Our sandblasting professionals will, strip, prime and restore bronze plaques, monuments, metal antiques and other decorative pieces to like new condition. Our highly trained staff of professionals has helped restore numerous monuments, memorial plaques, and treasured antiques throughout the tri-state area.
Our staff will gladly help you with the planning of refinishing and restoring your memorial back to its original beauty.


Direct current power plugs are available at SF Cable. These DC power plugs are commonly used for security camera power supply and other low voltage devices. It replaces your damaged or cut power connections to make connectivity possible with direct current.
SFCable assures you with the quality of the product as all of them are sources from ISO 9001-2000 registered manufacturers and are RoHS compliant. Customer satisfaction is guaranteed along with good after sale services. We provide lifetime technical support for all our products.


Social media is making us sadder, angrier, less empathetic, more fearful, more isolated and more tribal. In recent months it has become horribly clear that social media is not bringing us together – it is tearing us apart. In Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now Jaron Lanier draws on his insider's expertise to explain precisely how social media works – by deploying constant surveillance and subconscious manipulation of its users – and why its cruel and dangerous effects are at the heart of its current business model and design. As well as offering ten simple arguments for liberating yourself from its addictive hold, his witty and urgent manifesto outlines a vision for an alternative that provides all the benefits of social media without the harm.
So, if you want a happier life, a more just and peaceful world, or merely the chance to think for yourself without being monitored and influenced by the richest corporations in history, then the best thing you can do, for now, is delete your social media accounts – right now. You will almost certainly become a calmer and possibly a nicer person in the process.


text:
The Banner Saga Trilogy: Bonus Edition —Guide and Walkthrough
Close X Guide and Walkthrough
by Suprak the Stud
Guide and Walkthrough by Suprak the Stud
Version: 1.01 | Updated: 08/14/2018
FAQ of the Month Winner: August 2018	| Highest Rated Guide
Next: Version History
General Tips And Strategy
Chapter 16: The True Hero Comes Reluctantly
Chapter 17: Raising High Their Shining Light
Chapter 18: Alas, The Sea Is Still Deep And Wide
Chapter 19: The Hounds Are A-Hungered
Chapter 20: We Live As We Will Live
Chapter 21: With a Mighty Grief That Was Ours and Theirs
Chapter 22: Only We Few Remember It Now
Trophy/Achievement List and Guide
Acknowledgments and Additional Information
The Banner Saga 3 FAQ and Walkthrough
Author: Nikola Suprak
System: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac
Twitter: @NikolaSuprak
Email: nikolasuprak (at) gmail (dot) com
Welcome to the best, most complete, most thorough The Banner Saga 3 guide on all of GameFAQs. Until someone else writes one at least. I am Nikola Suprak and we are about to go on to an adventure to save Arberrang from the encroaching darkness. As the old viking gods would sometimes say: "Hold on to your butts."
Before we get into the fun stuff, I wanted to let you know what you can and cannot find in this guide. In each chapter, you will find a complete strategy for every single fight. Some of these strategies will be more detailed than others, depending on the difficulty of the encounter, but all of them will include both an Alette strategy and a Rook strategy depending on who your hero of choice is. The only exception will be if the battle is so easy that the extra strategy is not needed. I will include a list of all the possible enemies you may encounter in that fight, as long as a suggestion of some good characters to bring with and some general strategies. It is hard to give an exact strategy for each of the fights since there is randomness thrown into enemy types and positioning, but following the general strategies I outline should be enough to lead you to victory.
The first thing you may want to check out is the "General Tips and Strategy" section of the guide. This will be helpful for people who aren't The Banner Saga experts yet, and it will give you tips to make certain characters walking behemoths that can almost solo battles all by themselves. I outlined these tips here so I'm not repeating them from every battle throughout the game, but you should find plenty of tricks that will make even Hard Mode a breeze.
This guide will also cover the entire story of the game, including the results of every possible choice you can make. Choices are important in The Banner Saga, and the wrong ones could get one of your party members killed. Part of the fun is making decisions and living with the consequences, but if you just want to make sure you are always making the "best" choice, I have outlined what will happen for each decision so you can be prepared.
Because of this, the guide is definitely spoiler heavy. I will not spoil anything coming up, but be warned I will be discussing story events as they happen to give some context to the choices. If you do not want to be spoiled, do not read ahead from where you are currently at in the game and only follow along as you're playing. Keep in mind I will spoil every choice with the results as they come up, so if you do not want to know who dies when just yet, consider skipping reading all these decisions until a later time.
With that said, I think we are ready to dive into the fun stuff. FOR ARBERRANG!
The Banner Saga 3 is the third and concluding chapter of The Banner Saga, uh, saga. It isn't really as much a sequel as much as it is part of the same story told by the first two installments, and it makes more sense to think of this as one continuous game rather than three separate parts. Like the previous two titles, this is a tactical RPG with a heavy emphasis on story and player decisions. In the game you will be alternating between traveling with your caravan, making decisions and managing your supplies, and battling enemies to earn renown and occasionally items. There is a bit less of an emphasis on caravan management this time around, and for example one of the caravans here doesn't need to worry about supples at all. Overall though, this is almost the same exact game as the previous two titles in terms of gameplay, so there shouldn't be much of an introduction needed as you will be very familiar with the basics by now.
Theoretically, you can jump in here and skip the previous two installments. At the beginning you will be prompted to either load your save from the last game, in which case all of your stats and decisions will be imported, or start with a brand new save file with either Rook or Alette. The brand new save comes with one specific set of decisions, and a specific cast of characters that will always be in each caravan at the start. If you are importing your save file, this will obviously be different and if any characters died along the way, they won't be magically resurrected here.
It is highly recommended you do play through the first two games first. While The Banner Saga 3 is great, it is even better if you have a better context for everything that is going on. Don't skip out on the story, because some things won't make much sense to you if you do. The game is also easier when you import your own save file, because you're likely to have better items and stronger characters that what you'd otherwise start with.
Beyond that, just have fun. Come along for one last trip through the world of The Banner Saga. See if you can save what is left of humanity, or if you'll let them perish like so many others.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;

namespace libtcodWrapper
{
    #pragma warning disable 1591  //Disable warning about lack of xml comments

    public delegate bool TCODBSPTraversalDelegate(TCODBSP bsp);

    unsafe public class TCODBSP : IDisposable
    {
        private TCODBSPData * m_data;
        private TCODBSPTraversalDelegate m_delegate;
        private TCODBSPTraversalDelegatePrivate m_privateDelegate;

        #region Properties
        public int x
        {
            get
            {
                return m_data->x;
            }
			set
			{
				m_data->x = value;
			}
        }
        public int y
        {
            get
            {
                return m_data->y;
            }
			set
			{
				m_data->y = value;
			}
        }
        public int w
        {
            get
            {
                return m_data->w;
            }
			set
			{
				m_data->w = value;
			}
        }
        public int h
        {
            get
            {
                return m_data->h;
            }
			set
			{
				m_data->h = value;
			}
        }
        public int position
        {
            get
            {
                return m_data->position;
            }
        }
        public bool horizontal
        {
            get
            {
                return m_data->horizontal;
            }
        }
        public byte level
        {
            get
            {
                return m_data->level;
            }
        }
        #endregion

        [UnmanagedFunctionPointer(CallingConvention.Cdecl)]
        private delegate bool TCODBSPTraversalDelegatePrivate(IntPtr bsp, IntPtr nullPtr);

        public TCODBSP()
        {
            m_data = (TCODBSPData *)TCOD_bsp_new();
            m_delegate = null;
            m_privateDelegate = new TCODBSPTraversalDelegatePrivate(this.TCODBSPTraversalDel);
        }

        public TCODBSP(int x, int y, int w, int h)
        {
            m_data = (TCODBSPData *)TCOD_bsp_new_with_size(x, y, w, h);
            m_delegate = null;
            m_privateDelegate = new TCODBSPTraversalDelegatePrivate(this.TCODBSPTraversalDel);
        }

        private TCODBSP(TCODBSPData* data)
        {
            m_data = data;
            m_delegate = null;
            m_privateDelegate = new TCODBSPTraversalDelegatePrivate(this.TCODBSPTraversalDel);
        }

        public void Dispose()
        {
            if (m_data != null)
                TCOD_bsp_delete(new IntPtr(m_data));
        }

        public static bool operator ==(TCODBSP lhs, TCODBSP rhs)
        {
            // if both are null, then they are equal
            if (ReferenceEquals(lhs, null) && ReferenceEquals(rhs, null))
                return true;

