Environment
January 2, 2013 -
Speaking today at the N.C. Bankers Association's 2013 Economic Forecast Forum, incoming Republican Gov. Pat McCrory said he would waste no time in joining with Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia to begin negotiating with the federal government to drill offshore for gas and oil.
December 21, 2012 -
Dec. 22 marks four years since a coal ash impoundment collapsed at a TVA power plant in Tennessee, inundating a community and two rivers. As EPA drags its feet over issuing federal coal ash rules, politicians backed by industry interests are maneuvering to block the agency's ability to protect people and the environment -- even though their states have been adversely affected by poor regulation.
December 20, 2012 -
Bill Ritter, who led a revamp of Colorado's fracking regulations and is now being considered to head the U.S. Department of Energy, visited North Carolina this week to share his thoughts with the state's fracking commission. With controversy over the risky practice roiling his home state, Ritter emphasized the need for drillers to obtain what he called a "social license" to operate.
December 14, 2012 -
This week the federal government took big steps toward building a commercial offshore wind industry in the Southeast -- but its future could be threatened by the expiration of a key tax credit.
December 12, 2012 -
A professor involved in a scientific conflict of interest scandal at the University of Texas has moved to a Louisiana coastal research nonprofit -- where he continues to be less than upfront about his oil and gas industry connections.
December 7, 2012 -
Two weeks before the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, killing 11 workers and spewing millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, BP was spewing a different kind of pollution -- leading to a $500 billion lawsuit that has received far less attention.
December 6, 2012 -
The N.C. Utilities Commission and attorney general have settled their probes into Duke Energy's controversial $32 billion merger with Progress Energy. But a watchdog group calls the settlements a "sell-out of the public" and says it will continue to fight the merger in court.
