Environment

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality says it's filed a lawsuit seeking to force Colonial Pipeline to meet obligations resulting from a gasoline spill that was found to be far worse than the company initially reported.

Climate change is on the minds of world leaders gathering for the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, next week. They'll be talking about emissions reductions, carbon markets and other tactics to meet the goals of the 2015 Paris climate agreement. It's far removed from South Carolina's Low Country, where members of the Gullah Geechee Nation are already feeling the effects of climate change.

The department says when it's done, the Wilmington East area could generate more than 1.5 gigawatts of electricity, enough for more than 500,000 homes.

After COVID-19 outbreaks at other zoos, the North Carolina Zoo registered to receive the Zoetis vaccine — specially developed to protect animals.

"This left us speechless," said Catawba College's President David Nelson. "It left us wondering if we were reading numbers correctly."

The News & Observer reported Wednesday that more than 11 million pounds of litter have been picked up as of Jan. 1. The previous record was 10.5 million in 2019.

As large-scale hog and poultry industries continue to grow in eastern North Carolina, local residents push back against decades of air and water pollution.

Environmental Protection Agency head Michael Regan says his agency is taking a series of actions to limit pollution from a cluster of long-lasting chemicals known as PFAS that are increasingly turning up in public drinking water systems, private wells and even food.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has signed into law a major energy reform bill designed to promote cleaner energy and change the way electric utilities are regulated. Cooper signed the bill even though business, environmental and consumer groups say it doesn't go far enough and could lead to big price increases.

A landmark energy measure for North Carolina that aims to dramatically reduce power plant greenhouse gas emissions received final legislative approval Thursday, despite lingering concerns by some that customers aren't helped sufficiently with higher electricity bills.