Posts Tagged ‘North Carolina’
Coal Ash: Now a Part of a Balanced Breakfast
By Hallie Carde Red, White and Water intern, Spring 2013 This just in: in addition to fruits and veggies, our nation’s children should be getting their daily dose of coal ash. Or at least that’s what statements at a public hearing in Franklin County, Missouri, seem to suggest. Just last week, there was a hearing…
Read MoreThe New Faces and Issues of North Carolina
THE NEW FACES For the first time since 1870, the Republican party controls both the executive and legislative branches in North Carolina government. With the General Assembly sporting veto-proof majorities in both its chambers, and Pat McCrory’s election making him the state’s first Republican governor in 20 years, the political landscape in North Carolina has…
Read MoreNew NC DENR Boss Isn’t Sure About Global Warming
By Tabitha Lundsford Red, White and Water intern, Spring 2013 Watch as John Skvarla, North Carolina’s new head of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, sidesteps a question about climate change (near the end of the video) and supports the continuance of fracking. As the state pursues more controversial forms of energy production, he…
Read MoreA New Year, New Plants for Duke Energy
As we ring in the New Year, Duke Energy is touting three facilities that came online at the end of 2012 with a combined capacity of 2,365 megawatts of new generation. The newly operational units include the Cliffside Power Station Unit 6, and natural gas-fired units at the Dan River Power Station and the H.F.…
Read MoreOl’ Dan River (Despite Coal Ash) Just Keeps Rollin’
Appalachian Voices recently submitted their comments to the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Dan River Steam Station’s new permit to discharge coal ash. As we all know, coal ash isn’t a pretty thing. The harmful leftovers from burning coal contain toxic contaminants like chromium and arsenic, and seep into our waterways, threatening…
Read MoreSingin’ the Catawba River Blues After Commission’s Decision On Coal Ash
By Hallie Carde Red, White and Water intern, Spring 2013 North Carolina, we have a problem. The waste from burning coal, known as coal ash, continues to threaten our state’s water supply. Seepage from coal ash impoundments is contaminating North Carolina’s water at various sites throughout the state. Unaddressed in the past and denied in…
Read MoreDon’t Depress, Divest — Reflections on 350.org’s Climate Change Roadshow
On Monday, author and environmentalist Bill McKibben and 350.org’s climate change roadshow, the “Do the Math” tour, packed the Page Auditorium at Duke University. The energy in the room was high, the crowd was diverse and full of familiar faces, and maybe I’m just biased, but my younger brother and I couldn’t help but recognize…
Read MoreCape Fear: Starring Toxic Contaminants, Directed by Coal Ash
When state regulators were shown groundwater test samples taken near the Cape Fear River in eastern North Carolina with elevated levels of arsenic, thallium and chloride, the contaminants that seeped in from Lake Sutton, a coal ash pond next to the Sutton coal plant….that means the regulators made the plant clean it all up, right?…
Read MoreFederal Grants for Troubled Appalachian Species | W.Va. Superfund Cleanup
Federal Grants To Assist Troubled Appalachian Species A round of special funding by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service awarded $33 million toward helping threatened and endangered species in 21 states, including several projects in the Central and Southern Appalachian region. In Cumberland County, Tenn., more than $700,000 will protect aquatic resources and improve habitat…
Read MoreNew Studies Reveal Another Toxic Page in the Coal Ash Chronicles
The latest independent study of water quality among 11 North Carolina lakes and rivers downstream from coal-fired power plants’ coal ash ponds revealed “high levels of contaminants that in several cases exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s guidelines for drinking water and ecological effects.” Coal ash, the toxic byproduct of burning coal for electricity, is…
Read More