Whomping Willow

Morrison Goes Green

Has the green bug struck Chapel Hill??? The newly renovated Morrison Dorm was previewed by the Environmental Affairs Committee and the Renewable Energy Special Projects Committee. Morrison has been under construction for the past year and has added some new environmentally friendly updates. Some of the fee money that UNC students pay yearly was allotted to the Morrison project to help fund renewable energy for portions of the dorm. One form of renewable energy that Morrison will have is solar panels on the roof. These panels will be hit by the sun and then will heat up glycol which will be directed down to heat up an 8,000 gallon water tank. Thus, some of the hot water that is used in the dorm will come from these solar panels.

Another update that Morrison will be sporting is kiosks in the main lobby that will allow students to access a website that monitors their energy usage. They hope that these energy meters will promote student awareness and help curb wastefullness. However, energy/water usage will not be curbed or capped per student. The new builders of Morrison hope that these environmentally friendly improvements will attract conservationists and people interested in the environment to pick Morrison as their first living choice. The dorm will even be home to a new themed housing program, the sustainability living community. While the details of the community are not quite worked out, Cindy Shea, director of the University’s sustainability office, says that they are open to suggestions and willing to let students work on their environmental interests.

While this is a good step towards making our campus more environmentally friendly, in a recent report by the Sustainable Endowments Institute, UNC only scored a C for their efforts toward sustainable energy. Let us hope that with the upcoming construction of Carmicheal and various other projects on campus that the leaders of our university will strive to create a more healthy and environmentally friendly campus for all of us to live on.

The benefits of the mining industry in WV

After watching part of the movie Is God Green? in class I know that myself and many of my classmates were deeply appalled by the damage that the coal mining industry of West Virginia has done to the environment. Tops are being removed from the beautiful Appalachian Mountains that have for centuries characterized the landscape. Runoff from the explosions it takes to “de-top” these mountains is polluting the streams, rivers, and bodies of freshwater. Toxic waste from the plants is being dumped into giant holes in the cut off mountains or being buried in old mines and the waste is somehow finding a way into many communities’ water supply.

So after hearing details of all of these horrors that are being implemented on the WV communities as a seeming result of capitalism gone too far, it left me with a few questions: Who benefits from this Industry? And what are the positive effects of the industry for the communities of WV? Surely this Industry and its historic role in the state have some argument. So I have decided to play a bit of a devil’s advocate and provide some positives of the coal mining industry’s presence in WV.

The first coal was first discovered in WV in 1742 and has grown into their most notable industry ever since. There has been a long history of struggle in the state for coal miners’ rights and decent wages; however, the miners have made much progress in the second half of the century and mining still puts food on the table for thousands of families. Today the West Virginia Coal Industry provides about 40,000 jobs to West Virginians. Also the state accounts for 15 percent of the US’s total coal production, leading the nation in underground coal production and accounting for approximately 50% of US coal exports.

As for the financial system, the coal industry provides crucial support to economy of WV:

• Taxes paid by the coal industry and by utility companies that make electricity using West Virginia coal account for two-thirds, or over 60% of business taxes paid in our state.
• The coal industry pays approximately $70 million in property taxes annually.
• The Coal Severance Tax pumps approximately $214 million into West Virginia’s economy.
• Twenty-four million dollars of coal severance taxes collected each year goes directly into the Infrastructure Bond Fund.
• All 55 counties, even the non-coal producing counties receive Coal Severance Tax funds.
• The coal industry payroll is nearly $2 billion per year.
• Coal is responsible for more than $3.5 billion annually in the gross state product.

This information is not intended in any way to belittle the corrosion and havoc that has been wrecked on the environment as a result of mining in WV; however, I believe that in order to truly combat an issue or to formulate an answer to any problem, especially one with historically deep roots in a community, it is important to have a general understanding of where BOTH sides are coming from. 

 

International News

This week, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is meeting in Paris to discuss the scientific data that determines to what extent climate change is a result of human activity. Their discussions are based around topics such as the changes in air/ocean temperatures, changes in ground ice coverage, and changes in sea levels. They are responsible for reporting information that expresses the position of the international scientific community in regard to global climate change. Their declaration includes the discussion of harmful consequences if no changes are inacted to current environmental policy as well as positive results that could be achieved should improvements be made.

 According to international news sources, the Panel is expected to conclude that the climate change over the last century has “very likely” been a result of human action.

As the primary creators of these problems, we are responsible for solving them as well.

 It’s time for governments around the world (as well as their citizens) to acknowledge the scientific truth backing the idea that human action has contributed greatly to climate change. No longer should it be a matter of debate. It’s time for these same governments to be proactive in creating policy that can slow and/or stop some of the harmful consequences associated with the international changing climate. Instead of each policy maker acting in his or her own best interest it’s time for these officials to work closely with one another and with the IO’s and NGO’s of the world to promote long run change.

Policy makers are often confronted with the lack of constituent support for inacting policies that will not produce results for many years to come. Policy aimed at stopping global climate change is one such type. The officials won’t still be in office when people can witness what transpires from these policies. The results positive results of such environmentally friendly policies may not be visable for 25, 50 or maybe even 100 years. The complete consequencial extent of our current destructive actions may not be either. I hope that future generations will be able to look back and thank us for the proactive stance we take against global warming. They are the ones that will suffer most from the actions we make today.