Proposed Climate Change Resolution

SECTION 1. The Town of Knightdale, the State of North Carolina and the United States shall establish a transition from fossil fuels to 100% renewable energy for all energy sectors by 2050 or sooner and 80% renewable energy for all energy sectors by 2030 to promote job creation and economic growth and to protect the Earth for current and future generations from a climate catastrophe.

 

SECTION 2. The Town of Knightdale petitions the State of North Carolina and the US Congress to enact legislation to support Knightdale’s transition to 100% renewable energy. This includes advocating for a federal price on carbon, as outlined in H.R. 763, Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, along with other federal and state policies that will facilitate the City of Knightdale in achieving 100% renewable energy.

 

Please find submitted public comments below:

 

 

In Favor. I think this is a really good idea, and I hope that we can agree that climate change is not a partisan issue.  I know also that it would mean a lot of work on the existing infrastructure in the area. At the moment, Knightdale and the USA in general, is not set up to accommodate electric cars, for example.  I have had the opportunity to live in Germany for work for a couple of years, and I can say that there are some very small changes that actually make a larger environmental impact where we can think about beginning. (Or some equally small step, just for a start). For example, in Germany it is totally normal to bring one's own bags to the grocery store, which over time will absolutely reduce how many disposable plastic bags we use. (If you forget your bag, you can buy a reusable one for a small fee, no biggie).  And having roads be bicycle friendly would also be a huge step forward, not only environmentally, but for the health of everyone, whether they actually use a bicycle (yay, exercise), or just benefit from breathing in fewer emissions from cars.  Those are my two cents. I would really like Knightdale to adopt the initiative, and to help be one of the forces that pushes NC to do so as a whole.

 

In Favor.  In addition to my remarks previously delivered to the Council in support of this proposal, I would like to point out that whenever the world is able to achieve carbon neutrality, unless we are able to make a drastic improvement in reclaiming the CO2 already in our atmosphere, we will be "stuck" for at least 30 years with the climate conditions that could soon be dramatically worse than they are today. Literally billions of climate refugees from the equatorial regions of our planet will be climbing over whatever walls we construct and fighting us for food and habitable living space while we all dodge category 5 hurricanes, forest fires, major floods, and, yes, crippling winter storms and more frequent pandemics. I have carefully studied this problem since the first Earth Day, over 50 years ago. This proposal is the fairest, most rational, and most likely to be successful one I have encountered in all these years, and I hope all the council members will find the courage to support it and ignore all the disinformation that is out there.

 

In Favor.  I have pled the case for adopting this resolution at two Knightdale Town Council work sessions beginning more than a year ago, and I listened intently to the discussion held at the February 17, 2021, council meeting. I have been a Knightdale resident since 1987. I am passionate in my support of this resolution. Passage would be a true win for our citizens.  The main point of this resolution is to encourage passage of the Federal Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend bill, which has had bipartisan sponsorship in the House of Representatives. If passed, the bill would enable our government to distribute dividend checks to all American citizens, much like the recent COVID stimulus checks, with full shares to every adult, plus half shares for each minor child, all on a monthly basis. In the first year, an average family of 4 would receive about $1300.  Where would this money come from? The government would add a tax on carbon just to the energy companies that use fossil fuels to produce energy. This would level the playing field, helping drive the development and dependability of renewable, clean energy sources (such as wind, solar, and improved nuclear energy) as well as the market for related consumer products like electric powered cars and lawn mowers. When town governments, like Knightdale, plan their future development, they could better justify conversion to renewable-powered choices of vehicle fleets and buildings knowing that prices for renewable energy will keep going down with this stimulus, and prices for fossil fuel energy will keep going up, as the carbon tax will be incremented annually to keep driving this necessary conversion that is the only way to save our planet.  Citizens will get this money (dividend checks) to help offset the price increases that the big oil companies will likely pass on to consumers, but roughly two-thirds of the American public is expected to benefit financially. And each citizen and family can increase their net benefit by converting their energy sources as soon as they can afford to, and by choosing to ride bikes or public transportation a little more frequently. This approach has wide bipartisan support, even from some of the big oil companies like Exxon, because they are more familiar with the science of climate change than most of us are, and they agree with Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL) that this is the most rational, least difficult path forward. Even the Exxon executives want to preserve the future of our world for humanity, including their children and grandchildren. More than 70% of Americans now understand that climate change is a real and imminent crisis, and the American Association of Pediatric medicine has very recently reported that it is damaging the health of our children in significant numbers already. It is not too late, but we can no longer delay choosing this path forward. Please adopt this resolution.

 

In Favor.  I am in agreement with the resolution. Any sayings that can bring emissions down and also help the middle class in the poor is a good thing. 

 

In Favor.  This plan seems viable and is obviously timely, if not urgent. I would like to see our Town Council push this through, making Knightdale a progressive leader concerning climate change.

