Environmentally Speaking

DEQ Secretary Donald R. van der Vaart visited the North Carolina Arboretum recently to award Meghan Baker with a certificate for completing her North Carolina Environmental Education Certification. Baker is an extension agent with Buncombe County Cooperative Extension Service and provides educational outreach to small farmers, youth, and community members in Buncombe County through field-based workshops during the growing season and trainings in the winter.

DEQ employee Elizabeth Werner has been highlighted by the N.C. Office of State Human Resources in their Compassion in Action series. Elizabeth volunteers in several different capacities, but focuses on delivering food to seniors through Meals on Wheels. Check out this video to watch the steps Elizabeth takes to volunteer with this program and why she does it: In case you missed it, read out blog about Elizabeth’s volunteer work, as well as that of DEQ employee Troy Harrison, who volunteers with Honduras Fountain of Life to teach English to young orphaned girls in Honduras. Click here.

North Carolina has the strongest and most environmentally protective general permits for swine operations. Read our letter to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Civil Rights to learn more here.

While the southeast is ramping up preparations for hurricane season, North Carolina is also preparing for another unlikely but potentially damaging event – a coronal mass ejection (CME).    An extreme CME is a large solar flare of energy that if directed at Earth, could have an impact on many of our daily activities. Potential effects include a powerful geomagnetic disturbance that could cause widespread power outages, loss of cellular networks and loss of satellite connections, among others. Just like with other natural events like hurricanes, it’s important to be prepared.