Carolina could eventually reap $577 million a year from offshore drilling along the state’s coast.The group, the Southeast Energy Alliance, made their case for drilling as lawmakers try to cope with a nosedive in state revenue.

“States along the Gulf Coast already get this money,” said Larry Wooten, president of the N.C. Farm Bureau. “Why shouldn’t we?”

The group’s dollar figures, though, depend on the accuracy of federal estimates of oil and natural gas deposits and whether corporations choose to drill off the N.C. coast. Read more about the story.

And then read the Sierra Club Response:

The main reason many environmental groups oppose offshore drilling is that it doesn’t really solve any of the problems it’s purported to.

  1. It takes years and millions in subsidies to get the oil.
  2. The oil conglomerates aren’t required to sell the oil here in the US.
  3. Fossil fuels aren’t efficient, the price fluctuates at the whim of vaguely understood interest groups like OPEC and speculators, and the emissions aren’t all that great (purposefully understated).

How about some NC based reasons:

  • Do we really want massive tankers in “the Graveyard of the Atlantic?”
  • Hurricanes
  • No oil refineries in our state
  • See reason 2 above and replace “US” with “NC”

For more about a Petition against drilling off North Carolina, visit the local Surfrider Chapter.

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