- Title
- Our State
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-
- Date
- February 2001
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-
- Place
- ["North Carolina, United States"]
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Our State
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Too Much of a
Good Thing?
BY DlAN'r SlLCOX-jARRFTT
Ruling down Stale Road 1010 to my church in southern
Wake County used to be a serene outing in the country.
Passing fields and pastures, I would finally arrive at a
white wooden church built more than 100 years ago,
graveyard in the front and stained-glass windows shining
in the sun. Every Sunday was a step into the past.
That pastoral landscape is changing, and rapidly, as it is
in much of North Carolina. The ride to church now goes
by one construction site after another. Sidewalks and
paved roads wind through what were recently tobacco
and soybean fields.
Much of this change is positive, but North Carolina
may be in danger of having too much of a good thing.
Smog drifts into our mountains. Condominiums line the
beaches. Air pollution and large amounts of construction
are a daily part of life in Charlotte, the Triad, and the
Triangle. Lack of water is becoming a major concern in
the east.
In I ‘>70 about 5 million people lived in North Carolina.
The 2000 census probably will show the figure nearing
the 8 million mark. And this kind of growth is projected
to continue.
All of this worries Bill Holman, North Carolina's secre¬
tary of environment and natural resources. “We have to
keep a balance between the environment and the economy."
he says. “The challenge is that North Carolina is growing
very rapidly and right now we are not keeping up.”
In 1989 the General Assembly made an attempt to bal¬
ance the environment and the economy. It passed a law to
reduce waste statewide by 40 percent over a 10-year peri¬
od, starting in July 1991. But no one foresaw the size of
the construction boom that was coming. The plan never
had a chance.
Rapid growth poses serious
challenges to our state's air,
water, and open spaces.
“We’re going to have to be careful and not let our
pri>gress hurt us," says Johanna Reese, public information
officer for the state Department of Environment and Natural
Resources. "There are three major areas we need to look at
in the state and the time to take care of them is now."
Problems and solutions
The first area is clean air. Ozone pollution is the biggest
air quality problem in the state. Cars and trucks account
for about half of it; the other half comes from the owl-
fired power plants operated by Carolina Power and Light
and Duke Power. The ozone formation over the state can
sometimes make the air unhealthy to breathe, even in
rural areas. Ozone is particularly hard on the young, the
old, and those suffering from asthma and other respirato¬
ry ailments, and it also damages crops and trees.
The second area is water quality. It’s mainly a by¬
product of our booming economy. Dirt from construction
sites runs into rivers and creeks and smothers them.
“People don’t think of dirt as a pollutant, but it is," says
Reese. The dirt clouds the water, making it difficult for
sunlight to get in. That stunts the growth of food sources
for fish, and dirty water fills the gills of fish, making it
hard for them to breathe.
The third area is drinking water. The central coastal
plan is the biggest area of concern because of its heavy
reliance on aquifers, which are now being depleted due to
population and industrial growth. Water conservation is a
must if the area is to avoid a drinking water crisis.
Die state has set some direction for environmental protec¬
tion, notably through the Million Acre Initiative. I bis pro¬
gram has a goal of protecting a million acres of open land in
the next 10 years. Reese believes in the project, saving “it’s
going to happen because it has to happen."
There is also a watchdog project called Smart Growth,
designed to make sure growth takes into account clean air,
clean water, and open space. This task force is working in
three major areas: to improve transportation, preserve
open space, and support existing communities. Former
Governor James I hint says the program is important
because "over time how we manage growth will affect
every citizen in this state."
No lime to waste
The Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental
Assistance is working with industry and local governments
on ways to reduce waste. Agency spokesperson Donna
Keys says one of the main waste problems is oil and
grease poured down sinks in homes and restaurants.
“The grease and oil get in the sewage lines and clog
them up or travel through the lines to become waste water
discharges," she says.
Obsolete televisions and computers are also a growing
waste problem because of the lead, cadmium, and other
February 2001 Our State 49
