Eureka! I finally discovered Donald Trump’s superpower | Opinion
I have finally concluded that Trump’s superpower is that he enables his followers to delude themselves about who he is because they can then delude themselves about who they are.
Scott Shuford, Hillsborough
Coal Transition
The writer is a UNC professor and researcher of energy systems.
With increasing pressure to transition from fossil fuels to clean energy sources, I’ve been looking into how we can transition away from coal in a way that’s healthy, safe and good for our economy.
My team and I at UNC studied specific coal sites in North Carolina that could close in the next decade. We looked at the relationship between energy systems, low-carbon development and human health. We found that repurposing coal plants into renewable energy or advanced nuclear facilities is less expensive than maintaining the current coal fleet, and local economic benefits are many. By switching to clean electricity, local tax revenues at sites in NC are estimated to increase by at least $28 million, which can be used to improve schools or other public works.
We must take a cautious approach to avoid coal ash spills, but if handled carefully, transitioning from coal to advanced nuclear and renewables will reduce overall health risks while improving our livelihoods at the same time.
Noah Kittner, Chapel Hill
Not proud
I am ashamed of my country. Our country has always had a shadow on it. Slavery and genocide were part of its very foundation. We perpetuated discrimination and injustice for centuries after.
But, I had always thought that we wanted to be good. That we were always slowly but steadily moving towards justice, striving to be better. As Martin Luther King, Jr said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” I thought there was pride to be had in our direction, if we could not be completely proud of our past.
I do not think that anymore. We have definitely proven that we live in a country where values like kindness, respect, equality and justice are not shared by all people. Our neighbors and members of our families do not believe in these ideals. What does that leave us to be proud of?
Marshall Crawley, Morrisville
Anti-science Duke Energy
The writer is the director of NC Warn, a green energy group.
The utilities commission gave Duke essentially everything it wanted, as usual, in an order issued Friday. The commission remains a rubber-stamping regulator. For decades they’ve been under the control of Duke Energy’s influence.
Duke Energy and the commission seem anti-science, and they’re planning to take this state in the wrong direction for decades to come despite continuing opposition by most parties. They’re expanding fossil fuels and suppressing renewables – exactly backward from the demands of climate scientists.
It’s a pro-carbon plan. Yet Duke Energy has the corporate gall to claim it “is executing an ambitious clean energy transition.” It’s tragic especially with so much misery already resulting from climate disasters.
Jim Warren, Durham
Foreign aid
Few realize that foreign aid is key to growth in U.S. manufacturing. According to the federal international assistance agency, in the past decade almost two-thirds of export growth came from major federal aid receivers. Furthermore “eleven of America’s top fifteen export markets are in countries that have been recipients of U.S. foreign assistance” noted the Borgen Project, a nonprofit for international development through humanitarian aid.
Congressional leaders such as Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen Jr. (D-MD) are working across the aisle to protect the International Affairs Budget, signaling to business leaders and American workers that export growth remains a top priority.
In Clayton, N.C., pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk has announced a $4.1 billion investment to increase production of the lifesaving weight loss drugs. Target markets for these drugs include federal aid recipient Mexico, where pharmaceutical exports from North Carolina totaled $5.23 billion in 2022. While those number may be unusually large, their story is clear. Foreign aid boosts American manufacturing and job growth.
Riley Emel, Cary