The Dirt

This episode features award-winning environmental journalist Lisa Sorg, who discussed a dangerous industrial compound in the Haw River basin -- and what the state and environmental groups are doing to combat the polluters. Plus, Duplin County resident Elsie Herring traveled to Washington, DC to testify before the House Committee on Energy & Commerce, which held a hearing on environmental justice concerns around the country. Herring provided moving testimony about the harms her community has experienced at the hands of industrial pork producers in North Carolina. Finally, we spoke with Lewis Dozier, a farmer and community leader in Brunswick County, who shared insight on his fight against landfill construction, the impacts of development and climate change on his community's water supply, and the systemic racism that has plagued black farmers in the South.

The North Carolina Environmental Justice Network hosted their 21st annual NC Environmental Justice Summit in Whitakers, NC last week. We spoke with members of communities impacted by environmental justice concerns, including Community Resilience Award winner David Hairston and two former Alcoa employees with disturbing insight into the company's safety and discrimination policies while it operated in West Badin, NC -- and the toxic mess the company left behind when it moved operations overseas. Plus -- Rev. Elly Mendez Angulo talks about the storied history -- and future -- of the Franklinton Center at Bricks, where the summit took place.

We talk to investigative freelance journalist Barry Yeoman and Sam Fromartz, editor-in-chief of the Food & Environment Reporting Network, about why the state of North Carolina is way behind other states when it comes to keeping tabs on the factory farm pollution that is devastating our state's rural communities of color. Plus, we'll check in on the youth-led global climate strike and speak with attendees of the strike in Raleigh on September 20th.

Environmental justice expert and community organizer Sherri White-Williamson grew up in the small towns of Sampson County, North Carolina, an area hit hard by Hurricane Florence. As Sampson County residents continue to grapple with storm recovery efforts, along with a high density of polluting industries and waste disposal sites, White-Williamson shares insight into how state and federal governments can do a better job of coordinating with community members and ensuring that all people are protected and helped in the storms to come. Plus, Upper Neuse Riverkeeper Matthew Starr discusses a major new legal victory for environmentalists fighting to save several endangered species threatened by a massive highway project.

50 Years After The River Burned by NC Conservation Network

A tree older than Christianity has been discovered in a remote swamp in North Carolina. We spoke with Dr. David Stayle, the scientist behind the discovery, about how to protect the ancient grove and what the tree can teach us about climate history. Plus, NC Policy Watch journalist Lisa Sorg walks us through an investigation shining a light on dangerous chemical contamination of compost that may have been applied to playgrounds and other sensitive locations. Finally, we revisit an interview with Dollie Burwell, the mother of environmental justice, about what it takes for social justice movements to take hold.

NC Conservation Network has released the 2019 State of the Environment -- a report that tracks and analyzes the well-being of North Carolinians across a variety of social, economic and ecological factors. Brian Powell hosts experts to discuss some of the notable themes emerging from the report: North Carolina's storm resiliency, the climate impacts of transportation and development, and the racial disparities impacting the health of our children. Guests include Grady McCallie with NCCN, The Nature Conservancy's Dr. Julie DeMeester, Southern Environmental Law Center's Kym Hunter and Whitney Tucker with NC Child.

Al Gore's Climate Reality Project convened a leadership training in Atlanta this month with a new focus on faith and social justice. Over 300 attendees were leaders and activists from North Carolina, including several from the Poor People's Campaign. A few of them spoke with us about what moved them at the workshop and where the climate justice fight goes next. Plus, an interview with Jamie Cole - a North Carolina attorney and environmental justice advocate named to Grist's Top 50 green innovators and influencers to watch in 2019. She's making a difference as a voice for communities traditionally left out of the lawmaking process. Finally, Kacy Cook, a land conservation biologist with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, tells us how a new program is giving developers and municipalities the tools and information they need to protect wildlife ecosystems while planning new roads and development projects.

Sixteen-year-old Swedish student Greta Thunberg's acts of civil disobedience have sparked a global movement to fight climate change -- and now it has reached North Carolina. On March 15th, students around the world and across the state will walk out of school to demand leaders take radical and immediate action to stem the tide of climate change. We spoke with two of the North Carolina organizers - Lily Levin and Mary Giuffrida - about what to expect and what they hope to come out of the strikes.

