Richard Moore held a roundtable on global warming today.

The state treasurer — and Democratic gubernatorial candidate — hosted representatives of five North Carolina corporations at his office this morning to discuss their strategies to fight global warming emissions, John Murawski reports.

Moore's invite was timed with the release of the "Carbon Disclosure Project Report 2007," an annual tally of global warming strategies by 315 worldwide companies, including some of the biggest in this state.

With responsibility of overseeing the nation's ninth largest pension fund, Moore said his interest was pushing the state farther along toward energy efficiency and renewable energy. He added that global warming not only poses business risks but also creates business opportunities. Specifically, he would like to see North Carolina develop agricultural fuels to revive the farming sector.

"The problem is we don't have an overwhelming cash crop in North Carolina with what's happened to tobacco," Moore said.

More after the jump.

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Rep. Beverly Earle defaulted on an $8,000 loan for her son.

The Charlotte Democrat, who is running for mayor, was ordered to pay more than $3,000, plus interest, after defaulting on a loan for her son, Steve Jessup, the Charlotte Observer reports.

An attorney for RBC Centura argued in court that Earle and Jessup never replied to the lawsuit.

Earle said she didn't learn about the lawsuit until a few days ago, although a FedEx delivery confirmation from 2006 bears a signature with her name.

It's not the first time Earle's been in trouble with a bank. In three lawsuits from the early 1990s, companies argued that the ice cream shops she ran failed to pay them thousands of dollars it owed.

Earle eventually paid in at least two of the cases.