            // if only one side is null then they are not equal
            if (ReferenceEquals(lhs, null) || ReferenceEquals(rhs, null))
                return false;

            return ((*lhs.m_data) == *(rhs.m_data));
        }

        public static bool operator !=(TCODBSP lhs, TCODBSP rhs)
        {
            return !(lhs == rhs);
        }

        public override bool Equals(Object obj)
        {
            // Return true if the fields match:
            return base.Equals((TCODBSPData)obj) && (this == (TCODBSP)obj);
        }

        public override int GetHashCode()
        {
            return base.GetHashCode();
        }

        bool TCODBSPTraversalDel(IntPtr bsp, IntPtr nullPtr)
        {
            if (m_delegate != null)
            {
                TCODBSPData* p = (TCODBSPData*)bsp;
                if (p != null)
                    return m_delegate(new TCODBSP(p));
                else
                    return m_delegate(null);
            }
            return false;
        }

        public TCODBSP GetLeft()
        {
            TCODBSPData *p = (TCODBSPData*)TCOD_bsp_left(new IntPtr(m_data));
            if (p != null)
                return new TCODBSP(p);
            return null;
        }

        public TCODBSP GetRight()
        {
            TCODBSPData* p = (TCODBSPData*)TCOD_bsp_right(new IntPtr(m_data));
            if (p != null)
                return new TCODBSP(p);
            return null;
        }

        public TCODBSP GetFather()
        {
            TCODBSPData* p = (TCODBSPData*)TCOD_bsp_father(new IntPtr(m_data));
            if (p != null)
                return new TCODBSP(p);
            return null;
        }

        public TCODBSP FindNode(int x, int y)
        {
            TCODBSPData* p = (TCODBSPData*)TCOD_bsp_find_node(new IntPtr(m_data), x, y);
            if (p != null)
                return new TCODBSP(p);
            return null;
        }

        public void SplitOnce(bool horizontal, int position)
        {
            TCOD_bsp_split_once(new IntPtr(m_data), horizontal, position);
        }

        public bool IsLeaf()
        {
            return TCOD_bsp_is_leaf(new IntPtr(m_data));
        }

        public void Resize(int x, int y, int w, int h)
        {
            TCOD_bsp_resize(new IntPtr(m_data), x, y, w, h);
        }

        public void RemoveSons()
        {
            TCOD_bsp_remove_sons(new IntPtr(m_data));
        }

        public void SplitRecursive(TCODRandom randomizer, int nb, int minHSize, int minVSize, float maxHRatio, float maxVRatio)
        {
            if (randomizer == null)
                TCOD_bsp_split_recursive(new IntPtr(m_data), IntPtr.Zero, nb, minHSize, minVSize, maxHRatio, maxVRatio);
            else
                TCOD_bsp_split_recursive(new IntPtr(m_data), randomizer.m_instance, nb, minHSize, minVSize, maxHRatio, maxVRatio);
        }

        public bool IsMapCellInsideNode(int x, int y)
        {
            return TCOD_bsp_contains(new IntPtr(m_data), x, y);
        }

        public bool TraversePreOrder(TCODBSPTraversalDelegate listner)
        {
            m_delegate = listner;
            return TCOD_bsp_traverse_pre_order(new IntPtr(m_data), m_privateDelegate, IntPtr.Zero);
        }

        public bool TraverseInOrder(TCODBSPTraversalDelegate listner)
        {
            m_delegate = listner;
            return TCOD_bsp_traverse_in_order(new IntPtr(m_data), m_privateDelegate, IntPtr.Zero);
        }

        public bool TraversePostOrder(TCODBSPTraversalDelegate listner)
        {
            m_delegate = listner;
            return TCOD_bsp_traverse_in_order(new IntPtr(m_data), m_privateDelegate, IntPtr.Zero);
        }

        public bool TraverseLevelOrder(TCODBSPTraversalDelegate listner)
        {
            m_delegate = listner;
            return TCOD_bsp_traverse_level_order(new IntPtr(m_data), m_privateDelegate, IntPtr.Zero);
        }

        public bool TraverseInvertedOrder(TCODBSPTraversalDelegate listner)
        {
            m_delegate = listner;
            return TCOD_bsp_traverse_inverted_level_order(new IntPtr(m_data), m_privateDelegate, IntPtr.Zero);
        }

        #region DllImport

        [DllImport(DLLName.name)]
        private extern static IntPtr TCOD_bsp_new();

        [DllImport(DLLName.name)]
        private extern static IntPtr TCOD_bsp_new_with_size(int x, int y, int w, int h);

        [DllImport(DLLName.name)]
        private extern static void TCOD_bsp_delete(IntPtr node);

        [DllImport(DLLName.name)]
        private extern static IntPtr TCOD_bsp_left(IntPtr node);

        [DllImport(DLLName.name)]
        private extern static IntPtr TCOD_bsp_right(IntPtr node);

        [DllImport(DLLName.name)]
        private extern static IntPtr TCOD_bsp_find_node(IntPtr node, int x, int y);

        [DllImport(DLLName.name)]
        private extern static IntPtr TCOD_bsp_father(IntPtr node);

        [DllImport(DLLName.name)]
        private extern static void TCOD_bsp_split_once(IntPtr node, bool horizontal, int position);

        [DllImport(DLLName.name)]
        [return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.I1)]
        private extern static bool TCOD_bsp_is_leaf(IntPtr node);

        [DllImport(DLLName.name)]
        private extern static void TCOD_bsp_resize(IntPtr node, int x, int y, int w, int h);

        [DllImport(DLLName.name)]
        private extern static void TCOD_bsp_remove_sons(IntPtr node);

        [DllImport(DLLName.name)]
        private extern static void TCOD_bsp_split_recursive(IntPtr node, IntPtr randomizer, int nb, int minHSize, int minVSize, float maxHRatio, float maxVRatio);

        [DllImport(DLLName.name)]
        [return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.I1)]
        private extern static bool TCOD_bsp_traverse_pre_order(IntPtr node, TCODBSPTraversalDelegatePrivate listener, IntPtr userData);

        [DllImport(DLLName.name)]
        [return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.I1)]
        private extern static bool TCOD_bsp_traverse_in_order(IntPtr node, TCODBSPTraversalDelegatePrivate listener, IntPtr userData);

        [DllImport(DLLName.name)]
        [return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.I1)]
        private extern static bool TCOD_bsp_traverse_post_order(IntPtr node, TCODBSPTraversalDelegatePrivate listener, IntPtr userData);

        [DllImport(DLLName.name)]
        [return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.I1)]
        private extern static bool TCOD_bsp_traverse_level_order(IntPtr node, TCODBSPTraversalDelegatePrivate listener, IntPtr userData);

        [DllImport(DLLName.name)]
        [return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.I1)]
        private extern static bool TCOD_bsp_traverse_inverted_level_order(IntPtr node, TCODBSPTraversalDelegatePrivate listener, IntPtr userData);

        [DllImport(DLLName.name)]
        [return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.I1)]
        private extern static bool TCOD_bsp_contains(IntPtr node, int x, int y);

        #endregion

        [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential)]
        private struct TCODBSPData
        {
            public IntPtr ptr1;
            public IntPtr ptr2;
            public IntPtr ptr3;
            public int x;
            public int y;
            public int w;
            public int h;
            public int position;
            public byte level;
            public bool horizontal;

            public static bool operator ==(TCODBSPData lhs, TCODBSPData rhs)
            {
                return (lhs.x == rhs.x && lhs.y == rhs.y && lhs.w == rhs.w &&
                    lhs.h == rhs.h && lhs.level == rhs.level);
            }

            public static bool operator !=(TCODBSPData lhs, TCODBSPData rhs)
            {
                return !(lhs == rhs);
            }

            public override bool Equals(Object obj)
            {
                // Return true if the fields match:
                return base.Equals((TCODBSPData)obj) && (this == (TCODBSPData)obj);
            }

            public override int GetHashCode()
            {
                return base.GetHashCode();
            }
        }
    }

