Happy Thanksgiving, Clog readers. Be safe. Be good(ish). Relax. Have fun. Say hi to Mom for us.

Sorry you’re stuck at work till 5 p.m. Looking for something to do? (Go ahead, put your headphones on … )

Go Elf Yourself.

Click here to see my husband, Dan, and I … as (disco) elves.

Not interested in embarrassing yourself online? You can always go Flash Mob style …

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Now that the U.S. government has a financial stake in the American auto industry, it’s advisable to watch legislation involving that sector all the closer.

Here’s an opportunity to tell the government what you think about new auto standards. Note: the public comment period ends Friday.

From SaveTheEnvironment.org:

The Obama administration has proposed new standards that would require new cars sold in the U.S. to average 34.1 mpg, cutting our greenhouse gas emissions and saving us money.

There’s just one problem: loopholes in the new standards would allow automakers to dodge the new regulations instead of meeting them…

BUT we have a chance to close the loopholes and strengthen the rule if we act before Friday, the 27th!

Please write the EPA and the Department of Transportation (DOT) right now, and urge them to close the loopholes that would allow automakers to evade the new standards.

The EPA and the DOT have asked for comments from the public by Friday, before they implement the Obama Administration’s proposal.

It’s hard to overstate what’s at stake here: we must cut greenhouse gas emissions dramatically in order to avoid climate catastrophe, and we must cut them now!

Making our cars more fuel-efficient is one of the most effective ways to accomplish this.

If the proposed standards are enacted, the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the vehicles sold in model years 2012-2016 would equal 950 million metric tons – the equivalent of shutting down 204 coal-fired power plants for a whole year!

During the same time period these standards could save American car owners 1.8 billion barrels of oil. That’s money we’ll keep in our pockets – instead of shipping it to countries like Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Libya, and Nigeria.

Tell the EPA and DOT that we can’t afford to enact weak standards.

Please don’t delay – we only have until next Friday to make our voices heard and force them to close these dangerous loopholes.

Once you’ve taken action, please forward this message to your friends and family to keep our momentum going strong!

Thanks for all that you do to protect the environment.

Sincerely,

Michael Town
Campaign Director, SaveOurEnvironment.org
info@saveourenvironment.org

Here’s President Obama announcing his emission standard goals:

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Don’t forget: Renew, reuse, reduce, rethink, recycle. We’ve only got one livable planet — so far; be kind to her.

Unfortunately the coal ash at Charlotte’s two unlined, high-hazard coal ash ponds — located on Mountain Island Lake just upstream from where Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities sucks our drinking water out of the lake — isn’t recyclable. But, the good news is some of the coal ash from newer, more efficient coal-fired plants is re-purpose-able.

Since last December, when a Tennessee Valley Authority dike broke spilling an estimated billion gallons of coal sludge over 300 acres, the nation became aware of coal ash ponds in their own communities, including two in Charlotte’s backyard.

However, for academics and industry professionals, finding new uses for the toxic material is nothing new.

In fact coal ash is an ingredient used at some concrete production facilities, and has been for years. Brett Tempest is writing his thesis about ways to reuse coal ash as a Ph.D candidate at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

“I like the idea that you can make good new things from waste,” he said.

But variances in coal and the varied ways coal waste is processed at the 600-plus coal-fired power plants in the United States makes it difficult for the concrete industry to establish specific standards, which means it’s not being used as much as it could be.

“It’s not a very uniform waste,” said Tempest, “but it’s uniform compared to a scoop from a landfill.”

Read the rest of this Mountain Island Weekly article here.

While coal ash in concrete is relatively safe, not all products that include coal ash may be:

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OK, maybe not everyone — but Environment North Carolina would like to see a lot of solar panels installed in our state. Plus, they say Mecklenburg County is a great place to get started with their solar aspirations. Oh, and make it snappy.

The big snag, as always, is money. Though, if the state — and especially Charlotte — wants to become an alternative energy leader, I’m sure they’ll find a way to step up supply — which will lead to lower prices — to meet rising demand.

An environmental advocacy group that says North Carolina’s greenhouse gas emissions are rising proposes a solution: Putting solar panels on nearly 700,000 rooftops.

Environment North Carolina, in a report to be issued today, says that based on current solar energy development in the state, the sun could supply at least 14 percent of the state’s energy needs in two decades.

The group’s report identifies Wake and Mecklenburg counties as having the greatest number of rooftops suitable for solar panels.

…

The goal set out by Environment North Carolina would require the state to develop 13,900 megawatts of solar energy, which would make this state nearly equivalent to the 14,730 megawatts of solar energy currently available worldwide.

Megawatt for megawatt, solar power is the most expensive form of electricity today, but green energy advocates say planning can’t be based on current costs.

“The cost of solar power is coming down, while the cost of dirty energy is going up,” said Elizabeth Ouzts, state director for Environment North Carolina. “In the not-too-distant future, the cost of solar will be cheaper than building a new coal-fired power plant.”

The solar report comes a day after the group released a study saying North Carolina’s greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere have risen 39 percent from 1990 to 2007. The data come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s “State Energy Consumption, Price and Expenditure Estimates.”

