The Chronicle
dukechronicle.com commentary
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2019 | 15
Duke Energy has a stranglehold on NC’s envirnoment and democracy
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n October 31, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a bill aimed to finance storm recovery costs. However, a provision of the bill that would have allowed Duke Energy to raise rates indefinitely was removed after
Allison Bunker GUEST COLUMN long standing public pressure. Given the corporation’s monopoly status in the state, this change would have allowed them to rip off customers and create an even deeper disparity in energy access. Though the incriminating provision is no longer a threat, the power and abuse of Duke Energy continue. As Duke students, many of us come from out of state where the monopoly and reach of Duke Energy are not familiar conditions. I was almost a full year into my Duke career before I heard anything about Duke Energy. Though Duke Energy is technically a separate entity from the university, we are students of a University that was funded by Duke Energy money and therefore responsible for understanding the dark sides of this corporation’s business model. For years, Duke Energy has been wreaking havoc on North Carolina and the broader United States. The local energy justice nonprofit NC Warn describes Duke Energy’s business model as “build power plants, raise rates, control government and distort public debate.” As the largest energy provider in the United States and a monopoly in North Carolina, Duke energy has used this business model to take over the state.
During Duke Energy’s campaign against rooftop solar, the corporation targeted African American leaders in the state, misinforming them that solar energy in North Carolina would hurt the poor. However, a letter from community leader Rev. Nelson Johnson reinforced solar as helping “all customers by reducing overall electricity usage, thus reducing the need to keep building expensive power plants and continually raising customer rates.” Duke Energy’s monopoly in the state of North Carolina allows them to abuse their power, and they do so by spreading lies. One such example is clear through Duke Energy’s disposal of coal ash at six different sites in North Carolina. In 2014, Duke Energy spilled upwards of 6 tons of coal ash, polluting North Carolina air and water to the extent that the state was deemed one of the sites with the “worst contamination” of coal ash. At Duke Energy’s Allen Steam plant in Belmont, the cobalt contamination was 500 times worse than healthy levels. It is estimated that clean up at even one contaminated location will take 32 years. When North Carolina’s environment department demanded that Duke Energy clean up coal ash contamination at six of its power plants in April of 2019, Duke Energy appealed the decision, arguing that the request was not based on “scientific evidence.” Prior to this cleanup request, Duke Energy had already been approved by the state’s utilities commission to raise rates on customers in order to compensate for the $546 million they have already paid in clean up costs. How is it that Duke Energy gets away with these inhumane actions? This is where the second part of their plan comes in: controlling government through donations. In 2017, Duke Energy spent over a million dollars lobbying in NC, over a million dollars on local and federal PACs and at least a million dollars
influencing the Chamber of Commerce in NC. This corruption can be found among politicians of all parties and from all areas of the state. A tool created by Energy Justice NC, a coalition of organizations in the state that are fighting for energy choice in North Carolina, allows constituents to calculate the amount of money their state senators and representatives are receiving from energy monopolies. Given that Duke Energy is a corporation, it could be argued that we, as consumers, can’t expect any better of them than to chase profits, no matter the cost. However, even if this is true, we must demand better of our lawmakers and educational institutions to assert checks on Duke Energy’s power. As Duke students, we must understand the legacy of Duke Energy. Duke Energy abuses its power, harming people across the state of North Carolina and beyond. Duke Energy was a builder of wealth for the family who endowed our University, and the entanglements of the two continue today. Duke planned to allow Duke Energy to build a fracking gas power plant on Duke’s campus until April of 2018, when the University announced it would not allow construction (after facing pushback from student and community activists). Just last week, a piece in The Chronicle condemned the fact that this year’s “Energy Week” was sponsored by none other than Duke Energy. We must demand that the University cut ties with this power-hungry company. If we fail to do so, then we are complicit in Duke Energy’s continued havoc on both our environment and our democracy. Allison Bunker is a Trinity sophomore. She wrote this piece with the research support of NC Warn. You can sign the NC energy justice petition to end the Duke Energy monopoly, and look out for oncampus opportunities to learn more next semester.
Your essential Bon Apétit reading list
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or essentially all of 2019, I have been straight-up not having a good time. It seems everyone I care about has been hurting at some point, in more ways than I can list in this column. After my two best friends and I all lost a grandmother in the span of ten days, we half-jokingly began typing up a Google Doc to record the year’s catastrophes. The file is entitled “2019 curse” and is now three pages, single spaced. This year has simply not been an easy one.
