Environment
Location:
McKimmon Center, NCSU Raleigh
I was glad to read in Lisa Sorg's article in the Independent ( www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A168911 ) a couple of weeks ago that OWASA is contemplating emergency back-up plans for providing water to Chapel Hill and Carrboro. But I was concerned to read that one of the options under consideration is the construction of a new water-intake at Jordan Lake.
While we all hope that the drought will break before we run out of water, it is only prudent to consider what our back-up plans will be. Even with more drastic mandatory conservation measures on the way next week ( http://owasa.org/Press_Releases/press_release_20080218.pdf ), it is possible (but not likely) that our water supply could run out.
Join our discussion of Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond. This geographer recounts why past societies have failed and what we need to do to keep our society going. The Seattle Times writes, “Diamond’s most influential gift may be his ability to write about geopolitical and environmental systems in ways that don’t just educate and provoke, but entertain.”
Book Description:
Using a vast historical and geographical perspective ranging from Easter Island and the Maya to Viking Greenland and modern Montana, Diamond traces a fundamental pattern of environmental catastrophe—one whose warning signs can be seen in our modern world and that we ignore at our peril. Blending the most recent scientific advances into a narrative that is impossible to put down, Collapse exposes the deepest mysteries of the past even as it offers hope for the future.Date:
Tuesday, February 19, 2008 - 2:00pm to 3:00pm
Location:
Carrboro Cybrary, 100 N. Greensboro St., Carrboro
More information forthcoming...
Date:
Monday, March 17, 2008 - 3:00pm to 5:00pm
There's been something floating around in my head since Monday night's council meeting. One item from the consent agenda entitled "Resolution Authorizing the Mayor to Request a Fee Waiver from Duke Energy
for Town Solar Energy Projects with 'Buy All/Sell All' Metering," sparked a mini-feud between Matt Czajkowski and Mayor Foy. Apparently, Duke Energy charges a rate for two-way metering that is significantly more than the rate they charge for a meter box on a typical usage-only application. As in, perhaps several times more. The exorbitant fee is putting a damper on the rate of return on the town's experimental panels on top of the fire station, and the mayor wanted to ask Duke if they could provide a more reasonable rate, whereas this is a rather experimental project, and is benefiting both Duke (who is getting the energy at peak usage hours, aka daylight hours), and the entire community, as per environmental benefits.
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