Amy Adams of the group Appalachian Voices (left) and State Rep. Pricey Harrison (right)
An NC Policy Watch, Crucial Conversation luncheon—
Duke’s Dan River coal ash disaster: What happened? How big is the problem? What’s next?
Featuring Amy Adams of the group Appalachian Voices and State Rep. Pricey Harrison
Coal – for thousands of years, humans have found it difficult to live without this cheap and combustible sedimentary rock. They’ve burned it to stay warm and for transportation, and in recent decades, to produce much of the electricity on which modern society depends. But, of course, even from the beginning, people knew they were dealing with a nasty and harmful substance.
Today, coal combustion endangers human health and well-being via the production of vast quantities of greenhouse gas that promote global warming. It also injects immense amounts of toxins into the atmosphere that ultimately settle out into the air we breathe and the water and food we consume.
And that’s not the end of it. Once you’ve burned the stuff (and hopefully used modern technology to “scrub” some of the exhaust flowing up the smokestack), you’re still left with yet another mess: the byproduct of the combustion process. In the United States, coal combustion produces nearly 140 million tons of waste – “fly ash,” “scrubber sludge,” and other combustion byproducts – each year. These byproducts remain near to or on the site of the coal fired power plant – sort of like an especially vile version of the leftovers in your fireplace.
Two weeks ago, 82,000 tons of this stuff under the control of Duke Energy spilled into the Dan River in Eden, North Carolina. As North Carolina comes to terms with this disaster, several questions arise: What happened? How bad are things? Where else might this happen? What can and should be done?
Please join us on February 27 as we explore these and other questions with two of our state’s best known experts:
When: Thursday, February 27 at 12 noon – Box lunches will be available at 11:45 a.m.
Where: *(NOTE—NEW LOCATION)* The North Carolina Association of Educators Building, 700 S. Salisbury St. in Raleigh. This location feature on-site parking.
Space is limited – pre-registration required.
Questions?? Contact Rob Schofield at 919-861-2065 or rob@ncpolicywatch.com