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Y~ • a.o~o -- a- <br />~~-F <br />4~~s~~b <br />RESOLUTION 7 d <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />REGARDING THE USE OF COAL AS AN ENERGY SOURCE <br />FOR THE CO-GENERATION FACILITY OF <br />THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL <br />WHEREAS, medical research has yielded compelling evidence that toxic <br />chemicals, including mercury, arsenic, lead and particulate matter, emitted by <br />coal-fired plants can adversely affect human health: <br />WHEREAS, the UNC-Chapel Hill cogeneration plant is responsible for more than <br />320,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year, contributing to <br />global warming; and <br />WHEREAS, coal mining is often socially and environmentally destructive, and <br />UNC's coal may be extracted using mountain top removal, a method that causes <br />egregious damage to the environment and communities of Appalachia; and <br />WHEREAS, the energy cost savings from burning coal are actually shifted to <br />increased public health and environmental costs; <br />WHEREAS, on April 20 a representative of the group Citizens for aCoal-Free <br />Community presented a petition to the Board of Commissioners' consideration; <br />and <br />WHEREAS, on May 7 UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp issued a statement <br />adopting the recommendations of his appointed Energy Task Force, committing <br />the campus to be coal-free by the year 2020; and <br />WHEREAS, the Commission for the Environment has reviewed the petition and <br />the status of the plant with recommendations regarding needed future <br />monitoring: <br />NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Orange County Board of <br />Commissioners thanks the Citizens for aCoal-Free Community for raising this <br />issue and shares the interest in public health and the move away from coal as an <br />energy source for the UNC co-generation facility. <br />BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board applauds the action of Chancellor <br />Thorp to make the university coal-free by the year 2020, thanks the Commission <br />for the Environment for its thoughtful consideration of the implications of this <br />planned energy source change, and encourages the University to proceed on <br />this path towards acoal-free future at all due speed, mindful of the implications <br />and monitoring needs that are critically-important to assess the impact of this <br />change. <br />