Topics Related to Environmentally Speaking

How the Clean Smokestacks Act breathed new life into NC air quality 20 years ago 

North Carolina is known for encompassing three scenic regions within the state lines.  The presence of the sparkling coast, vast piedmont, and towering mountains contributes to the state’s e

How to Differentiate Pompano Dolphinfish from Common Dolphinfish

Learn how to tell the difference between Common Dolphinfish and Pompano Dolphinfish.

What Salamanders and Lichens Can Teach Us about Air Quality in North Carolina

DEQ Secretary Elizabeth Biser visits Purchase Knob and learns how salamanders, lichens and other native species respond to improvements in air quality.

Fisheries Director Catches Up with Anglers at Cape Point

Division of Marine Fisheries Director Kathy Rawls put on her fishing boots and went to the beach at Cape Point in Hatteras this week, but she wasn’t trying to hook a fish.

A Ride on the Electric School Bus

When Gov. Roy Cooper in 2017 designated the Department of Environmental Quality as the lead agency to administer the state's share of the Volkswagen settlement mitigation trust funds, I knew we would be embarking on a journey to “do a lot of good."

POPS Goes the Cleaners

The Pavilion on Park Square is the centerpiece of a redevelopment project that turned a former mill site into a state-of-the-art gathering and entertainment area for the Town of Forest City. Known as POPS, the town created this downtown oasis for the community with the help of DEQ’s Brownfields Program and the Dry-Cleaning Solvent Cleanup Act (DSCA) Program.

Viewing Climate Change through a Creative Lens

Keeping kids engaged. Educators and parents are often tasked with finding creative measures encourage students to be inspired. While climate change and art aren’t generally synonymous, a group of State educators and environmental professionals who formed the N.C.

Winter Air Quality

Have you noticed how fine particulate readings in the morning are often higher than the afternoon during the winter months? This is often due to something called a surface temperature inversion.

Modernizing the Hazardous Waste Billing Process

Working with the state’s Department of Information Technology, the Division of Waste Management’s Hazardous Waste Section successfully modernized its outdated and inefficient paper billing and collection process with an online solution.

Learn about landslide threats in your county with new DEQ tool

The publicly available website and viewer are designed for use by community planners, emergency management personnel, design consultants, educators and real estate professionals. NCGS’ currently published landslide inventory contains information on more than 4,500 landslides.