environment
People’s Power Coalition demands more state funding for essential services
The NC People’s Power Coalition demanded more funding for hospital workers, schools, and environmental protections at a news conference Wednesday. The coalition, representing more than 75 organizations across the state, is asking lawmakers to invest “in our children, funding healthcare, keeping your bands off our bodies, uprooting racism, creating an economy for all, defending freedom […]
Durham probing work history of new solid waste director James Lyons, who once ran for mayor
This is a developing story. It was updated at 2:55 pm with the cost of the national search. At 6:56 p.m. on Tuesday, the City of Durham announced it had fired James Lyons. Read the story here. A former Durham mayoral candidate recently hired as the city’s director of solid waste has inconsistencies in his […]
U.S. Supreme Court rejects Biden wetlands regulation, ruling for Idaho couple
This story has been updated. The U.S. Supreme Court in a major environmental decision on Thursday overturned the Environmental Protection Agency’s definition of wetlands that fall under the agency’s jurisdiction, siding with an Idaho couple who’d said they should not be required to obtain federal permits to build on their property that lacked any navigable […]
Overhaul federal permitting as part of the debt limit deal? Not as easy as it sounds.
Congressional leaders negotiating a deal to avoid a catastrophic default on the nation’s debt are talking about including an overhaul of how the federal government reviews projects for their environmental impact. There is bipartisan support for changes to the lengthy environmental approval process among climate-minded Democrats eager to speed construction of renewable energy projects, as […]
Rural electric co-ops to get $10.7B in USDA funds for clean energy grants, loans
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will begin to administer two loan and grant programs worth nearly $11 billion to boost clean energy systems in rural areas, Biden administration officials said Tuesday. Congress approved the federal spending — $9.7 billion for a grant and loan program the department is calling the New Empowering Rural America program, […]
Speedier permitting of energy projects gains bipartisan backing on U.S. Senate panel
Members of both parties on the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voiced their support Thursday for reforming the federal process for approving energy projects, saying it should be prioritized to secure domestic energy supply and boost renewable energy. There is bipartisan interest in revising the permitting process and members of both parties have […]
Some states hope to move climate-threatened species, but others say no way
This story is Part Two of a two-part series about a federal proposal to relocate endangered species outside their historic ranges. See Part One: Federal wildlife managers and ecologists weigh the risks of action — and inaction — to rescue species from climate change. North Carolina might need to move a snail. A tiny mollusk […]
Climate change is destroying habitats. But relocating species could be tricky.
[This story is Part One of a two-part series first published by Stateline about a federal proposal to relocate endangered species outside their historic ranges. Look for Part Two, which examines how state wildlife officials have widely diverging reactions to the proposal (with special focus on North Carolina) tomorrow.] Nine years ago, a team of […]
Here’s where gas prices are headed (for now) and why
Higher temperatures. Higher gas prices. Drivers across the country have seen that seasonal given play out in recent weeks. The national average for a gallon of regular gas is $3.64 on April 26, up 21 cents over the previous month, according to AAA. The good news is that gas is 49 cents below where it […]
U.S. House fails to override Biden veto of WOTUS legislation
The U.S. House on Tuesday failed to override a President Joe Biden veto, which means the administration’s regulation stays in place expanding which waters and wetlands can be regulated under the federal Clean Water Act. The House did not clear the two-thirds mark needed to overturn Biden’s veto of a resolution that would have blocked […]