Raleigh, North Carolina with over 1,362,540 people suffered through 75 days of poor air quality due to air pollution in 2018, according to a new report from Environment North Carolina Research & Policy Center, Frontier Group and NCPIRG Education Fund. Statistics from 2018 represent the most recent data available. Air pollution increases the risk of premature death, asthma attacks and other adverse health impacts.
“No North Carolinian deserves to breathe one day of bad air---much less 75 days worth, ” said Jamie Lockwood, Climate and Clean Energy Associate with Environment North Carolina Research and Policy Center. “Air quality will only get worse as our climate warms, so we have no time to lose. We must make progress toward clean air.”
The Trump administration has proposed opening much of the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans off the U.S. coast to offshore oil and gas drilling. The onshore infrastructure that is needed to support expanded offshore drilling poses dangers to the environment, communities and public health.
Offshore drilling requires a supporting network onshore, including pipelines to deliver oil and gas to refineries or distribution networks; refineries to produce gasoline and other petroleum products; ports for sending equipment and maintenance boats to offshore rigs; and waste disposal facilities.
Onshore infrastructure and activities that support offshore drilling create multiple risks to public health and the environment, including air pollution, groundwater contamination and oil spills.
Environment America Research & Policy Center is submitting comments on behalf of 102 organizations today, urging the Environmental Protection Agency to dramatically reduce the massive levels of pollution dumped by agribusiness facilities into America’s waterways. The comments are in response to the agency’s decision not to update permit standards for meat and poultry plants -- despite the Clean Water Act’s requirement to do so.
Environment North Carolina Research and Policy Center released a report that discusses the state of recycling in North Carolina and the possible solutions that exist.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released two proposals today to roll back clean water protections against waste from coal-fired power plants. The first proposal would overhaul wastewater rules, drastically weakening safeguards that prevent utilities from discharging toxic pollutants like arsenic, lead and mercury into America’s waterways. The second proposal would significantly extend closure dates for coal ash disposal sites, allowing utilities to continue storing toxic coal debris in ponds that can leak or overflow, for decades.
Environment North Carolina Research and Policy Center is part of The Public Interest Network, which operates and supports organizations committed to a shared vision of a better world and a strategic approach to getting things done.
