Energy and Environment
September 15, 2014 -
A study by researchers at five universities found contamination of drinking water in Texas and Pennsylvania from gas drilling operations. The authors say it wasn't fracking per se that caused the contamination but faulty gas well construction -- though they note that fracking could potentially affect well integrity.
August 25, 2014 -
Following the $16 billion Justice Department settlement with North Carolina-based Bank of America for financial crimes, Dirt Diggers Digest looks at prosecution of corporate crime of another sort -- and finds less-than-vigorous prosecution for environmental offense.
August 22, 2014 -
North Carolina has passed the nation's first state law regulating coal ash, but it's being met with protests for not doing enough to protect public health and the environment -- and for placing oversight in the hands of political appointees in a state where Duke Energy is a major campaign financier.
August 19, 2014 -
The first public hearing on North Carolina's proposed fracking rules will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 20 in Raleigh, with three other hearings set for the central and western parts of the state. Environmental advocates have reviewed the rules and are offering their ideas for how they should be changed to better protect natural resources and public health.
August 6, 2014 -
A new national poll has found that fewer Southerners say their energy choices have an impact on the environment compared to their fellow Americans in the West, Midwest and Northeast.
August 5, 2014 -
As the EPA gets ready to release the nation's first-ever federal coal ash regulations, and while state legislatures like North Carolina's grapple with protecting waterways from the toxic power plant waste, a new report has documented another serious health problem from coal ash: airborne pollution, which can damage lungs, cause immune system problems, and lead to heart attacks and strokes.
July 31, 2014 -
This week's Environmental Protection Agency hearings on the proposed plan to clean up carbon pollution from power plants offered a ringside seat to the political fight that's pitting those with a financial interest in the high-carbon economy against those whose top priority is the well-being of future generations.
