offshore drilling

February 18, 2014 - Following Duke Energy's massive coal ash spill into the Dan River, Gov. Pat McCrory (R) has come under scrutiny for his close ties to the Charlotte, N.C.-based utility giant. Other key members of his administration have connections to the company, too.

January 31, 2014 - The push is on to open up the Atlantic -- coastal Virginia and the Carolinas in particular -- to offshore oil and gas drilling. The first step involves seismic air gun testing to measure potential reserves, but it's meeting grassroots resistance.

October 31, 2013 - U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré was tapped to save New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Now retired from the military, he's rallying a different set of troops to save the Gulf Coast from the ravages of an irresponsible oil industry.

August 21, 2013 - A new report documents the extensive pollution released in Louisiana last year during Hurricane Isaac, a relatively mild Category 1 storm. It serves as a warning for storm-vulnerable states like Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina now considering opening up their coasts to energy exploration.

July 29, 2013 - A bill that would have allowed North Carolina to issue fracking permits before all of the regulations were in place failed to pass, but lawmakers approved a measure that requires the state to join with Virginia and South Carolina to promote offshore energy development.

May 3, 2013 - Clean energy opponents turned to dirty tactics to advance a bill repealing North Carolina's renewables program -- and that's not the only example of the state's energy policy being hijacked by powerful interests.

March 7, 2013 - Clean water advocates have filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the U.S. Coast Guard over its refusal to release public records about a chronic leak from Taylor Energy oil wells off the Louisiana coast. Caused by an underwater mudslide during Hurricane Ivan, the spill has been fouling Gulf waters since 2004.