"Climate protection is very profitable," -- Using solar ener

http://www.dailytarheel.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/10/26/435f188d3d292
Experts urge energy awareness at forum
The Friday Center's 420-seat auditorium was filled to capacity and then some Tuesday night as locals, experts and clean energy activists came together to discuss the state's options on creating cleaner energy.
The forum, "Transitioning to Safe, Economical Electricity: A forum on critical decisions for North Carolina's future," was presented by N.C. Waste Awareness and Reduction Network, a nonprofit group dedicated to reducing environmental and health hazards from nuclear power and other electricity production methods.
"The reason for this is North Carolina is at a critical juncture," said Jim Warren, executive director of NC WARN. "There is an alternate path that can reduce greenhouse gases ... without large power plants."
William Schlesinger, dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke University, was the first of the evening's four speakers.
He referenced Michael Mann's graph of Earth temperatures throughout the centuries. After a very gradual cooling trend, temperatures spiked shortly after the Industrial Revolution. The atmosphere's carbon dioxide content parallels that graph.
This shows that the way people create energy has had a direct and damaging effect on the Earth's basic make up, he said.
Nuclear energy is not actually cleaner than traditional coal burning plants in the long run, he said, noting that it contributes to the creation of carbon dioxide.
To combat what he calls excessive carbon dioxide emissions, Schlesinger advocates a user fee or tax on carbon. When individuals use energy that releases carbon into the atmosphere, they would have to pay for it.
He said this will increase the individual consumer's awareness of how much carbon he or she uses and how much carbon dioxide is released into the air.
By affecting their wallets, he hopes that it would convince consumers to use less-polluting energy sources or cut back on overall usage.
Amory Lovins, a noted energy expert and director of the Rocky Mountain Institute, an energy think-tank, said that more than just the environment will benefit from cleaner energy production.
"Climate protection is very profitable," he said.
Other cleaner sources, which include wind power and photovoltaics, have almost three times the output and six times the capacity as nuclear plants, he added.
British Petroleum made a $250 million profit when they took several energy and carbon emissions reduction measures, Lovins said.
Another energy source was advocated by Mike Nicklas, co-founder of Innovative Design, which is dedicated to designing energy saving housing and public buildings. Using solar energy, the firm's 4,700 buildings have saved $90 million in energy bills, 709,000 tons of carbon dioxide and 63 million gallons of water, he said.
Rep. Pricey Harrison, D-Guilford, the last speaker of the evening said there is hope in recent legislation for energy production methods that will reduce emissions. But the issue is whether those measures will get the attention they deserve.
"It seems that whoever has the deepest pocket gets the attention the most," she said.