Some coastal N.C. residents want to see development of alternative energy sources rather than offshore oil drilling but others aren’t sold on wind or solar.
Special Reports
Fishermen See Benefits From Drilling
Longtime commercial fishermen see little threat from offshore oil drilling and say they expect improved fishing as a result rather than detrimental effects.
Necessary Risk or Needless Threat?
From Corolla to New Bern, opinions on drilling off the coast are rooted in residents’ work experiences and attitudes toward government and the environment.
Banks Communities: Staking a Position
Many communities on the N.C. Outer Banks have officially stated opposition to drilling, but some barrier-island communities have yet to take a position.
Some Favor Drilling; Others Don’t
Some people tell our traveling reporter that they’d welcome the jobs offshore drilling might bring; other worry what spills would to the beaches and tourism.
Taking the Pulse of the Coast
Reporters travel the coast to talk with people about offshore drilling. This, the first of a week-long series of stories, begins the journey in Calabash.
The Realtors’ View
Those involved in selling real estate along the southeast N.C. coast differ in how offshore drilling might affect their business.
Oil Prospects vs. Tourism Reality
Coastal N.C. residents worry that promises of economic benefits from offshore oil and gas aren’t worth the risks to their proven, primary industry: tourism.
Industry Would Change Landscape
If oil or natural gas industry comes to the N.C. coast, it will require infrastructure and service facilities and change the way of life here.
Who Pays for Oil Spill Cleanup?
Who pays for all those people armed with mops and brushes scrubbing beaches or cleaning birds?
Potential for Disaster: Our Coast at Risk
The BP Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010 was the worst oil spill in history with lingering effects on the Gulf Coast, but what if it were to happen here?
Industry Works to Prevent Another BP
Since the Deepwater Horizon, the oil industry has worked hard to improve the safety of drilling in deep water with better standards, practices and equipment.
25 Years Later, Studies Still Needed
A federal report done in 1992 highlighted research that needed to be done to better gauge the effects of drilling on the N.C. coast. Nothing ever came of it.
Benefits Based on Assumptions
Politicians say states’ investments needed to support offshore oil and gas development warrant revenue sharing but laws must be changed for that to happen.
Oil, Gas Revenues Vary by State
The path for coastal states receiving royalties was blazed by elected state officials who negotiated for a return on their infrastructure investments.
Drilling Pros: Jobs, Jobs, Jobs
Proponents of offshore drilling predict that a massive new workforce could be on North Carolina’s horizon if oil and gas resources are tapped in the Atlantic Ocean.