The rise in emissions is caused by more cars on the road burning more fuel, and more electricity being generated by the state’s 45 coal-burning units.

Read the entire Raleigh News and Observer article here.

Further reading:

• N.C. to get $950K for green jobs
• Report details ‘coal’s assault on human health’
• IRS Disclosures Show Extent of Oil and Coal Groups’ Outreach
• Doctors call for cleaner coal
• Local firms get grants for green projects

“You know what a green economy is? It’s jobs and opportunity.”

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Bank of America isn’t the only banking show in town.

While many of his peers are hunkering down in the financial crisis, U.S. Bancorp chief executive Richard Davis is on the offensive.

This spring, for instance, the Minneapolis-based bank announced plans to open a new capital markets and corporate banking office in Charlotte. On Monday, Davis, 51, was in town to meet employees, visit with clients and check out a trading floor set to open Monday in the bank’s Hearst Tower offices.

The bank has nearly 150 employees here in corporate banking, capital markets and a corporate trust business purchased from Wachovia Corp. in 2005. It has said it’s adding a total of about 70 employees here by the end of next year, although Davis said the number could be higher. He said he hasn’t put a cap on hiring here, led by former Wachovia bankers Jim Kelligrew and Dee O’Dell.

…

In addition to Kelligrew’s investment-grade bond unit and O’Dell’s Southeast corporate banking business, the Charlotte office has also added employees with expertise in syndicated loans, compliance and municipal bonds. The bank could also make hires in commercial real estate, portfolio management and treasury management.

In retail banking, U.S. Bank recently hired a Wachovia executive, Becky DeGeorge, who helped the Charlotte bank become the leader in customer service among large banks. She will remain based in Charlotte, although U.S. Bank doesn’t have any retail banking locations in the Carolinas.

Read more from The Charlotte Observer here.

In slightly related news:  Wells Fargo workers pledge $42M

Just remember to take everything big bankers say with a grain of salt shot of whiskey.

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Say Griffin Brothers and I think oil changes and tires, not recycling and alternative energy.

Say the words reclamation center or landfill, and you might think of recycling. But alternative energy?

Yet, that’s just how Mike Griffin looks at his family’s North Mecklenburg C&D Recycling Center on Holbrooks Road. Griffin Brothers already produces one form of alternative energy – wood – and in just a few years, it could tap the sun with a solar energy farm.

Griffin Brothers is recycling half of the construction debris – measured by weight – trucked to the center. The two largest sources of recycled material are wallboard that is reused from construction projects and “clean wood” leftover at building sites.

…

By grinding up the leftover wallboard, Griffin Brothers gets gypsum dust, which it can sell to fertilizer makers, and bits of gypsum-encrusted paper, which provides a great floor covering in large chicken houses.

The company also recycles pieces of concrete block, bricks or stone, grinding them into large and small pieces that construction companies can use for riprap, to stop erosion, or in building roads.

…

And if the town [of Huntersville] allows Griffin Bros. to also fill 2 to 3 acres of land between its two existing fill sites, the company has plans to use all that land – once finished – for a solar farm. Mike Griffin said the company’s research shows such a field could produce a “significant” amount of electricity.

Read the entire Carolina Weekly Newspapers article here.

RocketBoom covers construction debris recycling:

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If you’ve been screwed by Vonage, you have until March 16 to file a claim by calling 1-877-5-no-scam.

Telephone company Vonage will refund customers and pay $3 million to North Carolina and 31 other states under a settlement involving the company’s cancellation policies.

The N.C. Department of Justice will use the settlement to enforce consumer-protection laws.

The settlement requires Vonage to make refunds to eligible consumers who filed complaints regarding unauthorized charges after January 2004. According to N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper’s office, 65 North Carolinians have complained to the consumer-protection division about Vonage’s customer service and cancellation policies since 2007.

Read the rest of this Charlotte Business Journal article here.

Former Vonage customer goes all “Office Space” (the movie) on their Vonage modem:

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About a dozen protesters hung out in front of the Mecklenburg County Courthouse this afternoon, some in costume. There were the usual picket signs, then there was the depiction of a coal industry executive forcing a blindfolded Justice to her knees. (Photos below.)

Originally, the group — which includes members of several environmental organizations — planned to protest during the trial of Ken Davies. He’s a local attorney who was arrested during the April protest at Duke Energy headquarters in Uptown, along with roughly 40 of his fellow protesters. (See photos from that protest here.)

The crime? They became trespassers when they voluntarily crossed a pink line spray-painted on the sidewalk. Of the 40 arrested in April, 30 have already paid their debt to society — either through community service or by paying court costs. The final 10? Their charges were dropped last week.

Davies attempted to subpoena Jim Rogers, the company’s CEO, to testify at his trial. He hoped Rogers would show and defend the company’s Cliffside Steam Station (a coal plant), located about 50 miles from Uptown Charlotte.

