North Carolina
Climate change, pollution imperil Cape Fear, advocates say
By Trista Talton
Coastal Evaluation On-line
The Cape Concern River is unparalleled in some ways.
It’s the one main river in North Carolina that empties straight into the Atlantic Ocean. It’s the state’s largest river basin the place 6,500 miles of navigable waterways snake by 26 counties and 113 municipalities.
The river can also be essentially the most industrialized river in North Carolina. Its banks are peppered with energy vegetation, manufacturing vegetation, wastewater therapy vegetation, landfills, paper mills and industrial agriculture.
“The Cape Concern River basin has extra hog farms than some other watershed on earth,” mentioned Cape Concern Riverkeeper Kemp Burdette.
Talking at Cape Concern River Watch’s first State of the River discussion board Wednesday, Burdette talked of a spectacular river essential to an array of fish species, of a river that’s the uncooked consuming water supply for tens of 1000’s of North Carolinians.
However the river, he mentioned, is a fragile one already, bearing the impacts of local weather change and sea stage rise, polluted by man-made chemical compounds, stormwater runoff, and waste runoff from manufacturing facility farms.
Contamination from concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, stays one of many largest and most persistent issues affecting the river’s water high quality, Burdette mentioned.
“It’s a very tough and sluggish battle and the wins are small and the progress is incremental,” he mentioned to the greater than 100 folks attending the discussion board.
Although there have been buyouts, manufacturing facility hog farms stay prevalent within the river basin.
Most of those farms are concentrated in Sampson and Duplin counties, areas which have previously a number of years seen a pointy improve within the giant poultry farms.
North Carolina has turn out to be the main producer of poultry, an business that’s largely unregulated.
“We have to ban new poultry amenities as a result of we don’t even know what the impacts are,” Burdette mentioned.
He was amongst quite a lot of audio system at this yr’s discussion board held on Cape Concern Neighborhood School’s campus in downtown Wilmington, an space graced by scenic river views about 26 miles upstream of the Atlantic Ocean, one that’s rising on account of local weather change.
“By 2050 our watershed and this downtown will look considerably totally different than it does at this time,” Burdette mentioned.
He was referring to the realm’s sea stage rise projections, the most recent of which have been put out by the Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in February.
The administration predicts that sea stage rise right here will attain 2 toes between 2060 and 2080.
“We all know (sea stage rise) is accelerating,” mentioned Roger Shew, Cape Concern River Watch board member and a geologist and earth and ocean sciences lecturer on the College of North Carolina Wilmington. “It retains rising. We have to know and plan for what’s occurring.”
Throughout his discuss, Shew displayed on two giant projection screens images of the flooded parking zone and street resulting in the Battleship North Carolina, the World Struggle II memorial tucked on the river’s west financial institution throughout from downtown Wilmington.
The images have been taken Jan. 3, when excessive tide pushed the river’s waters over its banks the place flooding was greater than 2 toes deep. It was the tenth highest recorded flood occasion within the space.
Shew mentioned contemplating cumulative impacts to the river – whether or not its additional deepening of the delivery channel between the river’s mouth and the Port of Wilmington or riverside improvement – is necessary to defending the river.
The river hosts a wide range of beneficial ecosystem providers together with crucial coastal and riverine habitat, business and leisure fishery sources, leisure sources and a wealthy, historic and cultural heritage.
Anadromous fish, or these which are born in freshwater, migrate to sea, then again to freshwater to spawn, are discovered within the river’s waters. Such species embrace each endangered Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon, and striped bass.
Cape Concern River Partnership coordinator and coastal scientist Daybreak York mentioned NOAA officers have mentioned the Cape Concern River is the one one with anadromous fish to have a collection of locks and dams fragmenting the river, limiting the vary of migration for these fish.
The partnership spearheaded a mission about 10 years in the past to assemble a rock arch rapids at Lock and Dam No. 1, about 39 miles above Wilmington.
The rapids have been modified in 2021. York mentioned that the partnership is hoping to assemble comparable options at locks and dams Nos. 2 and three.
The Cape Concern additionally offers a storm buffer and flood safety. The river’s marshes are one of the vital productive areas on this planet, Shew mentioned.
However as salinity rises within the river with the rising sea, natural soils and peat will break down, a phenomenon that may equate to the lack of marsh.