 

In opposition. 1. Climate has been changing since the beginning of time. Not all scientists agree with the premise that climate change will bring on a "climate catastrophe." Those who disagree are not being heard. 2. Fossil fuels have been a known source of dependable energy and have been made cleaner over time. 3. Wind turbines and electric cars all require fossil fuels to make them and keep them in operation. 4. Wind turbines require a lot of ground and have been shown to have negative effects on the environment. 5. 100% green energy hasn't yet been developed well enough to provide 100% of the energy needed for a thriving economy; and for the time being fossil fuels must be the necessary energy bridge. 6. A rush to 100% green energy for an entire community would come at a terribly high cost (taxes) to its citizens, to say nothing of the nation as the Federal govt. subsidies for such transition would be necessary. And 7. We have an example right now in Texas where only a limited amount of their electricity was provided by wind turbines and solar which failed this winter and caused extreme suffering, property damage, even deaths among their population. Why would we want to put our grid in jeopardy if at some future time we would need electrical support from other areas that use fossil fuel energy and then not be in a position ourselves to provide similar support back because of our green energy status? I believe the proposed climate change resolution would be a terrible move for Knightdale or anywhere. 

 

In Opposition. It will cause a huge rise in current fossil fuels and add further costs for the implementation of "green" energy. We have just seen the disaster of this kind of program in Texas.

 

 

In Favor. My name is Daniel Figgins; my address is 1120 Poplar Crest Drive, Apt. 108, Knightdale 27545-5919. For the past 34 years I have been professionally involved with issues of climate change, first as a professional diplomat and later as a professor. My support for House Resolution 763 is based on its accurate science, its wise policy, and its spiritual stewardship. I am convinced that H.R. 763 would make a significant contribution to bringing climate overheating under control.  In addition to my scientific and legal expertise, the basis for my support for H.R. 763 is my belief that it will contribute to the fulfilment of the Judeo-Christian commandments that humans care for God’s creation and for each other.  During my first career for 25 years as a diplomat with the U.S. Department of State I was assigned from 1986 to 1989 as the U.S. Representative to the United Nations Environment Program in Nairobi. My second career as a professor for 28 years included teaching a course on global environmental politics and management at NCSU. I also taught at the U. S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.  More than 30 years ago the heating up of planet Earth was already fully recognized as a looming problem. At that time, I participated in negotiating related treaties. Here in the United States in 1988 the greenhouse effect was the cover story of both Newsweek magazine and Vanity Fair magazine and in 1989 Time Magazine’s “person of the year” was the Planet Earth. Then twenty years ago in 2010 the Environmental Defense Fund published “Understanding Climate Change in North Carolina.” Now 3 decades later it remains high time for serious, creative legal action.  There is widespread commitment in religious communities to be good stewards of God’s creation both in its totality and for the benefit of the human race. My commitment -- which I hope the Knightdale Council will join -- is to make decisions which contribute to God’s will for His creation as I identify it from the quotations of scriptures below. Gospel of John, Chapter 1, verses 1 and 3:“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. … All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made.”  Genesis Chapter 1, verses 1, 24, & 27:“In the beginning God created the heaven and the Earth. … Then God said, ‘Let the Earth bring forth living creatures of every kind, cattle, and creeping things, and wild animals. … And God saw that it was very good.”  Genesis Chapter 2, verse 15: “And the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden to tend and guard the land and to care for it.”  Genesis Chapter 9, verses 13 & 15 and Chapter 8, verse 22: “I have set my rainbow in the clouds and it shall be a covenant between me and the Earth. … between me and every living creature, the birds, the domestic animals and every living animal. … as long as Earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease.”  Finally, I believe that God is calling me, is calling us, as citizens and as governments, to make decisions to alleviate the severe suffering from weather conditions caused by global warming. We human beings are increasingly, every month, suffering from: storms, tornedos, and hurricanes; floods, sea-level rise, and freezing weather; forest fires, heat waves, and desertification. This climate-caused suffering is visited in particular on the most vulnerable human communities, those whom Jesus called, “the least of these.”  Matthew Chapter 25, verses 34,35,36,and 40: “Then the Son of Man will say to them … ‘ I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, … I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me. … In as much as you have done it to the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you have done it unto me.”  The hour is late. We humans have delayed too long, more than 3 decades, to take steps to avoid the considerable suffering already caused by global warming from the CO2 put in the atmosphere by burning oil and gas. As Dr. King reminds us, “It is never too late to do the right thing.” And there are multiple business opportunities in wind, solar, geothermal, and other “clean” technologies to generate electricity plus opportunities to retool agriculture and industry for an environmentally friendlier economy. H.R.763 is a good place to start. Knightdale should add its voice to advocate for the Congressional passage of H.R. 763.

 

In Opposition.  Has there been a study regarding the cost to the Town to transition? Has there been a study regarding the type of “renewable” source and the location of such source. Has there been a study regarding the increase in cost to the average resident if this measure were fulfilled? Etc etc.

 

In Favor. 

 

No Position Stated.  The complete movement to sustainable or renewable energy sources is not practical nor is it economical to do so. Many of our citizens who are struggling economically would bear the heavy costs of a complete switch to solar or wind.  There are and will be more technologies available to mitigate the greenhouse gas emissions that should be used and explored more. No one talks about it - but nuclear energy - albeit expensive - might also be used as an alternative to fossil fuels.  I think taking a stand to move to 100% is not practical or necessary. Let's explore new scientific ways to use alternative energy sources as well as mitigate CO2 gasses.

 

In Opposition. 

 

In Favor. Please help the world by doing our small part toward lessening the effects of climate change. Thank you.