    #pragma warning restore 1591  //Disable warning about lack of xml comments
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Curbside Classic: 1969 Opel Kadett – Buick Dealers Really Sold These?
Tom Klockau
You have to wonder about GM sometimes. Between the 1940s and 1960s, they were an industrial powerhouse. Deep, deep pockets, technological know-how and widespread popularity. They could have done anything they wanted. So why did they decide to have Buick dealers sell something so anti-Buick as an Opel? An Opel, sold in Buick dealerships, for crying out loud!
As most of our Curbside Commentators know, Vauxhall (UK) and Opel (Germany) were GM's bread-and-butter European divisions. In the late Fifties, there was a surge of interest in imported cars in the United States. Maybe it was because domestic iron was getting just too big and gaudy, or maybe it had something to do with the 1958 recession and cutting household costs, but at any rate many folks were suddenly buying foreign cars. Even obscure brands, such as Citroen, Hillman and Skoda, saw sales increase. Of course, VW sales went even further through the roof. GM, the land yacht champeen, decided it wouldn't be a bad idea to start selling some of their European makes in the States. For whatever reason, Pontiac dealers got the Vauxhall brand and Buick dealers got Opel.
Now, once again, why did they do that? GM had so much cash at the time, why didn't they invest in free-standing dealerships? How many Bonneville buyers were going to cross-shop a Victor? How many people looking at Electra convertibles were going to decide to buy a Kadett? It's like GM handicapped their European imports from the get-go. Vauxhall was the first casualty, disappearing from American shores in about 1961. Opel hung on, and with the introduction of the Kadett B (detailed CC here) saw a brief renaissance in the US import market. In 1968, a fastback was added, looking an awful lot like a 3/4 scale Nova.
I spotted our featured CC a couple of days ago, sitting in front of a repair shop. Now, other than a lime green Manta I last saw four or five years ago, I have not seen any Opels around here. They were well-built, but their economical nature meant that most of them were driven into the ground and retired decades ago. So I was very surprised to see this Kadett.
The nice lady behind the counter told me that it was a 1969 model, and that the owner was trying to get it functional. After getting permission to take some photos, I headed outside to check it out. It is in remarkably nice shape, other than the faded red paint and a little rust on the bottom of the front fenders. The vinyl top was in nicer shape than the paint! It's a local car too. The chrome dealer tag on the back is from Schwind-Boeker, a former Buick-Cadillac dealer in Davenport that closed in the late '80s. Amazing that this car is still in the area after 43 years.
Due to rising exchange rates (and perhaps partly due to Car and Driver's gleefully negative article on the Kadett wagon) Opel sales started to slide in the US starting in about 1970. In 1971, the new Opel Ascona was introduced (dubbed the Opel 1900 in the US) and the Kadett became just an Opel.
The Ascona/1900 was a bit bigger and sleeker than the 'Opel' and included a new four-door sedan in addition to two-door sedan and wagon models. The ex-Kadett continued as a two-door sedan and two-door wagon; both would disappear after 1972.
The 1900 coupe (which was renamed the Manta in '73) was especially sharp. In addition to the top-trim Luxus shown above, there was a basic coupe and a Rallye version with blacked-out hood, stripes and fog lamps.
For 1973, the Kadetts were gone, with only the 1900 nee Ascona available to US customers. This was the last year for a full lineup, as inflation and the rise of the German mark were making Opels a much harder sell.
The two-seat Opel GT (CC here) was also in its last year, a victim of declining sales and stricter bumper regulations. There would be no mini-Corvette for 1974.
Some Opels returned for 1974, but the lineup was severely pruned. In addition to the aforementioned GT, all 1900 models were gone, save the 1900 wagon, which was renamed the Manta Sport Wagon. The only other models in the lineup were the Manta coupes, still available in Luxus, Rallye and standard versions.
1975 was the end of the line for German Opels in America. The Manta returned in a single version, as did the Sport Wagon. In an unusual move, the 1900 two-door sedan returned.
All Opels now featured Bosch electronic fuel injection. The 1.9L inline four now produced 81 hp and 96 lb ft of torque. For 1976, the Kadett C would replace the Manta/1900 in the US, but they would be built under license by Isuzu and renamed Opel Isuzu, then Buick Opel for 1977-79.
While not bad cars, they still had to deal with Buick salesmen trying to sell them to their LeSabre and Regal clients, and Opels in any form disappeared from American roads for good after 1979. Ironically, after GM gave up, Isuzu started selling the very same car under their own name as the I Mark, and did much better than the Buick salesmen. How much better would Opel have done in the States if they had dedicated Opel-only dealers, mechanics and salespeople? Could Opel have lasted longer and sold more cars under those circumstances?
Posted April 12, 2012 at 4:08 AM
Even better, why not rebadge and sell them as small Chevrolets instead of pawning the Vega off on us?
is that an ssr creeping in frame? That is a car/truck that still shocks me gm actually put into production.
That red Kadett is like a little time capsule. I always kind of liked these.
I am not sure I buy the exchange rate argument. By 1975, VW was starting to sell the snot out of the Rabbit over here. Cars like BMW and Mercedes were giving German cars some cache' in the US. But instead of pushing Opels here as a premium German small car, GM went cheap and co-opted whatever mistique the Opel name had with the Isuzu.
I agree that a dedicated dealer network could have done some good. With all of the crap small cars pushed by GM and Ford in the 70s, Opel could have sold a lot of cars.
Remember though, that by 76-77 VW was already building a plant here in Westmoreland PA to get around the exchange rates.
Opels were not "premium" small cars, they are essentially nicely put together Chevettes, the ones that were being sold here, were never got the nicer Senator and Dipolmat larger cars.
They certainly would have been "premium" cars compared to the Chevettes, Vegas, Pintos, Mavericks and Gremlins that we were getting at the time. You are correct about the VW plant, I had forgotten about that one. I still think that GM could have sold the car based on the "German snobbery" factor that was so successful for VW and, a bit higher up market, BMW's 2002/320 and that taxicab with the three pointed star on the hood. Audi sold quite a few Foxes over here in that late 70s time period. Reasonably priced "German road cars" have always been an easy sell here since the 70s.
Note: the Opel sold by Buick till '79 and remarketed as the Isuzu I-Mark was the 3rd generation Kadett, not the Ascona. Kind of ironic that Chevrolet sold a much less well-built 3-door version of that car concurrently: the Chevette. How did GM manage that?
Oops, I meant the Kadett C. Will fix.
Congratulations on finding a Kadett before I ever did, and in the Mid-West, no less. Maybe that's where they all went to. I can't remember the last time I saw one; probably in the Bay Area 20 years ago. None to be had here.
Jamie Rose
I have a 1979 buick opel it runs great and is in great shape, I'm trying to find out how much it might be worth. I can't seem to find much of anything online. Would you happen to know where I could get this information?
In the US? If it's a '79, then it's not really an Opel, but an Isuzu badged as one.
I have no idea what it's worth. Try selling it for a certain price and see what happens. I wouldn't expect much for an Isuzu Opel.
GrangeRover
"As most of our Curbside Commentators know, GM has two foreign divisions, Vauxhall (UK) and Opel (Germany)."
Holden (Australia and NZ) is a division of GM as well.
I groaned when I saw that too, it kinda goes down hill at little from there, but then it picks up again when he actually starts writing about the Opels again…….its not bad, but its kinda of the same old "stupid GM" blah blah blah.
bjcpdx
Beside those, there are divisions in South Africa and South America. Without doing any research, I believe that they have distinct models, as opposed to being just assembly plants, of which there are many worldwide. Maybe someone knows.
Back then…..sheesh, there were tons of divisions at home and abroad.
GM South Africa
GM do Brasil
GM Mercosur
GM Mexico
Brands outside the US there were really about 4 or 5
Chevrolet(like the ones sold in South Africa and South America, which were many times, Opels, Holdens or some sort of mixture of both)
"But other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?"
I should have said European divisions, not foreign, that has been corrected. I wasn't knocking Opel either, just the way they were marketed. That said, my opinion remains my opinion. Your mileage may vary.
educatordan
There was no place too far for $2 of gas and my old yellow car…
(Sorry my uncle had a yellow Opel in the early 80s.)
I'm not very technically minded, but it seems to me that Opels had an unusual form of valve actuation. While not a true overhead camshaft design, the cam was set very high, and operated the valves through short rockers. Also, on the subject of the Opel GT, our local dealer in Richmond, Dubose Buick, stocked most of them with the 1.1 liter engine, at least initially, instead of the far more desirable 1.9. I cannot imagine why. At any rate, I liked these cars a lot, and might have bought one had I more faith in GMs service and parts support.
Posted April 12, 2012 at 12:18 PM
Your dealer was apparently a rare exception: the 1.1 liter GT wasn't common, perhaps because the GT was heavier than the Kadett and didn't feel very sporting with the little engine. (You could also be outrun by a Spridget, which wasn't much fun.)