As saltwater migrates up the river, man-made chemical compounds and runoff from giant manufacturing facility farms upstream infiltrate the watershed.
North Carolina-based researchers have discovered excessive ranges of per- and polyfluoroalkyl, or PFAS, in striped bass and alligators within the river.
PFAS are a bunch of artificial chemical compounds utilized in quite a few client merchandise, together with every little thing from nonstick cookware, quick meals packaging and make-up to flame retardants.
5 years in the past, residents of the Cape Concern area realized that the Chemours Firm’s Fayetteville Works Facility upstream in Bladen County had been discharging PFAS, together with GenX, straight into their consuming water supply since 1980.
A consent order, the results of a lawsuit introduced by North Carolina Division of Environmental High quality and Cape Concern River Watch towards the corporate that’s a by-product of DuPont, mandates Chemours to cut back the quantity of PFAS launched from the plant into the river, air and floor by 99 %.
In a video tackle performed firstly of Wednesday’s discussion board, North Carolina Legal professional Common Josh Stein mentioned combating PFAS contamination is one among his priorities.
“These firms line their very own pockets on the expense of individuals’s well being,” he mentioned.
In October 2020, Stein filed a lawsuit in Cumberland County Superior Court docket towards DuPont and a dozen different firms, together with Chemours, alleging that the businesses knew the chemical compounds pose well being threats to folks and the setting.
“They should clear up the mess they made within the Cape Concern River basin,” he mentioned. “As my investigation continues I could take extra authorized actions. Each North Carolinian has a proper to wash consuming water. It’s that straightforward.”
Deborah Dicks Maxwell, president of the NAACP and a board member with Cape Concern River Watch, grew up alongside the river banks in downtown Wilmington.
She’s drunk the river’s water for many of her life. She was baptized in its waters.
“I’ve had a wholesome respect and love for the river for a very long time,” she mentioned. “It’s the lifeline of this neighborhood as a result of water is life. Are we listening to what we have to do? Are we actually listening? Do you want to protect what’s right here? It’s as much as you. Please take heed to what’s going on.”
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North Carolina Well being Information
North Carolina Well being Information is an impartial, non-partisan, not-for-profit, statewide information group devoted to overlaying all issues well being care in North Carolina. Go to NCHN at northcarolinahealthnews.org. (on the internet, this may be hyperlinked)
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(WGHP) — Governor Josh Stein declared a statewide state of emergency on Thursday evening ahead of a winter storm expected to sweep through the Piedmont Triad on Friday.
He is urging people across North Carolina to prepare for cold temperatures, snow and ice.
“This storm will likely bring significant impacts from snow, sleet and freezing rain in different parts of the state,” Stein said. “North Carolinians should pay close attention to their local weather forecast, make sure they are prepared with what they need at home before Friday afternoon and stay home if possible as ice on the roadways will likely create dangerous driving conditions.”
On Wednesday, Stein activated state resources to set into motion a cross-agency storm response and enable the potential of federal reimbursement if the event qualifies.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation has begun brining roads. They will work around the clock in 12-hour shifts to plow and treat snow and ice until all state-maintained roads are cleared.
“State emergency officials are monitoring the situation and are prepared to assist the counties and municipalities if needed,” NC Emergency Management Director Will Ray said. “Residents across the state should be prepared to shelter in place. If the power goes out, be sure to operate generators outside and away from open windows or doors to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.”
The 24th-ranked Cal women’s basketball team defeated a ranked opponent for the second time this season on Thursday night when the Bears knocked off No. 21 North Carolina State 78-71 at Haas Pavilion.
“I think this was one of the biggest wins for Cal women’s basketball in some time,” Cal coach Charmin Smith.
The Bears defeated then-No. 19 Alabama back on December 5 at Haas Pavilion, and on Thurday Cal beat a team that reached the Final Four last season.
Marta Suarez scored 17 points for Cal (15-2, 3-1 ACC.), and 14 of those points came in the first half when Cal took control late in the second quarter. Ioanna Krimili, Michelle Onyiah and Kayla Williams added 15 points apeice to help the Bears end the Wolfpack’s seven-game winning streak while keeping Cal unbeaten at home (11-0).
Krimili was just 6-for-18 from the the field, including 3-for-12 on three-pointers, but she hit one of the biggest shots of the game when she nailed a three-point shot with 4:57 left, 21 seconds after the Wolfpack had scored six straight points to close Cal’s nine-point lead to three points.
