Overview: Top Environmental Stories of 2017
What were the biggest environmental stories of 2017, in North Carolina and beyond? Opinions may differ, but here are some of the takes on this question.
Nationwide: The top energy and environment stories of 2017, according to one major national publication, included several from the Trump Administration’s all-out assault on the environment, as well as the pushback from American citizens and nations around the globe—plus the devastating storms which showed the looming consequences of ignoring climate change.
North Carolina: A leading state environmental reporter pegs GenX and emerging pollutants, battles over pipelines, and changes at DEQ, among others, as the biggest environmental stories of 2017.
CIB’s view: In addition to the stories named above, CIB would cite these stories as well:
- New governor changes course: From new leadership at the departments of Environmental Quality and Health and Human Services, to vetoes of anti-environment legislation, to advocacy to protect our coast for the long haul, North Carolina’s new governor showed that elections can have consequences for good.
- Nuclear “renaissance” flames out: Despite massive ratepayer and taxpayer subsidies, the last commercial nuclear power plants under construction in the Carolinas were either cancelled outright or put on indefinite hold (the latter clearly a gimmick to support future requests to recoup remaining costs from the public).
- Clean energy keeps growing: Solar farms kept expanding, and the first commercial wind facilities come online. Fossil fuel advocates can’t cover up the fact that renewables are now cheaper than coal and nuclear.
- Local and state governments—and business—take the lead on climate change: The rebuke against new levels of ignorance in Washington started at home, when local leaders pledged to act against climate change no matter what the Trump Administration thinks. Voters in local and state elections around the nation signaled their approval for the resistance in November. It’s a lesson to remember in 2018.