The Opel engine is known as Cam in Head, or CIH. I don't know what the rationale was, but if I were to hazard a guess, I'd say it was intended to provide some of the advantages of an overhead cam (reduced reciprocating mass through elimination of pushrods) while keeping the engine lower and more compact.
Back in those days hydraulic tappets were unheard-of in Europe, so adjusting valve clearances was a problem in OHC engines. In the Jag XK engine you had to measure the clearances, then remove the camshafts and alter the shims between the tappet and valve. With Opels' engine you could have adjusting crews on the rockers just like a pushrod engine.
You nailed it; as to the reason for that design.
Hmm, hadn't thought of that. Although by 1972 the CIH had started to get hydraulic lash adjusters, so I suppose it became a moot point.
thetallguy
Always wanted a Manta. Never could find one that didn't burn copious amounts of oil or had been driven into the ground. sigh
Dynamic88
I don't think there was ever much of a chance for free standing dealerships. GM had decided that every division would have something to sell in every market segment. This is another step in destroying the old Sloan hierarchy.
Didn't we already go over this a couple of months ago? For my account/experience, go back to that article.
Yes, Buick dealers did sell these. Ackerman Buick in Ferguson, Missouri, for one. A friend bought his new 1969 Kadett kamback there. Lots of fun for the week I enjoyed riding with him in it before I entered the service.
The first picture reminds me of how much like a baby-baby 68 Chevelle the fastback Kadette looks like.
I remember going with my parents to Butlin Buick in Reseda, California (now gone) to have a look at the Opel Kadett. They decided against it, for whatever reason.
nuts in Aloha
You do realize that the current Buicks; LaCrosse, Regal, Verano & Encore are 'derived' from Opel developed platforms (Epsilon & Lamda) as are Chevy's Malibu, Cruze, Volt & Impala (including the 2013 Impala).
And Regal is a total clone of current Opel Insignia, just a grille, badge and nameplate are different. Only we don't get the HO V6 or 4WD of the Insignia OPC in our Regal GS.
Eric Elliott
And the Saturn Astra was a rebadged Opel Astra; the Saturn VUE was a rebadged Opel Antara; the Saturn Aura was based on the Opel Vectra; and the Saturn Sky was rebadged as an Opel GT.
Yes I think most of us knew that.
Since my Uncle Tim owned an Opel for most of the late 70s early 80s I've teased my dad that I'll know the Regal is really truly successful if Uncle Tim goes out and buys one.
…and the Cadillac Catera (the Caddy that zigs – ugh!) which was based on a one-generation-old Opel Omega if memory serves me correctly.
XtremWize
Also the Cadillac Cimarron was a second generation Opel Ascona
My first car was a 1973 Opel GT with the 1.9L. Unfortunately, it was an automatic, and the 2-barrel Solex carb would ice up in the winter and vapor-lock in the summer, but man, I loved that car.
When my younger brother got the car, he had swapped in a proper 4-speed manual, put in a hotter cam, slapped on a Weber carb, and added a header. He kept it for many years, but finally sold it several years ago after getting married and having two kids. They decided their "fun" car had to have a backseat, and bought a '65 Chevelle SS.
I miss the Opel GT.
Perry Shoar
The author wrote…
"1975 was the end of the line for German Opels in America. The Manta returned in a single version, as did the Sport Wagon. In an unusual move, the 1900 two-door sedan returned. All Opels now featured Bosch electronic fuel injection. The 1.9L inline four now produced 81 hp and 96 lb ft of torque. For 1976, the Ascona B would replace the Manta/1900 in the US, but they would be built under license by Isuzu and renamed Opel Isuzu, then Buick Opel for 1977-79."
…I'd like to very respectfully correct him: it wasn't the Ascona B, it was the Kadett C we were sold. The blue sedan posted is the Ascona B, which would eventually be switched to FWD and then cheapened terribly to become the J-car line-up in the US. As for the Kadett, IT would be subsequently sold in uber-cheap form as the Chevette and in perfected form as the Isuzu Impulse (although with a completely new body/interior/drivetrain, I don't really know how much Opel was left in it).
Wasn't the Chevette based on a Vauxhall? I'm too lazy to research it…
The T-car began as an Opel project. The Chevette was sold as a Vauxhall (under the Chevette name) starting in 1975, though.
Exactly, the Chevette we got here was substantially redesigned for our market, but you can tell it belonged to Opal/Vauxhall by the window frames which were close, if not identical to the Opal Kadett and the Vauxhall Chevette.
I believe the Kadett and Vauxhall Chevette from this period were nearly identical, if not very similar cars since they both carried the same genes, so to speak and had the same platform to ride on.
Perry, you are correct. The text has been amended.
Any discussion of Opels in the US can't be complete without presenting an image of what might have been. Why did GM not simply sell locally produced Opels in the US after the Deustche mark began appreciating (which coincided with Malaise in the US and larger, more powerful cars in Germany)? Why were they willing to shell out so much more to Detroitify them? Why didn't they take more advantage of Isuzu's Opel-based cars? We got the Chevette, the Japanese this a hot FI twin-cam version:
…GM had enough confidence in Isuzu to let them engineer the follow-up, sold as the Spectrum/i-Mark here (later Stylus, Impulse and Storm), and which diverged from the Opel FWD evolution of the Kadett, which we eventually got as the LeMans. Why not combine the development budget for those two with money spent on marketing captive imports and Detroitifying the FWD Ascona in the US? Why go to all the trouble of NUMMI?
The Spectrum/LeMans/Kadett/Gemini/iMark/Cavalier/Sunbird/Firenza/Cimarron/Skyhawk/Prizm/Nova/Sprint/Metro/Stylus/Storm/Impulse etc could've been replaced by very similar but locally built versions of two cars which could have, I dunno, combined the Kadett D (later Kadett E) and Ascona C platforms with Isuzu powertrains and assembly technique. That combination would have saved so much money and stolen so many sales. It also would've given the market some awesome cars.
Instead, each market was given compromised versions (except for high end Isuzus and Opels, domestically) of three platforms and multiple engine families. FYI, while we got the Cavalier, Isuzu built the Aska off the same platform and it looks much more modern:
frenzic
That looks a lot like the Opel Record E. You can even see the diff in the rear. I am not sure this is Cavalier/Ascona based. It could be based on the old rwd Ascona platform but still it looks very much like a Record, also sizewise. Wiki states it is a J platform though. The E on the other hand could be based on the J platform, wiki has no info on that.
Didn't the Aska have some sort of electric stick shift option? I remember reading about it in an old Road & Track.
The Aska appeared in NZ with Holden Camira badging it was not much of a car with poor road holding abilities compared to the Aussie version the Wikipedia page features my fathers Camira/Aska got with permission from the cohort. Dont be misled into thinking Japanese versions of Opels are superior thr Japanese feature horrible suspension tuning designed for total comfort and the US market at the expense of roadholding for the rest of us who have corners in our roads.
Oh, I completely agree. But picture, if you could, a Pontiac LeMans which was built in the US, with the chassis and body by Opel, but production techniques, and powertrain by Isuzu. Seems entirely plausible.
This was the Chevy Cruz of its day: one platform sold in different countries with different names. I think it was sold by Vauxhall as the Viva, and by GH-Holden as the Torana. For Holden, it filled a niche in their line-up to compete against the small Japanese and European imports, and by manufacturing it in Australia, it could benefit from the very high import tariffs placed on its competitors.
My Dad bought the Torana version in 1971: it was the only Holden he could afford at the time and he wanted a 4 door and didn't want to buy another VW or buy Japanese (there would be another 20 years before he would do that). He worked 6 .5 days per week in his own business and needing something for those Sunday afternoon drives to the beach or the mountains. This car was perfect for us at the time – it gave us our freedom. It wasn't large, powerful, or fast, but it was ours and it got us around for a few years. As a small kid I loved the spaceous back seat (I was really young) that had no seat belts, and I sat directly behind the driver. I had my own window I could crank up or down and stare out at the passing scenery uninterrupted by such comforts as a radio or air conditioning. It was great!
MrWhopee
Were the Cruze sold with any other names? I think it's unusual (for GM) that it's sold as "Chevrolet Cruze" pretty much everywhere. Even in its birth place, South Korea! Not Opel Cruze or Vauxhall Cruze or Daewoo Cruze. The only exception is Australia's Holden Cruze.
Bernard Taylor
The Viva HB was a completely separate design from the Opel Kadett, but did form the basis of the first Holden Torana. The latter started out as a near clone, save for round headlights and minor trim but evolved into a bigger car, the last with Viva underpinnings being the LJ (1972-4).
Btrig
A hippy chick friend of our family bought a Kadet in pea green, I think in '69. Whenever she came to visit I would marvel at the sight of it parked next to our black '59 Bel Air…. Back then we knew people with VWs, Renaults, Vauhalls, and one uncle even had an MB 190 fintail, but my dad remains determined to this day to stay with American cars.
I remember a long time ago seeing a cartoon – dealer and customer in front of a used car lot. The dealer's counting money, "…200, 250, 300. Thanks…now get this piece of s— off my lot!" That is how Buick dealers sold Opels, if my experience with my 1971 Opel 1900 sport coupe is any indication.
