Environment

The Virginia Pilot: Editorial: Ignoring waste lagoons’ is a lasting risk

By Eleanore Wood / September 28, 2018 / Comments Off on The Virginia Pilot: Editorial: Ignoring waste lagoons’ is a lasting risk

Cutting taxes has consequences. One of those is a lack of staff and funding to keep water clean and prepare for hurricanes. North Carolina needs leaders that put the health and safety of the people over tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations. From The Virginia Pilot: The threat of hurricanes is a constant in…

Read More

The Virginia Pilot: Editorial: Ignoring waste lagoons’ is a lasting risk

By Eleanore Wood / September 27, 2018 / Comments Off on The Virginia Pilot: Editorial: Ignoring waste lagoons’ is a lasting risk

Cutting taxes has consequences. One of those is a lack of staff and funding to keep water clean and prepare for hurricanes. From The Virginia Pilot: The threat of hurricanes is a constant in eastern North Carolina, as much a part of the landscape as the golden fields of tobacco that once dominated the region…

Read More

The New York Times: What Is Coal Ash and Why Is It Dangerous?

By Eleanore Wood / September 21, 2018 / Comments Off on The New York Times: What Is Coal Ash and Why Is It Dangerous?

Another coal ash pit is spilling into our water, this after Trump’s EPA relaxed the regulations on these pits even further. This happened before and caused the drinking water of hundreds of families to be poisoned. NC lawmakers did require that Duke Energy clean up its act, but allowed them to make their customers pay…

Read More

The Wall Street Journal: Florence Washes Away Portion of Coal-Ash Landfill in North Carolina

By Eleanore Wood / September 16, 2018 / Comments Off on The Wall Street Journal: Florence Washes Away Portion of Coal-Ash Landfill in North Carolina

Duke Energy is once again responsible for a spill of toxic coal ash into North Carolina’s waterways. Our lawmakers have been soft on Duke and even allowed them to charge their customers to clean up their toxic mess. It’s time the politicians protected the health of the people and hold corporate polluters accountable to clean…

Read More

CNN: Hurricane Florence: Mapping the thousands of animal waste lagoons, nuclear sites threatened

By Eleanore Wood / September 14, 2018 / Comments Off on CNN: Hurricane Florence: Mapping the thousands of animal waste lagoons, nuclear sites threatened

Instead of protecting the people of North Carolina from contaminated water, NC lawmakers are protecting the profits of a multi-billion dollar Chinese corporation. They continue to allow the cheap and unsafe practices of open hog waste lagoons. Why? Because Smithfield Foods donates to their campaigns. The politicians in Raleigh could force the company to put…

Read More

CNN: Hurricane Florence: Mapping the thousands of animal waste lagoons, nuclear sites threatened

By Eleanore Wood / September 14, 2018 / Comments Off on CNN: Hurricane Florence: Mapping the thousands of animal waste lagoons, nuclear sites threatened

Instead of protecting the people of North Carolina from contaminated water, NC lawmakers are protecting the profits of a multi-billion dollar Chinese corporation. They continue to allow the cheap and unsafe practices of open hog waste lagoons. Why? Because Smithfield Foods donates to their campaigns. The politicians in Raleigh could force the company to put…

Read More

The News & Observer: NC banned a study on sea-level rise. Could it mean more Hurricane Florence destruction?

By Eleanore Wood / September 12, 2018 / Comments Off on The News & Observer: NC banned a study on sea-level rise. Could it mean more Hurricane Florence destruction?

Late night host Stephen Colbert said it best when he said: “If your science gives you a result you don’t like, pass a law saying the result is illegal. Problem solved. Bravo North Carolina.” But the problem is far from solved for the people of North Carolina’s coastal communities. NC’s Republican leaders wanted to protect…

Read More

Star News: Brunswick resident discusses GenX, PFAS on Capitol Hill

By Eleanore Wood / September 7, 2018 / Comments Off on Star News: Brunswick resident discusses GenX, PFAS on Capitol Hill

Emily Donovan, a resident of Brunswick County, NC traveled to Washington DC to plead with our government to study and regulate the chemicals that are being released into the drinking water of her town. Citing family and friends that have all become ill including her own husband, she passionately demanded that lawmakers do something to…

Read More

Our View: Stopping GenX is only 1 step toward safer water

By Eleanore Wood / August 30, 2018 / Comments Off on Our View: Stopping GenX is only 1 step toward safer water

The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority is planning to install a water-treatment plant which would remove GenX and other pollutants (PFAS) from Wilmington customers’ water. The source of the pollution, Chemours, has stopped dumping PFAS into waterways and is incorporating new equipment to capture emissions. Experts plan to see a reduction of more than 70…

Read More

The New York Times: A Leader in the War on Poverty Opens a New Front: Pollution

By Eleanore Wood / August 28, 2018 / Comments Off on The New York Times: A Leader in the War on Poverty Opens a New Front: Pollution

Environmental justice has strong ties to economic and racial justice. Poor people, people of color, and people living in rural areas are disproportionately affected by climate change. In Forsyth County, coal ash from Belews Creek Steam Station is polluting drinking water and affecting the health of local residents. Belews Creek is a predominantly black community…

Read More