Clean Air Carolina
PW exclusive: The death of a pipeline
After years of effort, opponents of the cancelled Atlantic Coast Pipeline celebrate, reflect and look to the future Belinda Joyner had returned from Sunday church and was settling in for the afternoon when she heard the news. “Is this real?” Joyner asked her friend, who sent an email with the official announcement. “Yes,” her friend replied.
Settlement agreements require Enviva to install more stringent air pollution controls on wood pellet plants in Richmond, Sampson counties
Enviva, the world’s largest manufacturer of wood pellet fuel, will install more stringent air pollution controls at two of its plants, as part of settlement agreements with the state and environmental groups. In the first settlement agreement, Clean Air Carolina had challenged the air permit for the Hamlet plant in Richmond County that was approved […]
To reduce your risk of autism, dementia and diabetes, avoid breathing in traffic
Air pollution from cars and trucks is linked not only to the usual suspects — heart attacks and asthma — but also to cognitive disorders like autism in children and dementia in adults, researchers have found. And merely living near a heavily trafficked road can increase the risk, said David Peden, a pediatrics professor at […]
3-judge panel blocks two constitutional amendments from November ballot
A three-judge panel has struck two constitutional amendments from the November ballot. In a 2-1 decision released Tuesday evening, the judges ruled that the wording of the ballot questions associated with the two amendments would not sufficiently inform voters as required by the constitution. Both amendments would transfer power from Gov. Roy Cooper to the […]
Judges issue order detailing decision to pause November ballot process
A three-judge panel’s decision last week to halt November ballot production was made because of the complexity of the cases before them and the shortness of time they had to review them. The panel ordered Wednesday that the State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement pause the ballot printing process until Sept. 1 or until […]
Gerry Cohen points out veto loophole in judicial constitutional amendment
Gerry Cohen worked for the legislature for decades, and knows a thing or two about constitutional amendments. He filed an affidavit to a three-judge panel on behalf of the North Carolina NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Center in its lawsuit over misleading ballot language associated with four constitutional amendments. While he didn’t speak in […]
Updated: 4 lawsuits filed this morning over constitutional amendments, veto overrides
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect another lawsuit that was filed today. Four different lawsuits were filed this morning in Wake County Superior Court over the constitutional amendments that are expected to be on the ballot this November and the legislative veto overrides from the weekend. Chris Anglin threatened to sue lawmakers […]
In North Carolina, several endangered species are on the ropes
The survival of several threatened and endangered species in North Carolina became even more precarious this week, as government officials published preliminary decisions on the red wolf, dwarf wedgemussel and yellow lance mussel. The saga of the endangered red wolf in northeastern North Carolina has dragged on for years. Since the mid-2000s, when the population peaked […]
Two days remain to comment on how DEQ should spend $92 million to clean up the state’s air
Tell the Division of Air Quality what projects you think the state should fund using the $92 million settlement money to reduce diesel pollution. Submit comments by 5 p.m. on Dec. 31 to this email address: [email protected] with the subject line “Response to NC VW RFI”. A Boeing 737 headed for the runway a Piedmont […]
Clean Air Carolina, SELC sue Trump administration over rollback of pollution standards
Four environmental groups, including two from North Carolina, are suing the Federal Highway Administration over its sudden suspension of key greenhouse gas rules. Those rules would have required states to track and reduce pollution from cars and trucks — a major source of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. Clean Air Carolina, based in […]
Amount of toxics released into air declines, but NC’s water is in trouble
Breathe deeply — well, not too deeply. But swim cautiously because the water is worse than the air. The amount of toxic pollutants that industry emitted into North Carolina’s air decreased substantially from 2005 to 2015. Unfortunately, the load of toxic contaminants increased in the state’s waterways by 200,000 pounds over that same decade. The figures come […]
How to become an AirKeeper for your neighborhood
The power to monitor the air can sit in the palm of your hand. Clean Air Carolina, a Charlotte-based nonprofit, has launched an AirKeeper program that deploys citizen scientists and sensors into neighborhoods, schools, even private back yards. Today, NCPW posted a story about how citizens are filling in the monitoring gaps created by a […]