Gov. Beverly Perdue is pushing a bill that would increase oversight of coal ash ponds.

North Carolina is home to 12 potentially high-hazard ponds of the sludge byproduct of coal-fired electric plants, more than any other state. The EPA's high-hazard designation means people would probably die if a dam failed, not that the agency has found structural problems.

The bill would subject the dams that create coal ash ponds to direct inspection by the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

“Because of where some of the ponds are located, greater safety oversight and more frequent inspections will help reduce potential risks,” Perdue said in a news release.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Pricey Harrison, a Greensboro Democrat, would subject coal ash dams to the state's Dam Safety Act, which would more closely regulate the impoundments and would require a state inspection every two years.

Duke Energy will soon offer carbon offsets.

The North Carolina power company will allow customers to voluntarily pay more for their electricity, with the additional money used to promote renewable energy sources such as wind farms or other activities, such as planting trees.

Georgia-based green marketing firm Sterling Planet could be a partner.

The program is part of the company's attempt to recast itself as environmentally friendly, especially after a bruising fight with environmentalists over a planned coal power plant in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains.

Duke's proposal would be an expansion of the existing N.C. GreenPower program, which allows customers to buy renewable energy. (Char-O) 

Beverly Perdue called for no more coal plants in North Carolina.

As part of an energy plan released Monday, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate said that the recently approved Cliffside coal plant near Charlotte should be the "end of an era," the Charlotte Observer reports.

No new coal plants are currently planned, however. Progress Energy imposed a two-year moratorium on coal plants last May.

And on Monday, Duke Energy's CEO says he won't build any more coal-fired power plants here.

At the Emerging Issues Forum, Jim Rogers said any future plants would have to offer technology that stores carbon dioxide emissions underground—something not available in North Carolina because of its geology, the Observer .

"That plant is just a step, a transition," Rogers told the audience. "We need it now to make that transformation to a low-carbon world."

Instead, Rogers said the company will likely build coal plants in the Midwest and nuclear plants in the South and transmit the electricity back here.

Protesters greeted attendees of the Emerging Issues Forum.

Just outside the front door of N.C. State's McKimmon Center, a small group of members of environmental group N.C. WARN held signs saying "Dupe Energy."

Another sign was specifically aimed at Duke Energy head Jim Rogers. "Cancel Cliffside" it pleaded.

The Cliffside coal-fired power plant was recently given final approval by state regulators, though environmentalists have argued it will contribute to global warming and air pollution in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

At the door, N.C. WARN members handed out a one-page memo headlined "Green-Scam Alert."

It argued that Duke has "misled the public, media and elected leaders" on its concerns about global warming as well as the environmental impacts of the Cliffside plant. 

This year's forum is focusing on global warming and energy conservation. 

The GOP candidates took different tacks on how the government could reduce preventable diseases at a debate tonight.

Fred Smith said the government should encourage people to have a healthy lifestyle and get regular physical exams, but the responsibility should be on the individual.

"We've got to take responsibility for our lifestyle," he said.

Bill Graham said that public schools should offer more nutritious food in cafeterias, and the state should reduce air pollution that leads to asthma.

"The main aggravator is simply the environmental pollutants we have coming out of our coal-fired plants and a lot of the other industries that we've had," he said.

Pat McCrory agreed that responsibility should be on the individual, but the government should provide cost incentives for choosing healthy lifestyle options.

"We in state government can promote healthy citizens throughout North Carolina by giving tax breaks, especially to small business who promote preventative care for their employees," he said.

Bob Orr cited the Asheville Project, a city program that successfully lowered health care costs by giving incentives to the workers who were costing the most.

"What I'd like to see is to take this program, which private enterprise has also been experimenting with, and take it in to state government," he said.

All but two of the legislators who signed a Feb. 27 letter in favor of a proposed Duke Energy Corp. coal plant received money last year from the company's political action committee.

The letter urged the N.C. Utilities Commission to finish public hearings on the Cliffside project, an 800-megawatt coal-fired plant planned by the Charlotte power company in the Blue Ridge foothills.

Of the 23 senators and representatives who signed it, only Republican Reps. Carolyn Justice and Tim Moore did not receive any money from the Duke Energy Corp. PAC in 2006. (Moore received a $500 donation the year before.)

The contributions, which total $59,750, were mostly given around April and September. They range from $1,000 to Rep. Bill Owens, an Elizabeth City Democrat, to $7,000 to Sen. Tom Apodaca, a Hendersonville Republican.

Of the money, $34,750 went to 13 Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand and House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman, and $25,000 went to eight Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger.

A full list of the 2006 donations after the jump.

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Coal-fired power plants are the primary contributors to global warming.

A blogger challenged that statement in a story in Thursday's paper, so we came up with some data to back it up.

There are several ways to slice the data. Petroleum is actually the biggest man-made source of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, with coal a close second.

But petroleum is used in many different forms, including transportation and heating, while coal is almost exclusively used in power plants.

And coal-fired power plants produce more carbon dioxide than motor gasoline.

More details after the jump.

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