Bruce Lillie, a supervisor in the D.A.’s office, says — despite appearances — the court’s decision to drop their charges against Davies, and nine others, was coincidental and doesn’t have anything to do with Davies’ attempt to subpoena Rogers. More, Lillie says, he wasn’t aware Rogers was being honored tonight by the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce.

“Our feeling was we had convicted a lot of people already involved with this case,” said Lillie. Plus, he added, he heard that the protesters who didn’t plead guilty planned to use their court time to draw attention to their cause — and, he said, that isn’t a good use of the court’s time.

“From a practical standpoint,” he said, “the court doesn’t have the resources to turn a trespassing case into a 2-3 day trial.”

When Davies’ trespassing charge was dropped, plans for the protest got confused said Brian Seaton, one of the protests organizers. He expects a bigger crowd of protesters to show up tonight, at the Convention Center. The protest will begin at 5:30 and the group plans to hold their own award ceremony at 6:30.

Tonight, while Rogers is inside accepting the 2009 Citizen of the Carolinas Award, the protesters plan to honor him as Hypocrite of the Year.

They say he’s a “greenwasher” because he says he’s in favor of promoting alternative energy production while constructing a new coal fired plant.

“Among the things that are harmful to our planet,” said Donna Lisenby, of Appalachian Voices and the Upper Watauga Riverkeeper, “coal-fired plants are among the worst things.”

Duke Energy representative, Tom Williams, isn’t bothered by the protests. Instead, he says, “We admire the people who are protesting. We admire their passion and enthusiasm.”

He says his boss, Jim Rogers, has already testified under oath about Cliffside — to the North Carolina Utilities Commission and didn’t have anything to do with the protesters’ trespassing cases.

So far, all efforts by environmentalists to halt construction at Cliffside have failed.

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This morning, the staff of Creative Loafing Charlotte received the following news release from officials in our corporate office:

TAMPA, FL — A prominent Florida newspaper executive has been named chief executive officer of Creative Loafing, the alternative newsweekly group, its owner announced today.

Marty Petty, 56, is the former publisher of the St. Petersburg Times and the Hartford (CT) Courant. She will succeed Richard W. Gilbert who has been interim CEO since the reorganized company emerged from bankruptcy this fall under the new ownership of Atalaya Capital Management LP, a New York investment firm.

The news was shared with the Creative Loafing staff today through a memo. Creative Loafing (www.creativeloafing.com) publishes six alternative weekly newspapers and other Web sites, such as (www.straightdope.com), in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Tampa, Sarasota, Fla. and here in Charlotte.

The announcement of Petty, who began her newspaper career in 1983 at the Kansas City Stay and Times, marks the second significant appointment of a notable news veteran this month; having named James Warren, former managing editor of the Chicago Tribune, to the publisher and president post at the Chicago Reader.

“I’m invigorated by the possibilities to deepen relationships with our readers and advertisers and expand our influence in our communities,” Petty said. “The coverage areas which have differentiated and distinguished the alternative press historically may be more important than ever.”

“This is an opportunity to lead a truly unique company in one of the most economically challenging times we have known. But these remain vibrant markets and it’s a wide open field as all media are challenged to redefine themselves to meet consumers changing lifestyles and information needs,” Petty said.

Gilbert described Petty’s expertise as “an unique mix seldom found in one publishing executive. She has solid journalistic values honed from her early career in the newsroom and her long-standing commitment to hard-hitting journalism. All three of her last papers earned Pulitzer Prizes during her leadership. As publisher of two of the nation’s most highly respected newspapers, she has also earned a reputation as a skilled and creative marketing and sales executive who knows how to build strategic alliances to ensure success. “

In addition to her CEO role, Petty joins the company’s board of directors. Gilbert, who has been at the helm of the business since Atalaya took ownership on August 25, will continue as a member of the board as well.

Creative Loafing is headquartered in Tampa, FL. It publishes six alternative newsweeklies: the Chicago Reader (www.chicagoreader.com) the City Paper in Washington DC www.washingtoncitypaper.com, Creative Loafing/Atlanta, Creative Loafing /Tampa, Creative Loafing/Sarasota and Creative Loafing/Charlotte (www.creativeloafing.com). Its national Web site presence also includes www.StraightDope.com. It has combined weekly print circulation of more than 400,000 copies and monthly online unique visitors in excess of 1.5 million.

Look for more on this appointment later on The CLog.

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When will they stop lying?

The coal front group American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity has been in hot water lately for employing an astroturf group that forged letters to Congress opposing the House climate bill—and then for possibly lying under oath about their position. Now ACCCE is in trouble again—for misrepresenting the views of two major veterans groups in an email hyping coal’s role in energy security.

The email, sent in anticipation of Veterans’ Day, argues that coal can play a vital role in reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil and cites two groups—VoteVets and Operation Free. The problem: both of those groups are strong supporters of climate legislation—in part because of the national security threats posed by global warming—while ACCCE has been working energetically to undermine a bill.

Read more, including the e-mail in question, from Mother Jones here.

In related news, check out the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs’ Web site to learn more about Veteran’s Day, which is today.

Operation Free visits Washington:

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