“She made it when we needed it, and we have a habit of doing that,” Smth said.
North Carolina State (11-4, 3-1 ACC) never got closer than four points the rest of the way and suffered its first conference loss despite 21 points from Aziaha James and 19 from Tilda Trygger.
Cal took the lead for good with 1:01 left in the third quarter, then held off every North Carolina State surge after that.
An important reason for Cal’s consistency throughout the game was the play of point guard Kayla Williams, who played all 40 minutes, shot 7-for-13 from the field and added six assists with just two turnovers while doing all the ball-handling chores and driving the lane to create opportunities for herself or others.
“I thought Williams killed us off the bounce,” North Carolina State coach Wes Moore said.
Williams may be the key to Cal’s success this season, because her strong play has come as a surprise to casual observers. She did not start any games for USC last season when she averaged 10.8 minutes, 2.6 points and 0.6 assists per game. After transferring to Cal, Williams has started every game for the Bears this season while averaging 33 minutes, 12.2 points and 4.6 assists to go along with 44.5% three-point shooting.
Thursday was the first time two top-25 women’s teams played a game at Haas Pavilion since Dec. 22, 2018, when 14th-ranked Cal lost to No. 1 UConn.
Cal led by eight points entering the fourth quarter, and the Wolfpack got as close as three points, but the Bears maintained the lead throughout. Cal had scored the final eight points of the third quarter to break away from a 52-52 tie to grab that 60-52 advantage after three quarters.
Cal held a 39-33 lead at halftime, thanks in large part to a one-minute shooting spree by Suarez. She hit three-pointers on three consecutive Cal possessions over a span of 56 seconds to cap a 16-0 Bears run that took Cal from a 22-14 deficit to a 30-22 lead with 5:22 left in the first half.
Suarez’s one-minute shooting spree seemed to change the complexion of the game. Cal never trailed after that.
“I was feeling it,” Suarez said.
Suarez was 4-for-4 from long range in the first half and had 14 points and 10 rebounds at intermission. The rest of the Cal team was just 3-for-12 on three-pointers, and Krimili was 1-for-7 from beyond the arc at halftime. Her one made three-pointer came from well behind the line with the shot clock running down.
Cal shot 44.4% from the field in the first half, while the Wolfpack made just 35.3% of its shots. Cal attempted just one free throw in the first half, and missed it.
NOTES: The top two scorers from North Carolina State’s Final Four team of last season are starters on this season’s Wolfpack squad – Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers.
Heading into Thursday’s action, Cal was averaging 10.1 made three-pointers per game, sixth-most in the country, and were making 37.8% of its three-point shots, which is 12th-best in the nation.
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A man who fired an assault rifle inside a Washington, D.C., restaurant in December 2016 while claiming to investigate the “pizzagate” hoax died this week after being fatally shot by police during a traffic stop in Kannapolis, North Carolina.
On the night of Jan. 4, Edgar Welch was a passenger in a 2001 GMC Yukon that was stopped by officers, Kannapolis police said Thursday in a news statement.
The traffic stop was conducted after officers linked the vehicle to Welch, who was wanted at the time on an outstanding arrest warrant, police said.
When officers recognized Welch and moved to arrest him, he produced a handgun from his jacket and pointed it at one of the officers, police said, and after refusing commands to drop the gun, two officers opened fire on him.
He died of his wounds at an area hospital two days later, on Jan. 6, police said.
The three officers involved in the traffic stop and the two other occupants in Welch’s vehicle were uninjured, police said.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation confirmed to CBS News Thursday Welch’s identity as the “pizzagate” shooter.
Welch fired his weapon inside the Comet Ping Pong restaurant on Dec. 4, 2016, after he drove there from North Carolina to investigate a false far-right conspiracy theory claiming that Democrats were running a child sex ring out of the restaurant, a claim that had garnered numerous threats against the eatery.
After he entered the crowded restaurant with an AR-15 assault rifle and a revolver, he fired the rifle into a door, authorities said at the time. No one was hurt.
He later pled guilty to one federal count each of interstate transportation of a firearm and assault with a dangerous weapon. In June 2017 he was sentenced by Supreme Court Justice Ketanji B. Jackson, then a U.S. district judge, to four years in prison.
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