Duke’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions found that the introduction of plastic pollution policies stalled on a national and global level when COVID-19 emerged, but the fight against plastic pollution in coastal North Carolina continues.
News & Features
Still no answers from sampling of PFAS-laden foam
A statewide investigation of foam containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in areas including Brunswick County beaches has yet to identify the potential sources.
Lionfish an example of needed invasive species awareness
This week is National Invasive Species Awareness Week, and the red lionfish has gained increasing attention since the nonnative predator first began to appear in waters off the NC coast about 20 years ago.
UNCW event examines history of environmental injustice
Student-led People of Scientific and Equitable Achievement hosted the panel discussion.
NC Supreme Court: Environmental grants can continue
The 6-0 decision means millions of dollars that Smithfield Foods pays as the result of a 25-year deal with the state nearly 22 years ago may continue to be administered through the state’s Environmental Enhancement Grant program.
NC efforts offer cold-stunned sea turtles second chance
Aquariums, state agencies and volunteer organizations work together every winter to rehabilitate sea turtles that get caught close to shore when temperatures plunge.
Commission OKs turnaround area, sandbags for NC 12
The Coastal Resources Commission has given the N.C. Department of Transportation approval to build a turnaround and sandbag structure perpendicular to the shoreline where the existing highway will come to a dead end once the Rodanthe “jug handle” bridge is opened to traffic.
Cleanup of fallen house begins; beach near site closed
The owners of the oceanfront house that collapsed in Rodanthe last week have hired a contractor to clean up the site and the miles of Cape Hatteras National Seashore beach, temporarily closed because of the widespread, dangerous debris.
Officials tout economic boom from offshore wind industry
Offshore wind manufacturing could bring an estimated $140 billion and tens of thousands of new jobs to North Carolina by 2035, if steps are taken now, say those who spoke during the first meeting last week of a state Commerce Department task force.
Prospects improve for effort to save wild red wolves in NC
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is ramping back up the endangered red wolf recovery program, which had struggled amid declining political support and increasing cases of wolf shootings, poisonings and vehicle strikes.
Questions remain following offshore wind energy event
Brunswick County officials, residents and interest groups who were initially wary of offshore wind development here said visual representations of turbines presented last week in Southport did little to change their minds.
Project to gauge how well storm drain traps catch litter
Cape Fear River Watch’s 80% Project is employing traps in a handful of stormwater drains in Wilmington and Leland to reduce the amount of litter that reaches the river and, ultimately, the ocean.
Declining, fluctuating spot numbers spur action, research
Commercial harvests of spot have been on the decline for more than 20 years and recreational numbers fluctuate, but a multistate management approach and independent research aim for sustainable stocks.
Final review ahead for wetland rules to fill permitting gap
The state Rules Review Commission is set to consider proposed permanent rules created to correct a gap in North Carolina’s permitting authority over certain federally defined wetlands.
When bridge is complete, part of NC 12 may return to nature
Scientists expect to see dramatic changes after a vulnerable segment of the Outer Banks highway is bypassed later this year and vehicles are rerouted via the nearly completed Rodanthe bridge.
Duck chosen for living shoreline, NC 12 resiliency project
The Outer Banks town was selected for federal funding for its proposed living shoreline and highway resiliency project.
