In the News

Branch of the Sierra Club endorses Roberts' re-election
Charlotte Observer
Apr 24, 2008
The Central Piedmont Group of the Sierra Club has endorsed the re-election of Mecklenburg County commissioners' chairman Jennifer Roberts.

Sierra Endorsements Announced
Carrboro Citizen
Apr 17, 2008
The North Carolina Chapter of the Sierra Club today officially announced its endorsements in Senate District 23, House Districts 54 & 56, and for the Orange County Board of Commissioners.

Duke Energy Looks Decades Ahead
Charlotte Observer
Apr 17, 2008
Environmentalists argue that the push for new nuclear power plants is flawed because there isn't yet a long-term solution for storing nuclear waste. The cost of building new plants also has increased dramatically due to global demand for power plant parts. Wall Street is not going to finance the increasingly expensive projects, said Christa Wagner, director of government relations for the N.C. Sierra Club. "We think nuclear is going to crumble under its own weight."

Sierra Club lists picks for primaries
News & Observer
Apr 16, 2008
The N.C. Sierra Club endorsed incumbent state Sen. Ellie Kinnaird and the other incumbents in local state House and Senate races, it announced Tuesday.

CPCC center is going green
Charlotte Observer
Apr 11, 2008
To introduce itself to the larger public as Earth Day approaches, the Center for Sustainability will help stage the Charlotte Clean and Green event on April 19. The local Sierra Club and the Charlotte chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council are partners.

Suit targets Duke Energy over coal-fired plant
Indianapolis Star
Apr 04, 2008
Duke has...failed to install rigorous pollution controls the group contends are required under the Clean Air Act.

NC: Duke to help defend air quality permit
Forbes
Apr 02, 2008
Several environmental groups that appealed the state Division of Air Quality permit have asked a judge to halt the $2.4 billion project, saying the permit violated federal law. The groups include the Southern Environmental Law Center, Sierra Club and National Parks Conservation Association.

Sierra club urges crowd to force green
The Mountain Airy News
Mar 27, 2008
Terry Powell, the chair of the Foothills Sierra Club, and four other members pressed a small crowd at the Inspiration Center on 127 W. Pine St. during a presentation to write letters to local newspapers and Mayor Jack Loftis in an effort to implement a “green” policy known as Cool Cities.

New Bern may join Cool Cities environmental initiative
New Bern Sun Journal
Mar 21, 2008
The city is considering signing the Cool Cities Initiative, an environmental-protection plan sponsored by the Sierra Club. The primary aim of the initiative ...

Groups Fight Power Plant Permit
Forbes
Mar 19, 2008
About 20 environmental organizations have said they would appeal the decision of the state Division of Air Quality to issue the permit, including the Southern Environmental Law Center, Sierra Club and New York-based Waterkeeper Alliance. But N.C. WARN and Apppalachian Voices were the first to file the paperwork with the state Office of Administrative Hearings

Cutting Trees Can Fall on Wrong Side of the Law
USA Today
Mar 18, 2008
Molly Diggins of the Sierra Club says illegal cutting — not to improve views from homes but to open up views of billboards from state highways — is an issue. "It's a pretty significant problem in North Carolina," she said. "North Carolinians are justifiably proud of the scenic beauty of the state, and they want to protect that."

Gubernatorial Candidates at Forum on Water Issues March 25 at Duke
Office of News & Communication, Duke University
Mar 18, 2008
The Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke is partnering with seven statewide organizations to sponsor the event. The organizations partnering with the Nicholas Institute are: the North Carolina League of Municipalities; the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners; the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center; the Conservation Council of North Carolina; the North Carolina Association of Realtors; the North Carolina Chapter of the Sierra Club; and the North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation.

'Manufactured Landscapes' to be screened March 13
UNC Greensboro
Feb 29, 2008
The series is sponsored by the UNCG sustainability committee, the Sierra Club and Deep Roots Market.The public is welcome at no charge for all films. The film is part of UNCG’s year-long sustainability film series. "Manufactured Landscapes" follows Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky as he travels through China shooting the dizzying effects of the country’s massive industrial revolution.

Water Policy will be subject of forum
The News & Observer
Feb 22, 2008
Conservationists, government workers and others who help shape public policy will sponsor a community forum on Wake County water issues from 9:30 a.m. to noon Saturday at N.C. State University's McKimmon Center at 1101 Gorman St. in Raleigh. The forum is sponsored by Capital Group Sierra Club, the City of Raleigh, N.C. Conservation Network, Neuse River Foundation, Triangle Community Foundation, UNC Water Resources Research Institute, Wake Audubon, Wake League of Women Voters and WakeUP Wake County.

