Set sprinklers to water the lawn or garden only - not the street or sidewalk.
Use the microwave to cook small meals. (It uses less power than an oven.)
Purchase "Green Power" for your home's electricity. (Contact your power supplier to see where and if it is available.)
Scrape, rather than rinse, dishes before loading into the dishwasher; wash only full loads.
Cut back on air conditioning and heating use if you can.
Turn off appliances and lights when you leave the room.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Environmental groups opened a pair of fronts Wednesday in their effort to stop construction of Duke Energy's new coal-fired generator in western North Carolina, asking state regulators to halt the project while at the same time appealing their decision to issue the air quality permit allowing the project to proceed.
Citing a recent federal appeals court order, the Southern Environmental Law Center said Duke was violating the Clean Air Act by continuing work on the $2.4 billion generator. John Suttles, an attorney for the group, said the court's order requires power plants to install pollution controls more stringent than those required by state regulators.
Suttles said the state Division of Air Quality should reconsider the permit in the wake of the court's action.
"If Duke continues construction, it would be subject to a lawsuit to force it to comply with the law," Suttles said.
Meanwhile, two other groups -- Appalachian Voices and N.C. Waste Awareness & Reduction Network -- filed a direct appeal of agency's decision to grant Duke the air quality permit.
Duke Energy Corp. spokeswoman Marilyn Lineberger said the company would fight both efforts, arguing that construction of generator was proceeding legally and fairly.
"We're confident that the Division of Air Quality reviewed all applicable state and federal laws and applied them to the permit," she said.
Duke is building the 800-megawatt generator at its Cliffside Steam Station, about 50 miles west of Charlotte. Work began in late January, a day after the division approved the final air quality permit. Duke expects to close four of its five older coal plants at Cliffside when the new unit opens in 2012.
Environmental groups have long opposed the project, but their most recent arguments focus on a ruling issued last month by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
The court found that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency violated the Clean Air Act when it scrapped a policy that required utilities to install the best available technology to capture mercury -- a neurotoxin that can damage developing brains of fetuses and very young children.
Duke's five plants at Cliffside now emit about 157 pounds of mercury annually. Duke said the new generator will use equipment that will reduce mercury by 90 percent, but opponents argue technology exists that can reduce emissions by up to 98 percent.
The environmental groups' appeal claims the state Division of Air Quality failed to require Duke to install maximum pollution control devices. As a result, excessive amounts of mercury will be released into the air and affect public health and the environment, the appeal said.
Lineberger, the Duke spokeswoman, said the court ruling doesn't apply to the Cliffside project.
"The recent overturning of the federal mercury emissions limit have no impact on this permit since the division included the North Carolina levels for mercury emissions, which is more protective than the federal limits," she said.
Suttles said the court decision does apply.
"All along, Duke has acted as though the hazardous air pollution requirements didn't apply to it, so it did nothing to satisfy those requirements. Now there's no question. It has to take action," Suttles said.
About 20 environmental organizations had said they would appeal the state Division of Air Quality's decision to issue the permit, including the Sierra Club and New York-based Waterkeeper Alliance. Appalachian Voices and N.C. WARN were the first to file the paperwork with the state Office of Administrative Hearings, which will place the case before an administrative law judge.
"This is such an important issue that we need to move forward," said Jim Warren, director of N.C. WARN. "And we need to make sure they stop construction until the court hears the case."
The fight puts North Carolina at center of the nationwide effort to stop construction of coal-fired plants, which have been blamed for greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Duke's new unit will produce 5.5 million tons a year of carbon dioxide.
It also places state Attorney General Roy Cooper in an uncomfortable position.
Cooper has sued the Tennessee Valley Authority, claiming its coal-fired power plants emit pollutants that impair air quality in western North Carolina. Now his agency may have to defend the state Division of Air Quality for issuing a permit that could lead to the same pollution problems.
Cooper spokeswoman Noelle Talley declined to comment about the pending Cliffside appeal.
"It's a clear contradiction," Warren said. "It still shows that while elected official can be tough with out-of-state polluters, it's a lot more difficult with the home-grown utility giants. I think Cooper needs to make clear what his position is."