THe reason GM planted its captive imports at Buick and Pontiac dealers wasnt to sell them to existing landyacht customers the idea was to offer a GM car to peopke who were shopping at the VW or Hillman store nobody shopping for a 4 cylinder economy car is going to buy an aircraft carrier so it made sense to have some thing to sell in that range or the punters would go straight past.
Beat me to it. Yes, the Opel-Buick relationship was a response to pressure from dealers during the late fifties recession for some sort of compact. The senior compacts were in the works, but they weren't going to be available until 1960, and in the meantime Buick was bleeding (examining their '58-'59 sales relative to '55-'57 is instructive here).
And Buick wouldn't have sold a car comparable to a Kadett until a Vega-based thing (Skyhawk) would they? To me at least it makes sense that the different marques should make different styles of vehicles, and not stray outside of that, and between them cover the market. I do recognise there a flaw with: that is it does not fit well with the dealership structure/distribution.
From what I can gather the Kadett B predates a merger of Opel & Vauxhall cars. Unlike Ford where there are clear points where the cars are shared between Britain & Europe, eg Escort or Mk3 Cortina/Taunus TC.
It appears that the first aspect was the 1972 Victor/Ventora FE series & Opel Rekord D/Commodore B sharing the same floorpan before the Kadett/Chevette T-car went global (ref – http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?3900064-The-Chevette-was-Vauxhall-s-saviour) However many earlier models appear strikingly similar in some body styles but not in others for example earlier Viva/Kadett sedans appear similar but wagons are completely different. Does anyone know of a clear explanation or outline
of this?
There are good websites that cover Chrysler (allpar), Rootes/Simca (www.rootes-chrysler.co.uk) and BMC/Austin-Rover but I don't know of one for GM Europe/Britain – nor for that matter for GM North America where a slight wheelbase change entails a whole new platform (or body) name – alphabet soup!
Funny how time works. Back then Opels were sold in Buick dealers. Now Buicks _are_ Opels!
I lusted after a Kadett B coupe in light green metallic which was parked close to kindergarten. The neighbour's wife drove an Ascona B ever since I was old enough to notice and she only swapped it for an Omega when I had already left the house. That thing was never washed nor pampered. Sure there was some rust but not much. They never had a problem with it. For real in our street back then there must have been around twenty Opels, one VW Golf, a Ford Escort and a Fiat 127. Holland was Opel centric.
Edit a Omega changed to an Omega
83 LeBaron
We hopel you'll drivel the Opel………the Opel, the Opel. We hopel you'll drivel the Opel, the German economy car.
There was alot of Opel advertising in the late 60's, with elephants as their mascots.
Also, Buick-Opel provided cars on last 2 seasons of "Get Smart". Max had an Opel GT in the opening credits, and was used to take "99" to the hospital to have twins. The Cheif drove a '69 Riviera, too.
Opel had a good image, were popular with older kids in my area, but Buick dealers hated selling them. "Why don't you buy a bigger car that hugs the road?" Heard of people having trouble getting parts and service.
The parts and service were available, but the prices were kinda nuts, a friend of mine recalls having a 60's vintage Kadette that he bought for almost nothing in the late 70's, it needed a flasher, he went to one of the smaller Buick-Opel dealers in town and was quoted $10 for a flasher, when the same part for a domestic GM car was like $3.
It's too bad today's high technology laden motorized look alike jelly beans often have the turn signal flasher combined into a $350 Body Control Module instead of being a separate item that would probably sell for $10. That's progress. 🙁
I remember these back in the day. My first grade teacher had I think a 1970 (or was it a '71?) Kadett 2 door sedan in that soft yellow they came in. I think I rode in it once to a class outing to NW Trek that spring.
Good friends had a bright blue (think Grabber blue) Manta, I think it was a '75, might've been a '74 and it had the cool round taillights and rally wheels. Don't recall them driving it much but it sat in their front yard, along with a white '75 Rabbit 3 door with a plaid interior.
I've always liked these styling wise, that is, the actual Opals, not the I-Mark variant from isuzu that came later.
Yes, Buick sold them and growing up in Buick town, we drove them and we liked them.
Here are the Mini-Brutes at the Chicago Auto Show, complete with optional Elephant:
double nickel
I've never seen one of these in my life. Maybe they were never sold in Canada?
roger628
They weren't.
It might just be me but that Kadett looks a whole lot like a 2/3 scale 68-69 Malibu.
I'd like a 1.9 Manta but it's hard to find one worth restoring- I think they were very rust prone and being cheap cars were not looked after. Not a very quick car but they handled very well- far, far better than the old enemy – the Capri.
As for Buick retailing Opels- I'd guess GM dealers were afraid cheap, reliable German cars would be popular. Keeping the Opel brand on a long leash would keep Chevrolet dealers happy. Ultimately it was protectionism like that which destroyed British car manufacturing.
Posted May 9, 2012 at 6:46 PM
I just now Realize My Dad Was THAT GUY… he had a 58 Plymouth Wagon That ate itself in 3 years…it was a major POS… Then He Bought a 62 Rambler American Which he Traded for This $2000 in 68 Silver Grey Kadett with Black viynl flooring…Heater n Radio
He gave it To My Sister When He Got An AMC Ambassador as a Co Car… He Had To Pick Those= He said because They All came with AC which The Competion offered (Dodge Coronet) did not.
jjd241
Here is a Manta I spotted a while back…
Maybe GM knew exactly what they were doing? In 1969 my parents had two kids under 5, and the Opel Kadett was a car, that offered decent fuel consumption, he drove 50 miles each way to and from work, at a price he could afford. In 1975 he traded it in at the same dealership he had bought it, for a 1975 Buick Century Special, AND over the next 35 years, bought 7 more Buicks.
Waaaaayyyyy back when a buddy of mine had a '72 Manta with the 1.9L. He was one of those people that could kill a car just by touching it. Somehow that little Opel made it to around 150k miles in n.e. Ohio before it met its maker sometime in the early '80s. I'll never figure out how it made it that long…
I have a 1969 opel kadett ls for sale…… I read a lot of interesting story's and thought someone might be interested. ….. 562 756 7164
Sue H
I wondered if the interior of your 1969 Opel is in good condition? Car is located where? Miles? How much are you asking? Automatic or Standard?
I drove a 1969 Opal Kadett that was metallic blue w black interior; often thought how much fun it would be to still own it… I loved my 1st car!! Had lots of fun in it back in 1969-1973!!
1969 opel kadett ls
My Dad had a 1969 Opel Kadett Coupe. He bought it to drive back and forth to work. Then my sister would drive it when she got her license. This was back in '75-'76. She said it was great. Fill it up on $2 and drive all night. I never got the chance to drive it on the road. By the time I was old enough to drive Dad had retired it. The front end was shot and it was too expensive to repair or he couldn't get the parts.
Miles Rich
Tom, Schwind Boeker only sold Buicks and later GMC, never Cadillacs. Warren L. Langwith was the Davenport Cadillac Dealer and also had Pontiac. Schwind Boeker was originally downtown on Harrison street, and later moved out to a new location on Brady north of Kimberly. Warren L. Langwith was on Ripley and 4th across from the Courthouse. Langwith was not only a dealer for Cadillac, but a distributor for many years. His son in law, Ken Stringer, took over the business and later sold it to Hanley Dawson out of Chicago, and then they moved to the site on Kimberly near I-74 that has changed hands many times. As I remember, the Quad City Buick Dealers started carrying Opels in the late 50s or early 60s. Bob Maloney's sister, Betty Duyvejonck, lived across the street from where I used to live and across from my aunt and uncles in Rock Island, and they had a new Kadett in the late 60s. I went to school with Walter Klockau's son, John.
Could it be that GM saw Opel as adding to the Buick line-up and not competing with it? The customers weren't comparing Buicks with Opels but maybe Opels with Peugeot, Alfas and VWs?
This was another great CC article, by the way with lovely visuals.
Right now Opel has a great range of cars in Europe. If the Buick equivalent is not rated, the Insignia is doing well. You can get a V6 with 4 wheel drive. The Astra is looking nice (as usual: all Astras are well styled cars) and the Zafira MPV is super smooth to drive. Check out the interior options for the Meriva. It might be a minivan but it can be very Brougham if you wish.
THEY USED TO BE BADGED "OPEL BY BUICK" ON THE TRUNK.
Joe C.
I enjoyed reading the comments, you guys really know your Opels. I had one like the one in the attached photo(same color) a 1969 Opel Kadett Rallye when I was in high school in 1972. It was my first car that I bought from a used car lot that my dad reluctantly cosigned for. I think I paid $650. or $750. for it, it was a fun car. I do remember though having to push start it quite often lol, I think it was a carburetor issue. My sister bought a new 1972 Opel Manta when she was in college, that was a nice looking car too I thought. I wish I still had it!
Savageatl on Curbside Classic: 1975 Isuzu 117 XC Coupé (Series 2) – Quite XC-Looking, For An Isuzu
Paul Niedermeyer on Cohort Classic: 1964 Chrysler Newport – Chrysler's Great Downsizing, Chapter 2.
Johannes Dutch on Curbside Newsstand: GM Planning A Corvette EV Crossover – Sound Familiar?
Paul Niedermeyer on Engine Tech 101: How Displacement Per Cylinder Affects Torque and Horsepower
James on Curbside Newsstand: GM Planning A Corvette EV Crossover – Sound Familiar?
Scoutdude on Curbside Newsstand: GM Planning A Corvette EV Crossover – Sound Familiar?


