Environment

There's a lot of sludge in South Carolina that's destined for landfills. That's because the sludge produced from some wastewater treatment plants has tested positive for PCBs.

When we first met Carbon Nation director Peter Byck last year, we learned about his cross country journey to meet people who were trying to reduce their carbon footprint whether they believed in global warming or not. He'll join us again on the next Charlotte Talks to talk about why getting the message out about climate change is still such a challenge and about initiatives being made by companies around the country (some that might come as a surprise to you!) to change the way we think about energy and the environment.

Duke’s Edwardsport plant in Indiana is a “coal gasification” plant, meaning the coal gets turned into a gas and some of the pollutants get filtered out, before moving into the turbine.  Company spokesman Chad Eaton says it is the most efficient coal plant in the country, since opening this summer. But, even it would surpass the limit the EPA announced today on the amount of emissions new coal power plants will be able to release.

Jay Leutze was living a quiet life in the Appalachian mountains when he began hearing chain saws and trees falling on the other side of the valley. Jay discovered that a local business man, Paul Brown, was planning to create a massive surface gravel mine on Bellevue Mountain. The facility would blast and crush stone 24 hours a day. A permit had been issued without a single public hearing, a necessary procedural requirement. But Leutze wasn’t sure anything could be done, until he got a call from his 14 year old neighbor. That phone call led him down a five year journey to justice, trying to save the mountain and preserve the landscape for future generations. A conversation about saving a mountain, when Charlotte Talks.

Part One: Old Salem. Just as our country was being forged in the halls of the Continental Congress and birthed in the Revolutionary war, a group of hardy Moravian immigrants was building a settlement in the Piedmont of North Carolina. The town of Salem sprang up and still remains just outside of Winston-Salem. Today it is a living museum, a window into some of the earliest founders of our state. We'’ll visit with the President of Old Salem Inc., a company devoted to the settlement and to educating North Carolinians and other visitors on life in colonial North Carolina. Follow us back in time when Charlotte Talks.

The world’s thirst for more energy has led us down the path to climate change. Some politicians have said that alternatives to fossil fuels may help us reverse that, but the problem is that alternative forms of energy aren't ready on the scale we need. And recently scientists at UNC Charlotte came to an even more alarming conclusion, that the problem is unsolvable. Two of the people working on that project talk about their troubling conclusion, when Charlotte Talks.

We have discussed climate change many times on Charlotte Talks but there is a new science emerging in the study of our changing climate. Social scientists are being called upon more and more to study climate's effect on human culture. Entire societies are changing their traditions, the media is covering the issue differently and lawmakers are shaping policy based on our perception to climate change. One local social scientist has discovered fascinating social changes among native Alaskans. He'll share how those changes could affect policy here in our own region. (Note: This show was pre-recorded last week.)

Well-known former TV meteorologist Terri Bennett has traded the camera and studio for the betterment of the environment, with the founding of her company, called Do Your Part. She's the author of a book by the same name, and in it, gives practical tips that she says help "to remove the roadblocks that currently prevent many Americans from taking steps toward adopting more sustainable lifestyles."  She'll share her expertise with us, and will give us some tips on how to reduce our eco-footprint. (Originally Aired 9/13/2011)

Part One: Old Salem. Just as our country was being forged in the halls of the Continental Congress and birthed in the Revolutionary war, a group of hardy Moravian immigrants was building a settlement in the Piedmont of North Carolina. The town of Salem sprang up and still remains just outside of Winston-Salem. Today it is a living museum, a window into some of the earliest founders of our state. We’ll visit with the President of Old Salem Inc., a company devoted to the settlement and to educating North Carolinians and other visitors on life in colonial North Carolina. Follow us back in time when Charlotte Talks.

Nuclear power continues to be a hot topic when it comes to America's energy future but a new invention could change the entire landscape for nuclear power, or so they the supports of the SMR or Small Modular Reactor. These mini power plants could soon be installed all over the country fueling skyscrapers, neighborhoods and manufacturing plants. Supporters say they are safe, scalable and can be built quickly but those who watch the nuclear industry says that much more research needs to be done before small reactors dot our cities and states. A company on the forefront of this new technology is right in our backyard and we'll hear from them and others on this new plan to power America when Charlotte Talks.