Putting a plant or animal on the endangered species list isn’t enough to save it. Federal law requires that the habitat a species needs also must be protected. Yet, agencies are often slow to take this necessary step.
Special Reports
Navassa: Cleaning Up a Century of Pollution
It took decades, but a plan to clean up the legacy left by an old creosote plant is finally beginning to take shape.
Navassa: From Guano to Creosote
A black industrial town in an agricultural and tourist county, Navassa is the “poster child” for environmental justice issues, says an advocate.
Navassa: A Century of Contamination
CRO spends the next three days in Navassa, a predominantly black town in Brunswick County that has been the site of a century of industrial pollution. Today, we relive some of that history and outline the plan for the cleanup.
Will Beach Towns Seize Property?
Town officials hoping to build terminal groins say they don’t plan on taking private property for the needed easements. Eminent domain is politically unpopular and rarely used in North Carolina.
Terminal Groins: Easements Needed
Communities proposing terminal groins may have to get the permission of property owners to build these controversial structures. What happens if they say no? We explore possible answers in this Special Report.
Seismic Testing Q&A: Whales and Fishermen
The second part of our series on using air guns to survey for undersea oil and natural gas focuses on the possible effects on marine mammals, fish and commercial and recreation fishermen.
Seismic Testing Q&A: The Pros and Cons
We spend the next two days exploring the proposed benefits and possible problems with using air guns to explore for oil and natural gas off the N.C. coast. Today, the pros.
Critics: Shoreline Permits Need Reform
In most cases, permits for bulkheads are pretty easy to come by in North Carolina. Federal and state regulators approve most with little review. Permits for living shorelines projects, however, can take months. That may be changing.
Evidence Mounts of Shorelines’ Success
Research has shown that living shorelines can better withstand storms and require less maintenance than bulkheads. They can also be about as expensive to build.
Living Shorelines: Better Than Bulkheads
In this the first of three parts, we explore the building evidence that more natural methods of controlling erosion called living shorelines are better for the environment and perhaps lighter on property owners’ pocketbooks than bulkheads.
Groundwater: Gauging the Titan Effect
In the last of our three-part series, we look at the proposed Titan America cement plant near Wilmington and its potential threat to the area’s groundwater supply.
Researchers Focus on Groundwater
A number of recent and ongoing studies are helping to provide better understanding of the region’s groundwater resources, including a federal effort to create a national water census.
Drinking Water: An Imperiled Resource
In the first of a three-part series, CRO looks at the growing population and demands of industry on drinking-water supplies in the region that have many worried the resources are in peril.
Nags Head Set to Host Climate Talk
As the United Nations climate conference gets underway in Paris, North Carolina Sea Grant is preparing to hold a two-day workshop on climate change next week in Nags Head.
El Niño and Hurricanes
One of the strongest El Ninos on record has formed in the Pacific Ocean and will affect the hurricanes that threaten our coast. We tell you why.
