Upcoming Events 
Rescheduled Durham Clean Water New Year party: Friday, January 27, 2012, Durham ~ 5:30-7:30 pm
6-8 PM Mon., Jan. 30, Durham: Hydraulic Fracturing and Mineral Rights Leasing Info Session (more info)
5 PM Tues., Jan. 31, Chapel Hill: Dr. Larry Murdoch presents "Risks and Rewards of Natural Gas Production from Shale" the Tate-Turner Kuralt Auditorium, UNC-CH (more info)
7-9 PM Wed., Feb. 8, Pittsboro: Brooks Rainey Pearson, Nicholas School for the Environment: "Fracking in NC: What the experience of other states can teach us about regulating to reduce the risk" (More info)
Order “Gasland” 
See the film's website. You can also purchase copies of the film through many online vendors - just Google "GASLAND"! |
 We are proud and humbled to be one of the recipients of the Independent Weekly’s Citizen Awards this year. The Durham-based newspaper recognized us for our collaborative work on the issue of fracking with other groups and individuals in the past year! Lisa Sorg’s story, published yesterday, gives a nice summary of the mission and history of Clean Water for NC. Read the story now. (Photo by Jeremy M. Lange. Front, left to right: Don Yonavjak, Tina Motley-Pearson, Andrea Lloyd, Hope Taylor, Maribel Sierra, Nathanette Mayo, Jodi Lasseter. Back, left to right: Deck Stapleton, Todd Tinkham).
Thanks, IndyWeek, for this honor, and to all our allies, volunteers, members, and supporters statewide!
Update: The important and highly controversial study by EPA Region 8 on groundwater contamination and hydraulic fracturing in Pavilion, WY, is an important read for all digging deeper. Due to high public interest, deadline for public comments has been extended to MARCH 12. CWFNC will be submitting comments and urges others to do so. The industry is dominating the comment docket so far!
Read the report, “Investigation of Ground Water Contamination near Pavillion, Wyoming.”. Submit comments through this submission site or by e-mailing ORD.Docket@epa.gov or mailing 3 copies to: Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket (Mail Code: 2822T), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460. Make sure to reference Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–ORD–2011– 0895.
Next week, you can make a difference at the Nuclear Resources Commission’s public hearing for a proposed new nuclear generator in Gaffney, SC, just 40 miles southwest of Charlotte on the Broad River (and less than 2 hours from Asheville). The William States Lee facility would disproportionately impact low-income folks living nearby, increase the number of existing or proposed nuclear reactors on the Broad River to FIVE, return HOT water to the river, and potentially impact drinking water supplies for downstream communities such as Union, SC.
When: Thursday, January 19
First Session: 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Second Session: 7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Where: Restoration Church International, 1905 N. Limestone Street, Gaffney, SC 29340 (directions) (carpool info)
To speak: Reserve your spot by contacting NRC staff Sarah Lopas (800) 368-5642 ext. 1147 or sarah.lopas@nrc.gov. by JANUARY 17TH. Written comments will also be accepted until March 6, 2012 at LEE.COLAEIS@NRC.GOV.
2/3 of the power generated would supply NC, and Duke’s NC ratepayers would be forced to cover portions of the costs, so this is a multi-state issue. Comments are being accepted on the draft Environmental Impact Statement (it’s over 1,000 pages long, but here’s a general factsheet.) Factsheets on specific water issues: Broad River factsheet, and Pond C factsheet. Also, here’s a factsheet on the AP1000 reactor.
Nuclear energy is the most water-intensive of traditional energy production technologies, creates toxic and radioactive byproducts, and isn’t cost-effective. For these reasons and more, Clean Water for NC is opposed to nuclear power generation (read our statement). Another alternative being considered in the Environmental Impact Statement is building more natural gas fired production plants – the downsides of which include the drilling practice known as fracking which has impacted communities from Pennsylvania to Wyoming to Texas (and hopefully never will in NC!) A far more job-creating, economically stimulating, cost effective way to meet the Carolinas’ needs is reducing energy demand through energy efficiency. Read more about NC SAVE$ ENERGY.
