North Carolina: An Environmental Overview Leadership North Carolina Class XXVI Environment Session, 03 April 2019 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/USA_North_Carolina_relief_map_cut.jpg Dr. Amy Knisley Environmental Studies Warren Wilson College
AIR Air Quality ENERGY CLIMATE CHANGE LAND WATER Land Conservation Water Quality Waste Disposal Water Quantity ...starting with NC in context...
River Miles: RI 1400 SC 29,900 NC 37,800 AK 365,000 VA 49,300 ~500 miles E to W Mt. Mitchell 6,684’ 53,821 miles 2 90.5% land, 9.5% water 28 th in land area 0’ Persons/square mile in 2015: 301 miles of coastline (=VA + SC) 7 th of 23 coastal states (TX=6 th , OR=8 th ) 1-NJ (1218) 14-VA (212) 15-NC (207) 6% of U.S. shoreline (excl. AK) 50-AK (1.3) 19-SC (163) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/USA_North_Carolina_relief_map_cut.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_coastline
River Miles: RI 1400 SC 29,900 NC 37,800 Chowan AK 365,000 VA 49,300 Dan Yadkin Roanoke Albermarle Snd French Tar-Pamlico Broad Pigeon Pamlico Snd Catawba Broad Neuse Tuckaseegee Pee Dee Little Tenn. Nantahala Cape Fear http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/USA_North_Carolina_relief_map_cut.jpg
Population Growth 1940-2018 2000-2018 NC 29% VA 20% U.S. 16% SC 27% U.S. Census Bureau
State GDP 2000-2017, billions of chained 2012 dollars NC=$484b (11th) VA=$464b (13th) GDP 2017 vs 2000 ND 107% VA 34% U.S. 37% NC 36% SC 32% MI 5% SC=$199b (26th) ND=$49b (47th) U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2018
Per Capita Real Personal Income, by State, 2008-2016, chained 2012 dollars ND=$55,360 (4th) RPI 2016 vs 2008 VA=$50,180 (18th) ND 13% VA 7% U.S. 10% NC 4% SC 12% MI 16% NC=$45,216 (34th) SC=$42,958 (44th) U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2018
Question: Is economic growth good for the environment?
AIR Air Quality CLIMATE+ ENERGY LAND WATER Land Conservation Water Quality Waste Disposal Water Quantity
NC DENR, State of the Environment Report 2011, p58 Fair land conservation Rising recycling rates Conservation funding Hazardous waste sites MSW capacity
Land Use Developed land 1982-2015 VA +75% U.S. +60% NC +106% SC +98% Excludes Alaska U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2018 . Summary Report: 2015 National Resources Inventory.
Wetlands, est. 2007 WI 14% NC has lost about 50% of its wetlands, on par with nation. ~95% of the remaining 5.5m acres are in the coastal plain. VA 6% Coastal loss slowed dramatically since 1985 “Swampbuster.” NC 16% Brad Rich, “A Disturbing Report about Wetlands” (Dec 2013) SC 20% Wetlands Loss in Coterminous U.S. FL 28% US Fish and Wildlife Service AK 42% National Wetlands Inventory , U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (2017)
Forest, 2012 Net forested land, 1920 to 2012: WA 52.7% MD = 0% VA = 6.6% US = 4% NC = 2.2% MI 55.6% VT = 26% SC = 14.7% NV 3.2% VA 62.9% On average, 21.5% of forest land has been lost in the U.S. since 1630. NC 59.7% DE, IN and OH are estimated to have lost 60% or more; other states, SC 68.2% such as ID and CO, have lost 5% or less. But in the 20th century, steady state or reforestation have been the trend. 34 of 50 states have seen gains averaging 8% between 1920 and 2012. AK 35.2% USFS Forest Inventory and Analysis (2012), https://www.fia.fs.fed.us/
Carbon Sequestered in southern forests, 2015 One Tg (teragram) = 1 trillion grams! 1 paperclip = 1 gram! Great Pyramid of Giza = 6 Tg. AL, KY, GA, TN, FL, LA, MS, VA, AR, OK, NC, SC, TX, P.R. 4 Natl For units, 2 special units “Baseline Estimates of Carbon Stocks in Forests and Harvested Wood Products for National Forest System Units; Southern Region.” USDA Forest Service (2015) http://www.fs.fed.us/climatechange/documents/SouthernRegionCarbonAssessmentTwoBaselines.pd
Protected Land, 2017 MN 23% (7%) ME 11% (5%) “...15-30% of the land in any state or ecoregion will need to be NV 80% (15%) VA 10% (4%) [protected] in order for our native biodiversity to be effectively NC 9% (4%) conserved.” Conservation in America: A Status Report . Defenders of Wildlife (2002) SC 8% (4%) TX 3% (2%) AK 55% (35%) USGS Protected Areas Data Portal (2017): https://gapanalysis.usgs.gov/padus/data/statistics/ USGS Protected Areas Database/Viewer: https://maps.usgs.gov/padus/
What is “development”? Alteration of natural land- and water-forms to enable ongoing human habitation and use. Economic productivity and gain is usually an important consideration in land development.
