Environmental Awareness and Advocacy in North Carolina

We have had recent opportunities to attend several informational sessions concerning environmental issues in North Carolina.  These have been focused on the proposed Titan Cement plant, proposed wind energy areas and proposed drilling areas off the coast.  We were not aware of these challenges or the opportunity for wind energy when we moved here, but have learned quite a bit in the last year.  Some information was obtained at the meetings with Bureau of Offshore Energy Management staff as well as several advocacy groups.

After a recent meeting I was asked by an advocate from the NC Conservation Network  http://www.ncconservationnetwork.org/to write a letter to the editor of the Wilmington NC paper concerning the proposal to allow oil drilling off the Carolina coast.  We were also asked to create a sign which is included on the http://environmentnorthcarolina.org/ facebook page.

I am looking to become more involved with some of these advocacy groups.

Listed below is my letter.  So far, it has not been published, but it has only been a few days.

To the Editor:

Oil drilling off our coast is not the answer.
Over the last week, I was able to attend two meetings conducted by the Bureau of Offshore
Energy Management (BOEM). The meetings covered the potential for wind power off the North
Carolina coast as well as the potential for oil exploration in the Atlantic, including the North
Carolina coast. The BOEM team provided a good deal of information on the proposals and
the process they will follow. A good part of that process involves public input. This is our best
chance to make the BOEM and our elected representatives aware of any concerns we have.
And I have concerns, grave concerns.
I also had the chance to hear advocates from both industry and environmental groups. After
carefully listening to all involved, I conclude that oil drilling is a bad deal for North Carolina.
The environmental risks are awful, especially when safer, more viable options are on the table.
The main clean option for our coast is wind energy. All oil wells leak or seep poison into our
ocean. This proposal puts oil rigs close to the Gulf Stream which would carry the devastation
worldwide. The only resolve the industry could say is that they are better than in 2010 when
they permanently poisoned the Gulf. Yet, incidents occur on a regular basis.
Let’s face it, North Carolina is facing environmental attacks on many fronts. These range from
Titan Cement, to fracking to oil drilling to coal ash spills. These are threats to the air we breathe
and the water we drink. Sadly, many of our elected representatives seem blinded to these and
have more allegiance to their sponsors than to fellow citizens. I want energy independence as
much as anyone, but we should be focused on achieving it with renewable energy not by using
poison to drill for more poison.
Please make use of the comment period to contact BOEM and also your elected
representatives. Let them know that North Carolina can be a leader in renewable energy and
we do not want oil drilling off our coast. Let’s leave a clean North Carolina for our children and
grandchildren.

Challenges of finding your spot

How do you find your spot?  This is a question we face from pre school through retirement.  In retirement it is what group to join or what volunteer activities to give your time to.  Lets face it, there are a lot of organizations that do good work and have good people, but some are just not a good fit for you.  I am coming to that conclusion with a group I have working with for several months.

I am also taking a very interesting class through the library.  It is called "Follow Your Heart and success Will Follow".  It is really geared to finding a career that makes you happy, fulfilled and does not seem like work.  But the class really applies to retirement and finding what your "next career" will be.  The class takes you through several exercises designed to find your skills, values and what you like.  Today I completed a session on your values and also your skills.  While doing the exercises, I came to the conclusion that I do not like disorder among those I work for.  Believe me I experienced enough of this at work.  I don't like it when there is a vacuum of leadership that says "You all work it out and I will be good with it", even when you are quite far apart.  That is what leaders are for, to set some direction.

So, I am coming to a conclusion that I need a different group.  I have put some solid effort into this group, including working on a new narrative for the tours I lead.  This was basically a redo of the entire tour to make it more interesting and more accurate, but part of the group wants to continue with a tour that is something less than a complete truth and the leaders seem ok with that.  Retirement is supposed to be fun, not frustrating, and it has been, except for this part.  So, rather than continue to be frustrated, I think it is time to finish my commitments and move on.

As I said, there are plenty of organizations, doing plenty of good work.  It is still a bit of trial and error to make sure the mission and the people match.  We do work with two other groups that do match.  They have teams with a clear message and they seem to be good people.  I think we will spend more time working with them.

We will also continue to goof off, take walks and bike rides, do work on the house and yard, plan a few vacation trips this year and be part of other fun groups and in general enjoy life.  I joined a book club at the library that meets tomorrow.  I have not been part of this type of group before so it will take me a little out of my comfort zone, but that can be a good thing.

I will keep posting on how this works out.