Environment

July 2, 2013 - The N.C. commission charged with regulating fracking is protesting state lawmakers' effort to preempt its authority to require strong public disclosure rules for chemicals used in fracking for natural gas. Will North Carolina join other Southern states in adopting weak disclosure requirements?

June 26, 2013 - Bypassing a Congress that's failed to take action to address a worsening problem, President Obama unveiled a plan to curb climate-disrupting pollution from coal-fired power plants -- with big implications for the coal-dependent South.

June 18, 2013 - A utility watchdog and its hired expert scoured Duke Energy rate-hike filings and uncovered numerous instances where the company inappropriately charged customers for things like political contributions and a sports team sponsorship. They're calling on state regulators to fine Duke at least $5 million for the violations.

June 18, 2013 - In the wake of the NSA surveillance revelations, Gulf Coast advocate Cherri Foytlin considers her own experience of monitoring by federal authorities while pressing for justice from BP, part of a long history of U.S. spying on people's movements.

June 6, 2013 - The U.S. senator from New Jersey, who died this week at age 89, worked to protect communities from toxic industrial pollution. Lawmakers who represent environmentally challenged districts along the Gulf Coast could learn a lot from his legacy -- and so could their constituents.

June 5, 2013 - Though some politicians are trying to repeal the state's renewable energy standard, the policy continues to help make North Carolina a national leader in creating clean-energy jobs.

May 31, 2013 - With a fast-growing number of U.S. residents installing solar panels on their homes and businesses, utilities worried about their bottom line are jumping into the distributed solar power market -- even in the coal-dependent South.