PUBLIC MEETINGS SET ON CARBON DIOXIDE REPORT

RALEIGH --- The state Division of Air Quality has scheduled public meetings on May 19 and 20 in Raleigh to seek input on its final report and recommendations to the N.C. General Assembly and Environmental Management Commission on potential controls on carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) to address potential threats posed by global climate change.

The legislature directed DAQ to compile the CO2 report, which is due September 1, 2005, in the Clean Smokestacks Act of 2002. The act also required the state's coal-fired power plants to reduce substantially their ozone, haze and particle-forming emissions over the coming decade, and it directed DAQ to conduct a separate study of mercury emissions and recommend potential controls.

DAQ has scheduled meetings on the CO2 report at the following dates and locations in Raleigh: Thursday, May 19, 7-10 p.m., Ground Floor Hearing Room, Archdale Building, 512 N. Salisbury St.; and Friday, May 20, 9 a.m.-noon, DAQ Training Room, Parker-Lincoln Building, 2728 Capital Blvd.

The Thursday evening meeting is aimed at receiving comments from the general public, and speakers should limit their comments to 3 minutes or less. The Friday morning meeting is a working session that will discuss specific topics, such as industrial and motor efficiency; power generation; energy savings and green power; transportation; agriculture and forestry; and other areas.

Global climate change refers to changes in temperatures, weather, sea levels and other environmental factors due to emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases and particles. CO2 and other greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere by reflecting radiated heat back toward the Earth and preventing it from escaping to space. Even a small increase in temperatures could have major implications, including:

• The melting of glaciers and polar ice caps;
• Rising sea levels due to thermal expansion of water in the oceans and melting of ice;
• Changes in ocean currents due to changes in temperatures and sea levels;
• More severe storms, such as hurricanes, and heavier rainfall in some areas;
• Flooding of coastal lands due to rising sea levels and more severe storms;
• More severe and frequent droughts in some areas.

North Carolina has a lot at stake with regard to climate change due, in part, to the large of amounts of coastal lands that could be subject to flooding from rising sea levels and more severe storms associated with global warming. A Duke University study of potential flooding from rising sea levels estimated that a 1-foot rise in sea level would flood 1,170 square miles of coastal land and a 3.5-foot rise would flood 2,920 square miles in North Carolina.

Global climate change also could cause some plants and animals to become extinct, some to decline or increase in population, and others migrate to areas with more favorable conditions. For example, fish that need colder temperatures to survive could gradually migrate north, while more tropical varieties could move up the coast into North Carolina.

The Clean Smokestacks Act requires coal-fired power plants to reduce their nitrogen oxide (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions by about three-fourths over the next 5-10 years. NOx and SO2 contribute to the formation of ozone, haze and fine particles in the atmosphere. For more information about climate change and other air quality issues, visit the DAQ's web site at www.ncair.org.

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