Trains, Pigs and PFAS by NC Conservation Network

The 13th HKonJ People's Assembly and Moral March took place Feb. 9th in Raleigh - we were there, we marched, and we spoke with environmental justice activists and community members about the morality of sound environmental policy, the excitement surrounding the Green New Deal and much more.

Five years after the historic Duke Energy Dan River coal ash spill highlighted how irresponsibly Duke was storing the dangerous substance, many families in North Carolina have yet to see coal ash in their communities cleaned up. The NC Department of Environmental Quality is in the process of deciding whether or not Duke will be required to move coal ash from unlined, open-air pits near major waterways and into dry, lined landfills safe from harm. Residents dealing with this issue for years let their voices be heard in a series of public meetings last month. We attended the final in Belmont, NC -- here's what folks had to say.

Emotions boiled over at a recent public information session on coal ash put on by the NC Department of Environmental Quality as they decide whether to force Duke Energy to remove coal ash from its dangerous unlined storage pits. We spoke with reporter Lisa Sorg and NC Sen. Vickie Sawyer (R-Iredell) about the tense event on Lake Norman. Plus, an interview with William J. Barber, III on the climate justice movement, his work with the Climate Reality Project, and what it's like sitting on the NC Environmental Justice and Equity Advisory Board.

Allow us to reintroduce ourselves. 2019 is here, and The Dirt has a new FM broadcast home, a new schedule and we're giving a brief glimpse of the new content coming this year. Plus, a mystery guest joins to talk about the partial federal government shutdown and how it's impacting North Carolina.

Episode 15 of The Dirt digs into the most sustainable Christmas tree traditions and previews 2019 in the newly constituted North Carolina General Assembly. And what does the Civil Rights Act of 1964 have to do with the pollution-heavy hog industry? Plus, an interview with Molly Murphy and Hannah Hearn of Working Films – a national organization based in Wilmington, NC that is using film to advance social justice and environmental protection.

Host Brian Powell discusses the 2018 midterm elections with NC Conservation Network Policy Director Grady McCallie. We dig into the environmental concerns at play on Election Day and look ahead to a lame duck legislative session looming before the end of the year. Plus, Upper Neuse Riverkeeper Matthew Starr discusses a monstrous invasive species showing up along the Carolina coast.

The Dirt traveled to Goldsboro, North Carolina to check in with communities there as the Neuse River flood began to peak in the wake of Hurricane Florence

Episode 14 of The Dirt takes a look back at the youth climate march in Washington, digs into yet another special session from the North Carolina General Assembly and confronts a new reality: electric scooters everywhere. Plus – DeWayne Barton, founder and CEO of Hood Huggers International, talks about environmental justice and gentrification in Asheville and the role poetry and art play in his work.

Episode 13 of The Dirt digs into the latest environmental news from the North Carolina General Assembly, including the NC Farm Act, which shields a global pork producer from consequences for nuisances produced by its massive factory hog operations. Plus - it's been one year since the public learned about GenX contamination in the Cape Fear and Chemours officials are finally facing the public. And there's a new pipeline in town. What is the Mountain Valley Pipeline and how could it impact North Carolina?

Episode 12 of The Dirt digs into the new session of the North Carolina General Assembly and a GenX bill that threatens to undermine the state's environmental enforcers. Plus – EPA administrator Scott Pruitt is holding a summit on emerging contaminants and clashing with the press – a panel discusses what we can expect to come from it. The episode also features an interview with NRDC's Sujatha Bergen about a toxic paint stripping product being sold at Lowe's. And NC DEQ Secretary Michael Regan introduces the new Environmental Justice and Equity Advisory Board – but what impact will it really have?

Episode 11 of The Dirt digs into the climate and environmental justice impacts of burning wood pellets for energy and EPA administrator Scott Pruitt's recent favor to the industry. The episode features an interview with civil rights attorney Elizabeth Haddix about the political assault on the UNC Law Center for Civil Rights and how it was influenced by industrial pork lobbyists. And the “mother of the environmental justice movement”, Dollie Burwell, talks about how to keep momentum going when social justice fights span decades.

