Members from Environment North Carolina, FracTracker Alliance and the Ecologic Institute spoke about the negative impacts of nonrenewable energy sources to about 50 students and guests in Mann Hall Monday night. 

Throughout the Our Energy Solutions event, speakers advertised the potential for increased renewable energy sources throughout North Carolina and highlighted the harmful effects hydraulic fracking has imposed on environments and public health. 

David Rogers, the director of Environment North Carolina, said fracking is the process of drilling down into the Earth and using a mixture of water, chemicals and sand to fracture the rocks to in turn release natural gas. 

“About 16 Olympic-sized pools of water are used to fracture each well,” said Brook Lenker, executive director of the FracTracker Alliance. “With all that water use comes a lot of waste material, and this is certainly not the only concern.”

Lenker went on to list various other impacts and issues associated with hydraulic fracking including air pollution, water pollution, earthquakes, public safety and even atypical truck traffic in areas where fracking is taking place. 

“These environmental and public health risks are real,” Lenker said. “Climate and energy are the biggest challenges facing human kind, and it’s time we start making more of an effort towards renewable energy.”

As of March 17, North Carolina is open for business when it comes to fracking, according to Rogers. However, partially due to the current low cost of natural gas, not a single company has applied for a hydraulic fracking permit in North Carolina. 

Rogers is hopeful that hydraulic fracking will remain nonexistent in the state and that more steps will be taken towards developing North Carolina’s renewable energy sources. 

“North Carolina has significant potential for renewable energy that is not being used yet,” said Elizabeth Tedsen, a senior fellow with the Ecologic Institute. 

According to Rogers, North Carolina ranks fourth in the country in total solar capacity, in large part to a number of policies the state has in place regarding renewable energy and the amount of sunlight available.

“Despite being ranked so high in solar capacity, less than .06 percent of the two percent of North Carolina’s current renewable electricity generation is coming from solar sources,” Tedsen said. 

In addition to this, North Carolina has the most offshore wind potential anywhere in the Atlantic, according to Rogers. 

“A UNC study from 2009 says that we could power 130 percent of the state’s needs from offshore wind energy alone,” Rogers said. “Given this information, I don’t understand why we haven’t begun to harness this energy source yet”. 

Liz Kazal, a field associate for Environment North Carolina said that North Carolina is at a crossroads.

“We can decide to go down the path of a clean energy future, or we can continue to invest in fossil fuels,” Kazal said. 

Today, North Carolina State continues to be led by nuclear power, natural gas and coal, something which all the panel speakers’ hope will change in the near future. 

“We have tons of clean energy opportunities in here,” Rogers said. “We just need to start taking advantage of them.”