text:
Posted inNews, Southeast
Tight down-ballot races could decide North Carolina's energy policy future
by Elizabeth Ouzts October 28, 2020 October 28, 2020
Early voters wait to cast their ballots in Durham, N.C., on Oct. 15. Credit: AP Photo/Gerry Broome
The outcome in about a dozen competitive legislative races and the contest for Lt. Governor could tip the balance on climate and clean energy legislation in the state.
North Carolina is widely considered pivotal to control of both the White House and the U.S. Senate. But these ballot-topping races have nearly overshadowed an equally tight contest in the Tar Heel state: the battle for the majority in the state House and Senate.
While climate change has taken a public back seat to the pandemic and the economy in this year's election, the outcome in about a dozen legislative races and the contest for Lieutenant Governor could determine whether and how fulsomely the state tackles the problem.
Wilmington is one of several key battlegrounds. Perched at the mouth of the Cape Fear River, it's already suffering the effects of a warming planet — from devastating storms like Hurricanes Michael and Florence to rising seas slowly shrinking area beaches.
With two key state legislative races, and the opportunity to help sway the state for Democrats Joe Biden and Senate candidate Cal Cunningham, the city has an important role to play, Biden supporters said on Saturday at a news conference in downtown.
"What North Carolinians do over the coming days can literally shape the future of this city, and this world," said Wilmington city councilor Kevin Spears. "We have the power to take control. We just need to go vote."
Democratic House Candidate Adam Ericson, left, Young Dems regional director Samuel Johnson, and Wilmington city councilor Kevin Spears at news conference in Wilmington, N.C. (photo by Elizabeth Ouzts)
'I wouldn't expect that to change'
In his first term, Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, is running comfortably ahead of his challenger, the current lieutenant governor, Republican Dan Forest.
Most climate activists are firmly in Cooper's camp, and not just because Forest has publicly questioned the science of global warming. In 2018, Cooper issued Executive Order 80, aligned with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. He backed it up the following year with a blueprint to reduce utility sector climate pollution 70% by 2030 and down to zero by midcentury — targets consistent with what scientists say is necessary to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
But there's only so much the executive branch can do on its own. Most steps embedded in Cooper's strategy, like a requirement that utilities enact a target amount of energy efficiency programs or an increase in the state's clean energy mandate, would require a change in the law.
"The legislature could pick many ideas from the Clean Energy Plan and do a lot for addressing climate change," said Cassie Gavin, chief lobbyist for the North Carolina Sierra Club.
In its decade in the majority, the GOP has grabbed plenty of negative headlines on climate and energy policy, from passing a law to promote oil drilling in federal ocean waters off the state's coast to banning wind power development.
Lately, most legislative leaders have been mum on the topic of climate change, anxious not to alienate either their conservative base — some of which remains skeptical there is a problem — or the general public — the majority of whom want policy to solve it.
But while the House has shown interest in advancing the clean energy economy, the Senate has rarely gone along. For instance, the chamber stalled a popular House-passed measure to increase energy efficiency in government buildings two years in a row. For many advocates, it's difficult to imagine GOP Senate leaders embracing Cooper's climate agenda next year.
"I haven't seen any inclination on their part to do that so far," Gavin said. "I would not expect that to change."
'Voters are with us'
For climate activists, then, the choice is clear: "We are supporting Democrats up and down the ballot because young voters desperately want to see climate action," said Rachel Weber, North Carolina press secretary for NextGen America, which mobilizes young voters in elections. Of the current Republican Senate President Pro Tempore, she added, "we've got to make sure that we don't allow Phil Berger to stay in control and call the shots."
To win a majority, Democrats need to gain five seats in the 50-member Senate and six seats in the 120-member House. After courts ordered several districts to be redrawn, up to 14 Senate races and 24 House races could be in play, according to the progressive think tank Real Facts NC, though the conservative Civitas Institute rates fewer contests as close.
Voters aged 18 to 35 could be crucial in many of these races. Together, Gen Z'ers and Millennials make up the largest share of the state's electorate, and surveys show they overwhelmingly support Democrats and care about climate change. Students on college campuses, in particular, could be a deciding factor — from East Carolina University in Greenville, where Democrat Brian Farkas is taking on Republican Rep. Perrin Jones, to Appalachian State University and Western North Carolina University, where Democratic Reps. Ray Russell and Joe Sam Queen are defending their seats.
So far in the early voting period, 60% more young voters have turned out than they did at this point in 2016, already making up nearly a quarter of the more than 3 million ballots cast. That bodes well, says NextGen, since young people tend to vote later.
"We're absolutely on track for record youth voter turnout," Weber said.
The nonpartisan Conservation Votes PAC, the independent expenditure PAC created by the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters, talks about electing a "green majority" rather than a Democratic one. But it, too, is targeting the districts that could decide control of the legislature, investing $2 million in ads, mailers, and phone outreach in 13 critical races.
The PAC is spending money in support of one Republican: Fayetteville Rep. John Szoka, the author of numerous clean energy bills, including a 2017 law designed to double solar energy by next year. But everyone else getting an extra lift from the PAC is a Democrat challenging a Republican incumbent.
For the House, their slate includes Democrats Ricky Hurtado in Alamance County, who supports limiting carbon emissions and making the state a national leader on renewable energy, and Gail Young, whose challenger, Rep. Larry Pittman in Cabarrus County, calls climate change a "fraud" comparable to unicorns and the tooth fairy.
And it includes Adam Ericson, a public high school teacher running to defeat Rep. Ted Davis in New Hanover County. "Getting to 100% clean energy is not only an obligation," Ericson told the pro-Biden crowd on Saturday. "It is also an opportunity."
In the Senate, supported candidates include Terri LeGrand, a law professor at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem who founded two local environmental groups and features solutions to the climate crisis on her campaign website. LeGrand faces Sen. Joyce Krawiec, who has a lifetime score of 2% on the League of Conservation Voters scorecard.
These districts are hardly liberal enclaves, but voters there are concerned about climate pollution. According to the PAC's internal polling, between 56% and 66% support policies for zero carbon emissions by midcentury. "Voters are with us on the issues," said Dan Crawford, the group's director, "and we're doing everything we can to let them know what's at stake in this election."
'We don't really have choice'
Longtime environmental champions like Rep. Pricey Harrison, a Greensboro Democrat running unopposed, is bullish about her party's chances. "There's a good chance there will be Democrats in charge of all three branches of government," she said.
While Harrison said Medicaid expansion and independent redistricting might take first priority, climate will also be on the agenda, given the urgency for action. "We don't really have a choice," she said.
Harrison pointed to bills she and others have filed in previous years to achieve 100% clean energy by midcentury and praised Cooper's leadership on the issue. "Supplementing whatever he needs from the legislative branch to implement his executive order," she said, "there's a lot of interest in that."
Senate Democratic Whip Jay Chaudhuri, who represents a deep blue Raleigh district, said he and his colleagues believe Cooper's plan will create tens of thousands of clean energy jobs in urban and rural areas.
"We share concerns with an overwhelming majority of scientists who agree that climate change is real, and humans are the primary cause of it," Chaudhuri said over email. "We also believe that if our state fails to act now, we will find parts of our treasured coast underwater."
Other Democrats suggested the state could go beyond Cooper's plan, addressing the transportation sector, the largest source of climate pollution, as well as the electric grid.
"The big opportunity is comprehensive climate legislation," said Julie Mayfield, the Democratic candidate heavily favored to win Asheville's Senate District 49. "Trying not to piecemeal it — but get a comprehensive path forward."
Mayfield and others said a blueprint for action could come from North Carolina's northern neighbor, which this year passed legislation requiring the state's largest utilities to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. "It would be silly not to look at Virginia," she said.
Samuel Johnson, 23-year-old eastern North Carolina director for the Young Dems, is counting on his cohort to turn out to the polls. (photo by Elizabeth Ouzts)
'It's going to be very close'
Still, a Democratic takeover of North Carolina state government is far from certain. The Cook Political Report believes Republicans are more likely than not to keep control of the House, a view shared by the GOP lawmaker Szoka, who is competing in a critical House race himself.
"I think it's going to be very close," he said, "but I think I'm going to win." He added, "when Republicans remain in charge – not if — I think it will be good for renewable energy."
Szoka has drawn support from clean energy businesses and Environmental Defense Fund Action in addition to Conservation Votes PAC. The former two are steadfast in their agnosticism about party control, believing that bipartisan support is critical for any policy to move forward in a closely divided legislature, no matter who holds the gavel.
These groups point to growing support for not only renewable energy, but also for injecting more competition into electricity markets, an idea championed by Szoka as well as conservative Rep. Larry Strickland of Johnston County, who's heavily favored to win.
"Between the governor's process, and Executive Order 80, and the discussion happening in the legislature," said Chris Carmody, executive director of the North Carolina Clean Energy Business Association, "both sides are really converging around the same kinds of conversations."
Asked if House Republicans would enact pieces of Cooper's clean energy plan and take other steps on climate change commiserate with the science, House Speaker Tim Moore's office didn't reject the notion out of hand.
Pointing to Szoka's 2017 bill, which passed with bipartisan support, spokesperson Joseph Kyzer said in an email: "I expect lawmakers to continue pursuing their shared priorities of a cleaner and more reliable grid that keeps costs down for consumers with market-based solutions. That is the record of this legislature – achieving real results by setting obtainable goals and reaching consensus among lawmakers through a collaborative stakeholder process."
Berger's office didn't respond to the same inquiry. And with Cook rating the state Senate a toss-up, the race for Lieutenant Governor, who presides over the chamber and votes in case of a tie, has taken on outsized importance.
The Democratic candidate, Raleigh legislator Yvonne Holley, has an 88% score from the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters. The Republican, gun rights activist Mark Robinson, said falsely in a debate earlier this month that "climate change has not been proven scientifically."
Robinson's rejection of climate science is far from his only extreme position. On his Facebook page and in interviews, he has also espoused an array of fringe transphobic, misogynist, and anti-Semitic views, setting off alarm bells for progressives.
"He is an embarrassment, and someone we cannot have in that position," said Crawford. "If I woke up on Nov. 4, and the Lt. Governor was Mark Robinson and there was a tied Senate, I would be sick."
As the campaigns enter the final stretch, they're doing everything they can to turn out voters through the early voting period that ends on Halloween Day, and then again on Tuesday. For young voters especially, this last-minute outreach is critical.
Organizers like Samuel Johnson, eastern North Carolina director for the Young Dems, are anxious about a repeat of 2016, when nearly half of registered voters aged 18 to 25 didn't cast a ballot and President Donald Trump won by nearly 4 percentage points.
"We cannot make the same mistake this time around," said the 23-year-old Johnson, who grew up in rural Onslow County. "Millions of North Carolinians have already voted, but there are still millions more that need to come out, especially our young people."
But climate activists are also clear-eyed that the work doesn't end next week.
"Regardless of what happens on Nov. 3, the movement for climate action is not going to end," said NextGen's Weber. "No matter who's in office, we're still going to have to push them to work on the kinds of policies, to push for the kinds of changes that we know are really needed to avoid an absolute climate catastrophe."
Tagged: climate policy, North Carolina, politics
Elizabeth Ouzts
Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, Elizabeth has covered the state's clean energy transition for the Energy News Network since 2016. She has also produced features for Environmental Health News and SEJournal, the news magazine of the Society of Environmental Journalists. A former communications director for the nonprofit Environment America, Elizabeth brings over two decades of environmental and energy policy experience to her reporting.
More by Elizabeth Ouzts
The Energy News Network makes our original journalism available for republication by approved news outlets under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Please note that this license does not cover articles that we republish from other publications, Associated Press images, or any other material governed by a separate copyright agreement. You may select articles to be republished individually — you may not republish our work wholesale or automatically.
Contact Kathryn Krawczyk for more information or to be added to our list of approved partners who receive updates whenever we publish relevant content.
by Elizabeth Ouzts, Energy News Network

