Celeste Gracia
Environment ReporterCeleste Gracia has been at WUNC since September 2019. She moved over as environment reporter after starting off as morning producer. She's interested in covering several topics within her beat, including climate change and environmental justice.
Celeste graduated from the University of North Texas. She previously interned at CBS News Radio in New York and Morning Edition in Washington D.C.
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A 2021 North Carolina state law requires Duke Energy to reduce its carbon emissions by 70% compared to 2005 levels by 2030, and to be carbon neutral by 2050. Critics say the latest proposed plan relies too heavily on fossil fuels.
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On February 2, 2014, a stormwater pipe underneath the ash basin broke, sending 39,000 tons of coal ash and 27 million gallons of ash pond water into the Dan River. The spill ultimately led to largest coal ash clean up in U.S. history.
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Federal officials will consider adding the site at 828 Martin Luther King Fr. Blvd to the national Superfund program.
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Thousands of Duke Energy customers have gone over 24 hours without power. Durham County is opening an emergency shelter tonight.
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The utility's Customer Assistance Program will give eligible families a $42 monthly credit for a year. It will also refer customers to energy efficiency programs to reduce energy usage and monthly costs.
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Drivers of electric vehicles will have to pay a $180 annual registration fee starting Jan. 1, in addition to other existing charges. Previously, the fee was $140. The newly implemented annual registration fee for plug-in hybrid vehicles is $90.
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UNC Chapel Hill researchers have discovered eight types of previously unknown PFAS in the Cape Fear River using a new detection method.
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The Environmental Protection Agency says it reversed its decision because Chemours provided inaccurate information to the Netherlands' government about the volume of materials being shipped. This development comes a week after letters from the United Nations accusing Chemours of violating human rights were made public.
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Indigenous activists are leading a movement to pass a state Rights of Nature law. They say the legislation would give the Haw River more environmental protection.
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Researchers found chiggers carrying a bacterium that causes a disease called scrub typhus. The disease has not previously been reported in the U.S. No cases have been detected in North Carolina yet.