Episode 10 of The Dirt features an interview with Sharon Lerner, an investigative journalist who has written extensively about water contamination around airports and military bases stemming from a chemical found in firefighting foam. Contamination from the foam, which is a chemical cousin to GenX, is being found in North Carolina and across the country. Plus, what is TigerSwan? The Dirt examines the secretive private security firm that helped suppress opposition to the Dakota Access pipeline and was operating in North Carolina post-Hurricane Matthew. And April 2nd is International Children's Book Day and we convened a panel to review some of our favorite environmentally-themed books for kids.

Episode 9 of The Dirt features an interview with Dollie Burwell, whose leadership during the Warren County PCB landfill protests forty years ago sparked the national environmental justice movement. Plus, the Dirt's production team goes out into the field with Sound Rivers to search for the rare and imperiled Neuse River waterdog and talks with the Union of Concerned Scientists about new attacks on the Endangered Species Act. And hundreds of community members make a long journey from the coast to voice their opposition to the Trump administration's offshore drilling plans.

Episode 8 of The Dirt features an interview with three young activists who are petitioning the state to adopt rules curbing carbon emissions in North Carolina. Host Brian Powell talks with environmental journalist Adam Wagner about the latest developments in GenX contamination in the Cape Fear River and elsewhere. And environmental reporter Lisa Sorg and Upper Neuse Riverkeeper Matthew Starr join the show to discuss climate change, GenX, the critically imperiled Neuse waterdog and what environmental fights lie ahead for 2018.

Episode 7 of The Dirt features an interview with residents and experts living near industrial turkey and chicken production facilities (CAFOs) that threaten public health. Host Brian Powell talks with North Carolina Riverkeepers about money in politics and other barriers to policy change. And the NC League of Conservation Voters talks about strategies for transitioning to clean power while keeping focus on economic and racial justice.

Episode 6 of The Dirt features an exclusive interview with North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein. Host Brian Powell talked to the attorney general about chemical dumping, Duke Energy's attempts to raise electric bills to pay for coal ash, how to fight the nation's opioid crisis and more.

Episode 5 of The Dirt features a special report highlighting the groups resisting Duke Energy's attempts to raise consumer energy bills in the Carolinas. Plus, host Brian Powell interviews investigative journalist Zoe Loftus-Farren about a project exploring the intersections of environmental justice and mass incarceration. Finally, a panel of policy experts breaks down the latest environmental news in the North Carolina state legislature.

Episode 4 of The Dirt features an interview with Dr. Ryan Emanuel, an associate professor at NC State University and a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. Ryan serves on the environmental justice committee of the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs and spoke to The Dirt about the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and its threat to the sovereignty of indigenous communities. The episode also features interviews with experts on sediment pollution and water conservation, as well as a panel of policy professionals discussing the plans for the upcoming session of the NC General Assembly.

Episode 3 of The Dirt features an interview with Milton Fearn, former Deputy Director of the National Park Service, talking about access and diversity in our national and state parks. Host Brian Powell also speaks with Dr. Doug Nowacek, one of the country's leading marine ecologists, to discuss the dangers seismic blasting and offshore oil exploration pose to marine mammals and ecosystems. And a panel of experts from NC Conservation Network, Sound Rivers and NC League of Conservation Voters discuss North Carolina politics and how lawmakers are looking to affect clean energy, environmental regulations and gerrymandering.

Episode 2 of The Dirt features Wilmington StarNews reporter Adam Wagner who has been investigating a rare and potentially dangerous compound being dumped into the Cape Fear River and the drinking water of thousands in eastern NC. Plus, a panel of experts breaks down a flurry of bills making their way through the NC legislature and The Dirt gives you everything you need to know to start composting right now.

Episode 1 of The Dirt features Pastor Sylvester Williams and SELC's Chandra Taylor relaying the story of the East End community in Durham, NC. A neighborhood comprised mostly of elderly people of color is seeking justice as construction of a new highway tears up the community and threatens longtime residents with displacement and pollution. Host Brian Powell also speaks with the NC Environmental Justice Network's Elsie Herring and Waterkeeper Alliance's Will Hendrick about the impact industrial hog operations have on communities of color in eastern NC. This episode also features a panel of policy experts from NC Sierra Club, SELC, and Sound Rivers discussing the latest environmental news out of the NC state legislature.