Tight down-ballot races could decide North Carolina's energy policy future

by Elizabeth Ouzts, Energy News Network
October 28, 2020

The outcome in about a dozen competitive legislative races and the contest for Lt. Governor could tip the balance on climate and clean energy legislation in the state.

North Carolina is widely considered pivotal to control of both the White House and the U.S. Senate. But these ballot-topping races have nearly overshadowed an equally tight contest in the Tar Heel state: the battle for the majority in the state House and Senate.

While climate change has taken a public back seat to the pandemic and the economy in this year's election, the outcome in about a dozen legislative races and the contest for Lieutenant Governor could determine whether and how fulsomely the state tackles the problem.

Wilmington is one of several key battlegrounds. Perched at the mouth of the Cape Fear River, it's already suffering the effects of a warming planet — from devastating storms like Hurricanes Michael and Florence to rising seas slowly shrinking area beaches.

With two key state legislative races, and the opportunity to help sway the state for Democrats Joe Biden and Senate candidate Cal Cunningham, the city has an important role to play, Biden supporters said on Saturday at a news conference in downtown.

"What North Carolinians do over the coming days can literally shape the future of this city, and this world," said Wilmington city councilor Kevin Spears. "We have the power to take control. We just need to go vote."

Democratic House Candidate Adam Ericson, left, Young Dems regional director Samuel Johnson, and Wilmington city councilor Kevin Spears at news conference in Wilmington, N.C. (photo by Elizabeth Ouzts)

'I wouldn't expect that to change'

In his first term, Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, is running comfortably ahead of his challenger, the current lieutenant governor, Republican Dan Forest.

Most climate activists are firmly in Cooper's camp, and not just because Forest has publicly questioned the science of global warming. In 2018, Cooper issued Executive Order 80, aligned with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. He backed it up the following year with a blueprint to reduce utility sector climate pollution 70% by 2030 and down to zero by midcentury — targets consistent with what scientists say is necessary to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

But there's only so much the executive branch can do on its own. Most steps embedded in Cooper's strategy, like a requirement that utilities enact a target amount of energy efficiency programs or an increase in the state's clean energy mandate, would require a change in the law.

"The legislature could pick many ideas from the Clean Energy Plan and do a lot for addressing climate change," said Cassie Gavin, chief lobbyist for the North Carolina Sierra Club.

In its decade in the majority, the GOP has grabbed plenty of negative headlines on climate and energy policy, from passing a law to promote oil drilling in federal ocean waters off the state's coast to banning wind power development.

Lately, most legislative leaders have been mum on the topic of climate change, anxious not to alienate either their conservative base — some of which remains skeptical there is a problem — or the general public — the majority of whom want policy to solve it.

But while the House has shown interest in advancing the clean energy economy, the Senate has rarely gone along. For instance, the chamber stalled a popular House-passed measure to increase energy efficiency in government buildings two years in a row. For many advocates, it's difficult to imagine GOP Senate leaders embracing Cooper's climate agenda next year.

"I haven't seen any inclination on their part to do that so far," Gavin said. "I would not expect that to change."

'Voters are with us'

For climate activists, then, the choice is clear: "We are supporting Democrats up and down the ballot because young voters desperately want to see climate action," said Rachel Weber, North Carolina press secretary for NextGen America, which mobilizes young voters in elections. Of the current Republican Senate President Pro Tempore, she added, "we've got to make sure that we don't allow Phil Berger to stay in control and call the shots."

To win a majority, Democrats need to gain five seats in the 50-member Senate and six seats in the 120-member House. After courts ordered several districts to be redrawn, up to 14 Senate races and 24 House races could be in play, according to the progressive think tank Real Facts NC, though the conservative Civitas Institute rates fewer contests as close.

