Environment
Counting trees and planning for the future
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Foresters in Raleigh are on a mission to count every tree in the city.
Environment
Debating the rules for Raleigh’s water supply
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Jennifer Wig unpacks the issues over cleaning up Falls Lake, Raleigh’s water supply.
Environment
Raleigh’s ahead of the curve as state bans electronics in landfills
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Legislation passed in the last General Assembly session added computers and televisions to the list of items no longer welcome at local landfills. But Raleigh residents can already recycle most electronics.
City Council
Raleigh counts its greenhouse gas emissions
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City councilors learned Tuesday just how much greenhouse gas emissions they’re putting into the atmosphere. Three years ago the city council set a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent, and a new emissions inventory sets 2007 as the baseline for making those reductions.
City Council
Measuring Raleigh’s sustainability efforts
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Between 2007 and 2008 the city council set three goals to make Raleigh a more sustainable city.The city’s sustainability office gave councilors an update on those efforts recently. Those goals include reducing fossil fuel consumption by city vehicles by 20 percent, setting efficiency standards for new buildings and endorsing the U.S. Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement.
Environment
Wake County’s water quality report card
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Tension is rife these days between Raleigh and Durham about Falls Lake water quality. Raleigh contends “its” water source – whose headwaters are located in Durham County – is dirty, getting dirtier and Durham allowed it to get that way.
Dirty water is neither cheap nor easy to clean. Raleigh may have to pay $450M to boost its water treatment plant’s cleaning capacity if Falls get dirtier. Durham likely would pay considerably more to clean Falls Lake. Finger pointing is all very fine, but everybody lives downstream.
Environment
Rainy summer closes Raleigh lakes
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Public beach access closings in the Raleigh area are up five fold this year. City officials closed the beach area at Lake Wheeler again last week. High bacteria levels at Sandling and Beaverdam beaches and the YMCA’s Camp Kanata have also closed those beaches this summer. High levels of Enterococci bacteria have caused concern for public safety. The City of Raleigh, in conjunction with the Wake County Public Utilities department, will continue to test the waters daily until the bacteria swells recede.
Environment
Toxic Clean-Up Continues Near RDU
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Reports from residents near Raleigh-Durham International Airport describe an outlandish scene – workers roaming in white, full-body hazmat suits while a billowing plume rises in the sky.
