water pollution

Fracking's air pollution threat

By Sue Sturgis

March 27, 2012 - As North Carolina considers lifting its ban on the controversial natural-gas drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing or "fracking," a growing body of evidence documents serious public-health threats due to air pollution from such operations, which have already been linked to water contamination.

Dumping dioxin on Dixie

By Sue Sturgis

January 25, 2012 - As the Environmental Protection Agency readies a long-awaited report on a class of health-damaging pollutants known as dioxins, we look at the biggest industrial dioxin sources in the U.S. -- and find that the South bears a disproportionate toxic burden.

Environment

Toxic coal ash dumping on the rise in the South

By Sue Sturgis

January 9, 2012 - The amount of toxic coal ash that's being dumped at power plants in the region and nationwide is growing -- at the same time some members of Congress are trying to block strict regulation of such disposal.

Environment

NC lawmakers take a one-sided look at fracking

By Sue Sturgis

November 21, 2011 - Several North Carolina legislators are in Pennsylvania today for a fact-finding mission about the controversial natural-gas drilling method known as fracking -- and their tour guide is Chesapeake Energy, one of the nation's largest fracking companies.

A dolphin's dilemma for fishermen in the Gulf

By Bridge the Gulf

August 1, 2011 - By Rocky Kistner, Bridge the Gulf

Environment

Investigative Series: Poisoned in the Gulf

By Sue Sturgis

May 16, 2011 - APRIL 2011 | One year after the worst oil disaster in U.S. history, a health crisis is emerging among cleanup workers and Gulf Coast residents exposed to spill-related pollution. In a week-long series, Facing South looked at the BP disaster's health impact and regulatory failings that exacerbated the problem.

Environment

America's hidden coal ash threat

By Sue Sturgis

January 27, 2009 - Last month's catastrophic

Politics

Poisoned patriots: North Carolina's toxic marine base

By Chris Kromm

June 13, 2007 - In a recent debate on North Carolina Public Radio, N.C. Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue (D) insisted that there are "no downsides" to her plan of expanding military bases and defense industries in the state. I disagreed, citing the Institute's recent report North Carolina at War, which documents the social, economic and other costs of being "the most military-friendly state in the nation."

Environment

Tom DeLay (Hearts) "Frivolous Lawsuits"

By Chris Kromm

April 20, 2005 - Another one for the Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) files: according to a new report from the Environmental Working Group, Tom DeLay and his family filed a $15 million defective product lawsuit in 1990 -- the very type of lawsuit he is now seeking to restrict on Capitol Hill. As EWG reports,