Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Ban on limiting greenhouse gases before Senate committee

A measure that bans state agencies or local governments from regulating greenhouse gases comes before a North Carolina Senate committee today.

The bill, sponsored by Republican senators Brent Jackson, Andrew Brock and Jim Davis, allows limits only if they're required by federal law. Jackson, who's from Sampson County, and Brock of Davie County co-chair the Senate Agriculture / Environment / Natural Resources Committee, which meets this morning. [Update at 12:50 p.m.: The bill was pulled from the committee agenda.]

It's not immediately clear what impact the bill would have it becomes law.

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx signed the city to a U.S. Conference of Mayors climate-protection agreement in 2009, committing the city to curbing greenhouse-gas emissions. But the city hasn't set a firm reduction goal.

The North Carolina Sierra Club says the bill is so sweeping it's hard to know whether it would apply to cases in which greenhouse gases are collected for purposes unrelated to climate change, such as methane capture at landfills.

But Sierra notes that Duplin County, in Jackson's district, is also the planned site of a 100-megawatt solar farm that would be by far the state's largest.






2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kudos to the NC State Republican Senate for again showing their affection for stifling local innovation and creative thinking. It is amazing that anyone in 2013 would be passing laws to encourage more greenhouse gas emissions. These guys deserve a Neanderthal award.

Anonymous said...

Greenie Winnie, you "progressive" wackos make me sick, GreenHouse gases do not cause climate change..... we humans are so arrogant as to think that we can prevent or modify the natural cycles of the earth.