Lisa Sorg

My 7700-word story about PFAS has now been cut to a manageable (and readable) 5350.
This is why writers need editors

In its new carbon plan, Duke Energy gambles on coal as a shorter-term fix for powering data centers • NC Newsline North Carolina’s largest utility cites the Trump administration’s rollback of air pollution regulations and increases in power demand as factors in its proposed fuel mix.

North Carolina’s largest utility cites the Trump administration’s rollback of air pollution regulations and increases in power demand as factors in its proposed fuel mix. Story by @lisasorg.bsky.social @insideclimatenews.org #ncpol

In Its New Carbon Plan, Duke Energy Gambles on Coal as a Shorter-Term Fix for Powering Data Centers - Inside Climate News North Carolina’s largest utility cites the Trump administration’s rollback of air pollution regulations and increases in power demand as factors in its proposed fuel mix.

More nukes, nat gas and coal --yes, you read that right, coal. No wind, less solar. If you're a greenhouse gas, you had a banner week.
insideclimatenews.org/news/0210202...

Noah catalogued every living animal in pairs and was hyperfocused on boats.

Don’t tell me autism started with Tylenol.

Is Duke Energy Liable for Climate-Related Property Damage After Funding Denialist Campaigns? - Inside Climate News Attorneys for the town of Carrboro and Duke Energy sparred in court for hours over this question before a judge, who asked them for more information. Carrboro says it sustained $20 million in property...

The heart of the issue: Should a jury hear a case alleging that Duke Energy is responsible for lying about the link between climate change and extreme weather that has inflicted millions of dollars of property damage on the Town of Carrboro? insideclimatenews.org/news/2609202...

Arduous and Unequal: The Fight to Get FEMA Housing Assistance After Helene An analysis by ProPublica and The Assembly of the more rural counties in North Carolina hardest hit by Helene shows that the households that got the most aid tended to have the highest incomes.

NEW: Income isn’t supposed to play a role in how much housing assistance FEMA gives families.

But in some North Carolina counties, the highest-income homeowners received two to three times as much money after Hurricane Helene as those with lower incomes.

With @theassemblync.bsky.social

Disinformation on Steroids: Climate Science Takes It on the Chin - Inside Climate News The fifth and final installment in our special Climate Week video series.

Interesting chat about climate disinformation coming from the top levels of the U.S. government with my @insideclimatenews.org colleagues, @vernonloeb.bsky.social and @mlavelle.bsky.social.

As we mark the first anniversary of Hurricane Helene's destructive arrival in western North Carolina, we are pleased to share a series of videos on Helene by NCICS' Dr. Carl Schreck.

I wanted to engrave a phrase on the inside of our wedding rings but it was too long. I would fail the bullet engraving test. Probably would try a sonnet or something

Urban Heat and Air Pollution May Harm Developing Brains in the Womb, Study Suggests - Inside Climate News Focusing on minority populations, the study’s findings show how low-income communities in New York City can bear generational consequences from climate change.

New research suggests that exposure to high heat and air pollution in the womb is altering brain development, affecting mental health and behavior years down the road.

Which States Are Getting Hit Hardest by Electricity Price Increases? - Inside Climate News The pain of rate hikes is not distributed evenly across the U.S.

You may have noticed your electricity bills are going up by a lot. Here’s a look at how much household electricity prices have risen nationally and in each state.

Just endured six hrs of court arguments in the case Carrboro v Duke Energy and that should qualify for hazard pay

I've never been told I'm on the spectrum, but at one time I had memorized every area code and corresponding major city/state. And just recently, I wrote down the full names of 107 of my 124 high school classmates. Really dig trains, too.
My mom didn't take Tylenol, but she did smoke Winstons.

Former Provost Sues UNC-Chapel Hill Trustees Over Closed Meetings Chris Clemens accused the trustees of "hiding matters of grave public concern,” including tenure debates, using a Signal group and closed session.

breaking news from unc: former provost chris clemens is suing the university for open meetings and public records violations during their discussion about delaying tenure votes

www.theassemblync.com/education/hi...

The Energy Sector Has Spent Hundreds of Millions of Dollars on Lobbying This Year. Watchdogs Say That’s Only Half The Story - Inside Climate News Critics say the Trump administration’s willingness to greenlight any of the fossil fuel industry’s requests allows it to spend less on lobbying.

Great reporting from ICN on energy industry lobbying expenditures and political influence:
insideclimatenews.org/news/0809202...