Voters aged 18 to 35 could be crucial in many of these races. Together, Gen Z'ers and Millennials make up the largest share of the state's electorate, and surveys show they overwhelmingly support Democrats and care about climate change. Students on college campuses, in particular, could be a deciding factor — from East Carolina University in Greenville, where Democrat Brian Farkas is taking on Republican Rep. Perrin Jones, to Appalachian State University and Western North Carolina University, where Democratic Reps. Ray Russell and Joe Sam Queen are defending their seats.

So far in the early voting period, 60% more young voters have turned out than they did at this point in 2016, already making up nearly a quarter of the more than 3 million ballots cast. That bodes well, says NextGen, since young people tend to vote later.

"We're absolutely on track for record youth voter turnout," Weber said.

The nonpartisan Conservation Votes PAC, the independent expenditure PAC created by the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters, talks about electing a "green majority" rather than a Democratic one. But it, too, is targeting the districts that could decide control of the legislature, investing $2 million in ads, mailers, and phone outreach in 13 critical races.

The PAC is spending money in support of one Republican: Fayetteville Rep. John Szoka, the author of numerous clean energy bills, including a 2017 law designed to double solar energy by next year. But everyone else getting an extra lift from the PAC is a Democrat challenging a Republican incumbent.

For the House, their slate includes Democrats Ricky Hurtado in Alamance County, who supports limiting carbon emissions and making the state a national leader on renewable energy, and Gail Young, whose challenger, Rep. Larry Pittman in Cabarrus County, calls climate change a "fraud" comparable to unicorns and the tooth fairy.

And it includes Adam Ericson, a public high school teacher running to defeat Rep. Ted Davis in New Hanover County. "Getting to 100% clean energy is not only an obligation," Ericson told the pro-Biden crowd on Saturday. "It is also an opportunity."

In the Senate, supported candidates include Terri LeGrand, a law professor at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem who founded two local environmental groups and features solutions to the climate crisis on her campaign website. LeGrand faces Sen. Joyce Krawiec, who has a lifetime score of 2% on the League of Conservation Voters scorecard.

These districts are hardly liberal enclaves, but voters there are concerned about climate pollution. According to the PAC's internal polling, between 56% and 66% support policies for zero carbon emissions by midcentury. "Voters are with us on the issues," said Dan Crawford, the group's director, "and we're doing everything we can to let them know what's at stake in this election."

'We don't really have choice'

Longtime environmental champions like Rep. Pricey Harrison, a Greensboro Democrat running unopposed, is bullish about her party's chances. "There's a good chance there will be Democrats in charge of all three branches of government," she said.

While Harrison said Medicaid expansion and independent redistricting might take first priority, climate will also be on the agenda, given the urgency for action. "We don't really have a choice," she said.

Harrison pointed to bills she and others have filed in previous years to achieve 100% clean energy by midcentury and praised Cooper's leadership on the issue. "Supplementing whatever he needs from the legislative branch to implement his executive order," she said, "there's a lot of interest in that."

Senate Democratic Whip Jay Chaudhuri, who represents a deep blue Raleigh district, said he and his colleagues believe Cooper's plan will create tens of thousands of clean energy jobs in urban and rural areas.

"We share concerns with an overwhelming majority of scientists who agree that climate change is real, and humans are the primary cause of it," Chaudhuri said over email. "We also believe that if our state fails to act now, we will find parts of our treasured coast underwater."

Other Democrats suggested the state could go beyond Cooper's plan, addressing the transportation sector, the largest source of climate pollution, as well as the electric grid.

"The big opportunity is comprehensive climate legislation," said Julie Mayfield, the Democratic candidate heavily favored to win Asheville's Senate District 49. "Trying not to piecemeal it — but get a comprehensive path forward."

Mayfield and others said a blueprint for action could come from North Carolina's northern neighbor, which this year passed legislation requiring the state's largest utilities to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. "It would be silly not to look at Virginia," she said.

Samuel Johnson, 23-year-old eastern North Carolina director for the Young Dems, is counting on his cohort to turn out to the polls. (photo by Elizabeth Ouzts)

'It's going to be very close'

Still, a Democratic takeover of North Carolina state government is far from certain. The Cook Political Report believes Republicans are more likely than not to keep control of the House, a view shared by the GOP lawmaker Szoka, who is competing in a critical House race himself.

"I think it's going to be very close," he said, "but I think I'm going to win." He added, "when Republicans remain in charge – not if — I think it will be good for renewable energy."

Szoka has drawn support from clean energy businesses and Environmental Defense Fund Action in addition to Conservation Votes PAC. The former two are steadfast in their agnosticism about party control, believing that bipartisan support is critical for any policy to move forward in a closely divided legislature, no matter who holds the gavel.

These groups point to growing support for not only renewable energy, but also for injecting more competition into electricity markets, an idea championed by Szoka as well as conservative Rep. Larry Strickland of Johnston County, who's heavily favored to win.

"Between the governor's process, and Executive Order 80, and the discussion happening in the legislature," said Chris Carmody, executive director of the North Carolina Clean Energy Business Association, "both sides are really converging around the same kinds of conversations."

Asked if House Republicans would enact pieces of Cooper's clean energy plan and take other steps on climate change commiserate with the science, House Speaker Tim Moore's office didn't reject the notion out of hand.

Pointing to Szoka's 2017 bill, which passed with bipartisan support, spokesperson Joseph Kyzer said in an email: "I expect lawmakers to continue pursuing their shared priorities of a cleaner and more reliable grid that keeps costs down for consumers with market-based solutions. That is the record of this legislature – achieving real results by setting obtainable goals and reaching consensus among lawmakers through a collaborative stakeholder process."

Berger's office didn't respond to the same inquiry. And with Cook rating the state Senate a toss-up, the race for Lieutenant Governor, who presides over the chamber and votes in case of a tie, has taken on outsized importance.

The Democratic candidate, Raleigh legislator Yvonne Holley, has an 88% score from the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters. The Republican, gun rights activist Mark Robinson, said falsely in a debate earlier this month that "climate change has not been proven scientifically."

Robinson's rejection of climate science is far from his only extreme position. On his Facebook page and in interviews, he has also espoused an array of fringe transphobic, misogynist, and anti-Semitic views, setting off alarm bells for progressives.

"He is an embarrassment, and someone we cannot have in that position," said Crawford. "If I woke up on Nov. 4, and the Lt. Governor was Mark Robinson and there was a tied Senate, I would be sick."

As the campaigns enter the final stretch, they're doing everything they can to turn out voters through the early voting period that ends on Halloween Day, and then again on Tuesday. For young voters especially, this last-minute outreach is critical.

Organizers like Samuel Johnson, eastern North Carolina director for the Young Dems, are anxious about a repeat of 2016, when nearly half of registered voters aged 18 to 25 didn't cast a ballot and President Donald Trump won by nearly 4 percentage points.

"We cannot make the same mistake this time around," said the 23-year-old Johnson, who grew up in rural Onslow County. "Millions of North Carolinians have already voted, but there are still millions more that need to come out, especially our young people."

But climate activists are also clear-eyed that the work doesn't end next week.

"Regardless of what happens on Nov. 3, the movement for climate action is not going to end," said NextGen's Weber. "No matter who's in office, we're still going to have to push them to work on the kinds of policies, to push for the kinds of changes that we know are really needed to avoid an absolute climate catastrophe."

This article first appeared on Energy News Network and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.


I've got real doubts as to the legitimacy of Assange. Especially his denial of a further investigation into 9/11, he says there are more current & important issues at hand. I do not agree!!
Roberts at least knows what is required if we are to survive although he speaks of the identity politics which has people divided & is not too hopeful that folks will/can unite. It's really quite simple as to the uniting element & that is OUR BILL OF RIGHTS.
Can't stand the senile old fool and swamp-dwelling Roberts, he is a tool. I contacted him once with a legitimate question on one of his articles, he said he didn't have time for any crackpot who believed in the Bill of Rights and Common law. Called me a crazy, out of touch libertarian, right away with the pigeon hole, HA!
Ditto. In spades. Thanks Bill.


Prettier Gallery Of Granite Bathroom Sinks – Through the thousands of Ideas online concerning granite bathroom sinks, we selects the very best series along with excellent quality exclusively for our readers, and of course,this pictures ,in fact, one of figur libraries under our wonderful photographs gallery with regards to Prettier Gallery Of Granite Bathroom Sinks. Lets hope you may enjoy it.
issued through Dennis Hamilton at 2008-06-26 16:19:32. To see lots of pictures in Prettier Gallery Of Granite Bathroom Sinks pictures gallery make sure you bookmark this kind of website URL.