Environment

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.

February 13, 2014 - Following Duke Energy's massive coal ash spill into the Dan River, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) has come under scrutiny for his unusually close relationship with the utility giant. We take a by-the-numbers look at just how tight they are.

February 11, 2014 - Criticizing state regulators for creating an atmosphere of distrust, two clean water advocacy groups are offering money to anyone who can provide information on Duke Energy's massive spill of toxic coal waste into the Dan River that leads to civil or criminal charges.

February 4, 2014 - A stormwater pipe at a shuttered Duke Energy coal plant in North Carolina has sent thousands of tons of coal ash into the Dan River, which provides drinking water for downstream communities. Five years after another coal ash disaster in Tennessee led to promises for federal regulations, when will we finally see them enacted?

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.

January 29, 2014 - In the White House broadcast of the address, President Obama's remarks about the reality of climate change were accompanied by a slide that called out the many members of Congress who have dismissed or denied the science of climate.

January 24, 2014 - Before he became infamous for the murder of President Lincoln, the Confederate sympathizer from Maryland was an oilman who used explosives to boost well production. The technique -- refined by another man whose Civil War experiences inspired what he called the "petroleum torpedo" -- was the rock-shattering prototype for modern hydraulic fracturing.