Environment

March 20, 2013 - A watchdog group with a track record of uncovering conflicts of interest in fracking research has discovered that the president's energy nominee failed to disclose he was a director of a firm that profits from the shale gas industry at the time he released an influential study concluding the environmental impacts of the controversial gas drilling practice were "manageable."

March 14, 2013 - Of the four primary sponsors behind new legislation to repeal North Carolina's groundbreaking renewable energy law, three have documented ties to the fossil fuel-funded conservative policy group that's been gunning for renewables.

March 14, 2013 - When Uranium Energy Corp. sought permission to launch a large-scale mining project in Goliad County, Texas, it seemed the EPA would stand in the way -- until a powerful Democratic lobbyist and fundraiser intervened.

March 12, 2013 - A new report finds that North Carolina is among the leaders in creating manufacturing-related clean energy jobs, but some of the state's politicians are targeting the law that jump-started the industry's growth.

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.

March 5, 2013 - Declining coal production is hurting Appalachia's economy, which was already in rough shape. Scholars are looking at Wales, which lost its coal economy in the 1980s, for examples for how Appalachia might address its economic future.

March 4, 2013 - NC WARN is running full-page ads in North Carolina newspapers calling on Gov. Pat McCrory to disclose exactly how much stock he holds in Duke Energy, his longtime employer, and to recuse himself from making appointments to the state regulatory commission that oversees the company.