Toxic Plumes from Aliso Canyon Gas Blowout Harmed Babies, Study Shows - Inside Climate News Infants born to pregnant women exposed to the massive Southern California gas leak were more likely to be underweight, a risk factor for serious long-term health conditions.

Pregnant women who lived closest to the Aliso Canyon disaster near Los Angeles during their final trimester were twice as likely to have low birth weight babies, a risk factor for childhood and adult disease, new research found.

North Carolina Cattle Farmer to Pay $92,000 for Damaging Mountain Streams - Inside Climate News Wildlife officials had to rescue, relocate brook trout after Bottomley Properties cleared hundreds of acres of mountain forest for grazing.

The damage to the mountain streams was so severe that Wildlife Resources had to conduct an emergency rescue of a fragile species of brook trout. After a 4-yr legal battle, fine reduced from $263K to $92K. @insideclimatenews.org insideclimatenews.org/news/1909202...

Smoke From Wildfires Caused by Climate Change Will Fuel Many More Premature Deaths in the U.S., a New Study Warns - Inside Climate News This would represent some of the country’s most costly consequences of a warming climate by mid-century, researchers say.

Smoke from climate-driven wildfires will kill nearly 2 million Americans by 2055, a new study concludes.

Chinese Miners Accused of Gold Pillage, Environmental Destruction in DRC - Inside Climate News A new report says illegal, semi-industrial gold mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is wrecking havoc on Congolese people and the environment.

Chinese miners are illegally plundering gold from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, causing vast environmental destruction and endangering human health, a new report says.

UNC-Chapel Hill Investigates the School of Civic Life and Leadership Chancellor Lee Roberts said that the university is reviewing the school after faculty and administrative turnover in the past year.

the turmoil at the school of civic life and leadership has gotten bad enough that the university hired a law firm to investigate

www.theassemblync.com/education/hi...

Top US Energy Official Lobbies for Fossil Fuels in Europe - Inside Climate News European climate experts say the pro-fossil fuel arguments are based on climate disinformation.

Disinformation, which climate deniers perfected over decades, is now at the heart of U.S. energy and climate policy and on show in Europe, where top government officials are once again lobbying for American fossil fuel companies.

In case yr wondering how it's going in #NC w #PFAS, I just learned at an Env Mgmt Commission mtg that it's been detected 400 feet below ground, basically bedrock

Performative piety makes me want to puke

Quite the uh, astronaut recruitment program

Trump Cancels Study on Health Impacts of Industrialized Hog Farms That Produce Biogas - Inside Climate News N.C. research would have provided crucial data on understudied effects of the burgeoning industry on predominantly Black, Indigenous and Latino residents.

When science meets environmental justice, you know the Trump administration will squelch it...
Feds canceled a crucial grant about the health, economic, enviro impacts of industrialized hog farms that produce biogas, esp on Black, Indigenous, Latino folks insideclimatenews.org/news/0609202...

Post on X from EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. The text says: "ProPublica's headline is the definition of fake news. I have NEVER claimed more than one primary residence! In 2007, I acquired a primary residence in NY upon leaving active duty. That was my primary residence for the next 17.5 years. My primary residence then changed to DC this past year when I become EPA Administrator. I completed the process by the book, notifying my mortgage companies, insurance company, and local government that my primary residence was changing. These fake news hacks knew this BEFORE posting their bogus claim, but they just couldn't help themselves." Below the post text is a screenshot of a ProPublica post that reads: "Trump has targeted political foes for claiming more than one primary residence on their loan papers. But ProPublica found that at least three of the president's Cabinet members have done the same thing."

1/ The documents are clear: Lee Zeldin and his wife have two principal-residence mortgages, for properties in Long Island and Washington, D.C.

We’ve got the records 👇

Long Island: legacy.www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
D.C.: legacy.www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

NC DEQ released its draft Climate Action Plan today for public comment. 260 pages, but there is key info and cool tables.

(PS Don't let AI rob you of your critical thinking skills by summarizing it.)
deq.nc.gov/state-energy...

From the ProPublica piece cataloging high Trump administration officials who have done exactly what DOJ alleges that Lisa Cook did, yet who are not facing calls for removal or prosecution.

I wonder if the smoke I'm smelling in Durham is from the fire in northern Chatham County near Jordan Lake. The NC Forest Service map shows 253-acre fire, 0% contained

The Belichick effect and the money-sucking machine of college football College football has become a money-sucking machine, with schools spending every dollar possible to keep up in an athletics arms race.

i joined my friends at @wunc.org's the broadside to talk about bill belichick and the impact college football finances have on the rest of the university

www.wunc.org/podcast/the-...