Gretchen Wright CAMERON CRAVINGS
Despite all of the bullet points on that list, one blessing has graced and sustained my life throughout the darkest moments: the Bon Appétit YouTube channel. I don’t want to be dramatic (who am I kidding, of course I do), but it does not feel like an exaggeration to say that it is the best thing that has happened to me this year. If you aren’t one of Bon Appétit’s 4.82 million YouTube subscribers, you might appreciate some context. The Bon Appétit channel, like the magazine, is centered around food. Most of their content consists of tutorials where test kitchen staff members walk the viewer through a recipe, but they also have several video series where specific editors complete more specialized tasks and activities. For example, in “Gourmet Makes,” senior food editor (and my personal role model) Claire Saffitz is challenged to recreate and perfect popular snack foods like Twinkies or Doritos. Other series focus on everything from exploring food fermentation to guest celebrities cooking gourmet dishes with only verbal instructions. Of course I watched their videos before 2019 started. I got the Top Fan badge on Facebook for Bon Appétit for the first time on November 28, 2018 (a date I remember
vividly and have listed on my resume under “accomplishments and awards”), but I like to think I was an unofficial top fan for much longer. That said, Bon Appétit has had a genuine moment this year, with longer videos, more frequent uploads and even several new series like “Making Perfect” and “Reverse Engineering.” A passionate, wonderful community of unofficial content has sprouted up around these videos: meme pages, merchandise featuring art created by fans and even a Twitter account devoted entirely to Claire Saffitz’s hair. All this creative energy, centered around lovely people and good food, has produced one of the most wholesome pockets of the Internet. And this year, wholesome was exactly what we all needed. Bon Appétit has made the worst days bearable. It has made me a better, more adventurous cook. It has strengthened old friendships and forged new ones with group chats dominated by pictures of the recipes we have tried: crispy saffron rice, banana bread, rigatoni with vodka sauce. So this is my holiday gift to you: a Bon Appétit reading list, for every occasion and emotion. The days are growing shorter, the deadlines are piling up and there’s no space in Perkins right now anyways. Get cozy with a blanket, pour a cup of tea, hot cocoa or wine and imagine the glamorous life you will live once you can afford a fully-functioning kitchen. Here’s what I recommend watching when... I’m feeling sad but want to feel happy: Brad and Matty Matheson Go Noodling for Catfish Part 1. In this episode of “It’s Alive,” Brad Leone and guest star Matty Matheson travel to Oklahoma to go digging around for catfish in a muddy creek. General hilarity ensues, and we all need a good laugh. If a catfish named “Ezekiel” doesn’t make you scream with laughter, I’m out of ideas. I’m feeling sad but want to stay sad: Pastry Chef Attempts to Make Gourmet Pop Rocks. This is the closest Bon Appétit has come to making me feel sad. Claire is a capable, brilliant angel and I would never
say that she had failed per se, but Pop Rocks do prove to be an unconquerable challenge. Seeing her upset makes me upset, okay? I’m feeling happy and want to stay happy: Chris and Andy Try to Make the Perfect Pizza Toppings. This video could alternately be called, “Chris and Andy Make the Perfect Video,” because there is simply nothing wrong with it. Chris and Andy are the ultimate dynamic duo, and collaborate inventively and supportively. Just guys being dudes, making and sampling dozens of pizzas in their pursuit of perfection. It is a joy to behold. I’m feeling lonely: The BA Test Kitchen Makes the Perfect Thanksgiving Meal. I don’t want to spoil any part of this precious video, so I won’t go into specifics here. I will say that this made me laugh and cry and miss my family and be grateful for my friends, all in one go. I’m feeling generally content: Queer Eye’s Antoni Porowski Tries to Keep Up with a Professional Chef. Worlds collide in this installment, and it all goes wonderfully. Why Antoni, who is a pretty experienced cook, only had to make a sandwich when poor Troye Sivan, who knows comparatively nothing, had to spatchcock a chicken is beyond me, but that’s neither here nor there. This is just two beautiful humans cooking cheesy carbs. What could be better? I’m feeling stressed and want to be soothed: Brad and Priya Make Yogurt. Priya looks adorable in her turtleneck; Brad gets a nickname; everyone is very giggly. There are several incredibly heartwarming storytelling detours, and Priya even Facetimes her dad, making this one of the most wholesome and healing Bon Appétit videos. I’m feeling stressed and want to be inspired: Pastry Chef Attempts to Make Gourmet Pop-Tarts. Everything Claire does is a success because she is perfect, but PopTarts go particularly well for her. She aces this one, and it’s so satisfying to watch that I want to bust out a rolling pin (or open my textbooks) and get something done.
Claire herself says: “Basically, this was an unmitigated success,” which is the kind of can-do attitude we should all strive for. I’m feeling competitive: Molly Makes Strawberry Shortcake. You could watch basketball and think about how Zion and RJ never would have lost to Stephen F. Austin State, or you could watch Molly race Chris in juicing lemons and Andy in whipping cream. Up to you. I’m feeling hungry: Trying Everything on the Menu at a Famous NYC Taco Shop. I’m low on food points and had ABP soup for dinner, but I want to imagine that I’m eating a five-star feast. Watching Alex and Rick sample every taco, quesadilla, and tostada on the menu at the famed Los Tacos No. 1 is almost enough to fool my taste buds and stomach. I’m feeling like I have no purpose or calling and school is meaningless and I don’t want to be here anymore: Brad and Claire Make Doughnuts Part 2. The subtitle of this video (and this semester) is “The Disaster.” The first seven minutes are complete tomfoolery, followed by a series of tragic mistakes and misjudgments. It is absolutely deranged and wildly entertaining, and I take comfort in the fact that even Brad and Claire sometimes have no idea what they’re doing. In years like this, full of heartache and fear, finding moments of uncomplicated, unproblematic, unadulterated joy can feel like an impossible quest. This world is hard, and doesn’t make sense, but I have never had a bad day that wasn’t alleviated by watching these kind, brilliant people cook and laugh together. No YouTube video can fix the mishap that was 2019, but Bon Appétit makes me feel hopeful for 2020. For now, that’s enough. Gretchen Wright is a Trinity senior whose entire personality is roughly 25% love for the Bon Appétit test kitchen. Her column, “Cameron Cravings,” runs on alternate Thursdays.