NorthCarolina’smosttreasuredlandscapes,suchastheOuterBanks,andWilmington’shistoric

riverfrontarethreatenedbyincreasedfloodingfromclimatechange.

CLIMATECHANGEIMPACTSONNORTHCAROLINA

Overthelastdecade,NCcoal-firedpowerplantsproducedanaverageof71,600,000

tonsofcarbonpollutioneachyear.

HOWWILLCLIMATECHANGEIMPACTNC?Itisdifficulttolinkanyoneeventdirectlytoclimatechange,anditisimportanttorecognizethatmostclimatedataisregionalorevenglobalinscope.However,decadesofexpertresearchandcenturiesofhistoricalrecordscanbecomparedwithrecenttrendstoillustratehowclimatechangeisalreadyimpactingpartsoftheSoutheasternUnitedStates.Theseimpacts,combinedwithpossiblefutureimpacts,arebothcauseforconcernandtheimperativeforaction.

• SealevelrisecompromisessomeofNorthCarolina’smosttreasuredplaces,includingtheOuterBanksandhistoricdistrictsincoastalcommunities,likeWilmington’sriverfront.SealevelrisealsojeopardizesNorthCarolina’scoastaltourismeconomythatgeneratesoveronebilliondollarsandsupports35,000jobsannually.Seasareprojectedtorisebybetween8inchesand6.6feetthroughoutthe21stcenturyalone.

• HeritagefoodsofNorthCarolinaaresufferingbecauseofcarbonpollutionandclimatechange.Someseafood,suchasoystersandscallops,aredirectlyharmedbythecarbonpollutionabsorbedintotheocean,whilesomefarmersarelosingcropstounreliablewinterweather,andlatespringfreezes,whichareexpectedtobecomemorefrequent,alongwithheatanddroughtstress,inawarmerworld.Forexample,the“Easterfreeze”of2007causedstatewidecroplossesof71%forapplesand82%forpeaches,promptingalmosthalfofthestate’scountiestobedeclaredanaturaldisasterarea,andthe“polarvortex”of2014wipedoutsomefarmers’entirespringcollardcrop.

• Hurricanesaregettingmoreintenseinawarmerworld,tendingmoretowardcategory4and5storms.Coupledwithfloodingfromsealevelrise,theliabilitytoourcoastalcommunitiesisgreat.Insurancewilllikelycontinuetogetmoreexpensiveasmoreextremeweatherdisasterstakeplace.

WHATISCLIMATECHANGE?Theearth’sclimateischangingbecauseofexcesscarbondioxidepollutionintheatmosphere,generatedwhenfossilfuelslikecoal,oil,andnaturalgasareburned.Thisextracarbontrapsmoreheat,likeagreenhouse,whichexplainswhy2000to2009wasthehottestdecadeeverrecordedandtherehavebeenover365consecutivemonthswithhotter-than-averageglobaltemperatures.Moderncivilizationdevelopedinastableclimateandwehavebuiltoureconomyandwayoflifeaccordingly.Changestoourclimatemeansthatwearefacingemerginghardshipsandvulnerabilitiesastheimpactsofclimatechangeunfold.

Someimpactsfromclimatechangeincludeextremestorms,floodingfromsealevelrise,heatwaves,anddrought.Theseimpactshaveconsequencesforpublichealth,safety,theeconomy,theenvironment,andourwayoflife.Fortunately,wecanprotectagainsttheworstimpactsbylimitingcarbonpollutionwithenergyefficiencyandusingcleanrenewableenergy,likesolarandwind.

IT’STIMEFORSOLUTIONS!PROMOTECLEANENERGY

Cleanenergy,suchassolar,wind,andenergyefficiency,producesnopollutionandprovidesjobstooureconomy.StudiesshowthattheUnitedStatescouldeasilygenerate80%ofitspowerfromcleansourcesby2050.Energyefficiencycandramaticallyreducetheamountofpowerweuseinourhomesandbusinessesandlowerourbills.InNorthCarolina,ouroffshorewindresourcealonecouldproducemorethan100%oftheelectricitywecurrentlyuseeachyear.Solarpowerisunlimitedenergyfromthesun,freeforthetakingifourstatepoliciesareusedtoleveltheplayingfieldbetweensolarandmoretraditional,pollutingpowersourceslikecoalandnuclear.

OPPOSEHIGHRISKENERGYSomeenergysourceshavegreaterrisksassociatedwiththeiruse.Old,inefficientanddirtycoalpowerplantsmustberetiredtoreducelevelsofpollutionthattriggerasthmaattacksandheartandlungdisease,putmercuryinourwater,andcauseclimatechange.Nuclearpowerplantsemitlesscarbonthancoalbutareextremelyexpensivetobuild,requirelargeamountsofwatertooperate,generatedangerous,highlyradioactivewasteandcanhavedevastatingconsequencesshouldanaccidentoccur.Ourcoastistooprecioustobecompromisedbyspillsfromoffshoredrilling.Cleanenergyisapositivealternativetoeachoftheseriskyenergysources.

TAKEACTIONTODAY!

Find&ContactYourElectedOfficialshttp://www.bit.ly/legislator-search

SupportOurWork&Becomea

MemberofSACETodaywww.cleanenergy.org/donate

JointheSoutheastCoastal

ClimateNetworkhttp://seccn.groupsite.com

CONTACTYOURELECTEDOFFICIALS

Nationalandstate-levelclimateandenergypoliciesareimperativetoensureprotectionfromtheworstimpactsofclimatechangeandtosecurethebenefitsofcleanenergy.ContactyourelectedofficialsinWashingtonD.C.andRaleighandtellthemwemusthaveclimateandenergypoliciesthat:

Referencesandlinksavailableontheonlineversionofthisfactsheet:http://www.cleanenergy.org/nc-climate-impacts

•Investinjob-creatingenergyefficiencyandcleanenergy•Limitcarbonpollution,suchastheCleanPowerPlan•PreserveandstrengthentheCleanAirAct

•Holdpollutersaccountableandendfossil-fuelsubsidies