Nuclear foes ready for battle
Charlotte Observer
Feb 20, 2008
"We think that nuclear will sink under its own weight," said Molly Diggins, North Carolina director of the Sierra Club in Raleigh...

500 trees planted on city greenway
News 14 Carolina
Feb 10, 2008
Volunteers came together this weekend to plant 500 tiny saplings in the Torrence Creek Greenway in Huntersville. The greenway is part of the McDowell Creek watershed, which feeds into Mountain Island Lake. Volunteers were there from American Forests, the Sierra Club, CPCC and Mecklenburg County.

Yes, Virginia, global warming is serious
BlueRidgeNow.com
Feb 03, 2008
Bill Thomas, conservation chairman of the Pisgah Group of the Sierra Club and past chairman of the Sierra Club's North Carolina chapter, takes offense in this op-ed to the "global warming as hoax" stance in a letter written to the recent IPCC (UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) by a group of scientists.

Progress in the belly of the beast?
The Huffington Post
Feb 01, 2008
Carl Pope, Executive Director of the Sierra Club, discusses the efforts of coal utilities - including Duke Power and its CEO Jim Rogers - to present coal as clean energy. Pope mentions the dismissal of the plan for a Cliffside coal plant, and he goes on to say: "The Sierra Club's lawsuit against both the new and the existing coal plants, based on their negative impact on air quality in the Great Smokies National Park, remains alive, so we don't know yet if even this one new unit will be built."

Moore Proposes Energy Changes
The Charlotte Observer
Jan 30, 2008
Richard Moore, a Democratic candidate for governor, released a package of energy proposals Tuesday aimed at reducing carbon emissions and attracting support from environmentalists.

Cliffside's go-ahead
The Charlotte Observer
Jan 30, 2008
The carbon offset imposed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources' Division of Air Quality requires the offset of about 5.5 million tons per year of carbon emissions, a significant and welcome commitment by Duke Energy. But as the Sierra Club's Molly Diggins points out, this is in effect a flatline feature that does not reduce overall emissions.

Navy nixes several sites for future landing field
The Daily Tar Heel
Jan 24, 2008
"There is a profound sense of relief for people in the Washington area," said Christa Wagner, a lobbyist for the N.C. Sierra Club.

Three corridors STAC up
Jan 16, 2008
Says Jennifer Lewis, a Sierra Club representative, the challenge for the region is: "What can we do now with the highest chance of success?" Other members agree. But it's a tough question to answer.

Warming debate helps stall coal plants
Jan 15, 2008
In federal and state courtrooms across the country, environmental groups are putting coal-fueled power plants on trial, hoping to slow the industry's biggest construction boom in decades.

Mayors confer on climate, gangs, transportation
Jan 10, 2008
More than a dozen North Carolina mayors and mayors pro tem gathered Wednesday and today to discuss gang legislation, transportation and climate changes.

The Year in Quotes
The Charlotte Observer
Dec 30, 2007
"Hog creep." --Molly Diggins, state director of the Sierra Club, lamenting the growth of lagoons and sprayfields despite a 1997 state moratorium.

Smokies air at risk?
Dec 20, 2007
It's one thing when a coalition of environmental groups questions a big expansion of a coal-fired power plant in North Carolina. These watchdog groups have been vigilant about guarding this state's air quality. But when the Bush administration's National Park Service and the Environmental Protection Agency also weigh in with concerns about the adverse impact of Duke Energy's Cliffside plant expansion in Rutherford County, it's time to slow down.

Smokies power plant decried
Dec 15, 2007
The air quality in the Smoky Mountains, Linville Gorge and other rough-cut jewels of Western North Carolina would be severely harmed by a major expansion of Duke Energy's Cliffside power plant, and state regulators are moving too fast to permit it, federal park and environmental officials say.

What happened to thrift?
Nov 25, 2007
Prosperity and technology have fed decades of consumerism. But some are second-guessing our throwaway culture.

The Sierra Club highlights ways to reduce energy use
Hendersonville Times News
Nov 21, 2007
How would you like to get rid of your electric bill and become your own power station? And, if you had any extra unused energy, you could sell it to your local power company and help the environment at the same time.

Sierra Club Profile in Triangle Business Journal
Triangle Business Journal
Nov 16, 2007
Molly Diggins, state director of the Sierra Club's North Carolina chapter, says the organization's membership led the way in efforts to curtail global warming. The nonprofit organization is volunteer-driven, she says, with over 1 million members nationwide.