Carol French and Carolyn Knapp share the gritty details of living in GASLAND at the Durham County Public Library earlier this fall.
 ‘Twas the holiday season, and all through the state
People gathered with loved ones for t’ celebrate.
Their stockings were hung by the chimney with care
Hoping St. Nick would bring clean water and air!
The year had been rough, lots of bad bills had passed
Leaving us fearing we’d be “natural gassed.”
But the “fractivists” fought it, the movement took root,
Giving NC the chance to give fracking the boot….
More…
More footage from our Summit! Ryke Longest, Director, Duke University Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, & Jennifer Hayes, Duke University Law School present “NC Legal and Regulatory Control of Natural Gas Exploration” at Clean Water for North Carolina’s summit on the impacts of hydraulic fracturing in September (View presentation slides).
We’re so grateful for all these clips from filmmaker Todd Tinkham, winner of the 2009 Indy Arts Award from the Independent Weekly and director of the upcoming feature documentary, “Dispersed”. The film follows the ongoing struggle between the fossil fuel industry and the alternative energy movement in the state of North Carolina. A short video from “Dispersed” can be viewed here.
by Rachel Lang-Balde
As I await the birth of my second child, I’m considering the implications of environmental health and justice on my family, my community and our state. Environmental health and justice affect all parents – and come into play in multiple ways throughout pregnancy, the birthing process, parenthood and child development.
As a public health graduate student, my focus was on maternal health and nutrition. Environmental health was a factor in studies of food supply, equitable distribution of resources, water and sanitation, and the community implications of nutritional choices. Becoming a mother while in graduate school made me take a closer look at environmental health and justice beyond the scope of research, thinking about potential consequences to my family and the most vulnerable in my community. I realized environmental health and justice included a safe environment, but also access to healthy organic food, safety from chemicals (Scientific American article) and pollutants in water, and use of nontoxic products. In other words, motherhood encompasses not just the care of a child, but becoming an advocate for others, too, and helping them understand their power to advocate for a clean, safe and just environment for all families…. More…
Thanks to all who made last week’s tour of PA dairy farmers Carol French and Carolyn Knapp a big success, generating a “buzz” all the way up to their home state!
Thanks to organizations which co-sponsored the tour or specific events: Deep River Clean Water Society, NC Policy Watch and Save Our Sandhills. And thanks to all who got the word out about events in Raleigh, Southern Pines and Durham, provided refreshments and made Carol and Carolyn welcome, expressed their support and asked great questions. They emailed that they have lots of good memories from their NC visit and saw our state at its most beautiful. It’s “healing,” writes Carolyn, “to open the eyes of people before the natural gas industry knocks on their door.”
In the news:
“Two dairy farmers from Pennsylvania put a face on the international fracking debate Thursday by describing the personal, community and business risks they say are associated with the controversial natural gas extraction method.” -Ted Natt, The Pilot, “Effects Of Fracking Laid Out: Pa. Farmers Speak During SP Meeting” (Nov. 12)
“Geologists say six North Carolina counties have the potential for natural gas production, with the best prospects in Lee County. Getting that gas, using a process called fracking, has divided some local landowners and lawmakers.” -WRAL, “NC landowners, lawmakers divided over fracking” (Nov. 11)
 Back by popular demand, Pennsylvania dairy farmers Carol French and Carolyn Knapp will speak about the impacts of shale gas drilling at a series of events next week in Wake, Moore and Durham counties. At Carol and Carolyn’s Sept. 10 presentation at our Annual Meeting, they impressed a lot of folks with their honesty and message of caution to NC based on their experiences in Bradford County, PA.
Click for details on when you can hear Carol and Carolyn speak in NC next week, or visit our events calendar! More…
In 1991, the People of Color National Leadership Summit met in Washington, DC and adopted 17 challenging “Principles of Environmental Justice.” Every 3 years, CWFNC’s Board reviews and affirms our commitment to these principles as goals for our own work. The movement recognizes the disproportionate impact of environmental degradation on low-income communities and communities of color, and strives toward justice for all people in the environments where they live, work, and play. See all 17 Principles of Environmental Justice.
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