What is “development”? U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (2016) Hog and Pig Sales as % of Agricultural Sales, by County, 2012 N.C. Building Permits issued 1960- 2018, in thousands
In 2018, North Carolina was home to 8.9 million hogs, second only to Iowa with 22.6 million. In 2018 NC was home to 0.8 hog per person; IA housed 7.2 hogs per person. Pork Checkoff. State Rankings by Hog and Pig Inventory. https://www.pork.org/facts/stats/structure-and-productivity/state-rankings-by-hogs- and-pigs-inventory/
What is “land conservation”? NC DEQ, North Carolina Conservation Planning tool (2013) 2018 NC land conservation trust fund awards: NC Natl Wild and Scenic Rivers: Clean Water Management ($24.6m; $65m req. FY19) New, Chattooga, Lumber, and Parks and Recreation ($28.3m (FY17)) Horsepasture Agricultural Dev. & Farmland Preservation ($4.6m) Over 100 eligible rivers. In FY 2008 the trust funds had $289 million available. Funding levels crashed until FY 2013, which saw modest increases. Total FY 2018 funding for the the three trust funds was about $42.5 million, and FY 2019 funding is $32.5m. Conservation Trust for NC, 2018.
Solid Waste In the U.S., both the total amount of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) produced, and per person rates, have increased over time. Since the mid-1980s, recycling rates have increased considerably. EPA National Overview: Fact and Figures on Materials, Wastes, Recycling (2015)
NC Solid Waste, 2016-17 Solid Waste • 11,385,939 tons of waste, total • 1,678,882 tons of CCR’s from 6 electrical plants • 48 municipal waste landfills • 51 construction and demolition landfills • 15 industrial landfills • 42 years of landfill capacity remaining • 47 composting operations • 16 mulching operations • 7 commercial medical waste operators • 0 waste-to-energy incinerators 1990 2005 2010 2015 MSW/Person/Day: U.S. 4.6 4.7 4.4 4.5 MSW/Person/Day: N.C. 5.6 7.2 5.1 6.1 Recycling Rate: U.S. 16% 31% 34% 35% Recycling Rate: N.C. 6% 11% 14% 15% NC DEQ, Div of Waste Management. Legislative Reports (2017) EPA. Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Facts and Figures (2015)
Check out this 2017 story about Florida’s newest WTE plant. 71 WTE plants How many Waste To Energy incinerators 0.5% of U.S. electricity are there in N.C.? reduce waste volume by ~85% NC DEQ, Div of Waste Management. Legislative Reports (2017) EPA. Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Facts and Figures (2015)
Question: Would you like to see a Waste- To-Energy plant in N.C.? NC DEQ. Div of Waste Management Legislative Report (2017).
• Support conservation funding • Support local land conservation projects. NC DENR, State of the Environment Report 2011, p58 • Support local composting. Fair land conservation Rising recycling rates Conservation funding Growing waste stream
AIR Air Quality • CLIMATE+ ENERGY LAND WATER Land Conservation Water Quality Waste Disposal Water Quantity
Question: What are the main causes of air pollution?
Steady NAAQS improvement Localized noncompliance Hazardous air pollutants NC Dept of Envt and Nat Resources, North Carolina State of the Environment Report 2011, p23
National Ambient Air Quality Standards: Six “Criteria Pollutants” Hazardous Air Pollutants 187 Federally-listed: Metals, such as cadmium, mercury, chromium, and lead compounds. Solvents, such as trichloroethylene, hexane, and methylene chloride. Others, such as benzene, dioxin, asbestos, and toluene. NC has added 21, including acetic, nitric and sulfuric acids; ammonia; bromine. Air quality is managed under the framework of the 1970 Clean Air Act
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) (~12) Locations of NC Ozone (03) (~30) Ambient Air Quality Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) (~6) Carbon Monoxide (CO) (~4) Monitors Nitrogen Oxides (NOy) (~2) Particulate Matter 2.5 (~25) Live track NC AQ monitors here: Particulate Matter 10.0 (~12) https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/air-quality/air-quality-monitoring
Maintenance Areas Nonattainment and Map 1: NC Current NC DENR State of the Environment Report 2011, p25 NC DENR, State of the Environment Report 2011, p28
NC DENR, State of the Environment Report 2011, p32
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