People have had an impact on North Carolina’s environment for as long as they have lived here. With the growth of industry and large-scale farming, that impact became increasingly damaging. In recent decades, many North Carolinians have called for the government to protect the state’s water, air, wildlife, and natural places. This chapter looks at some of the issues and conflicts that have arisen.

Section Contents

• The Environmental Justice Movement
• Moving Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
• Coastal Erosion and the Ban on Hard Structures
• The Impact of Hog Farms
• Regulating Hog Farms
• Cane Creek Reservoir
• Air Pollution
• Drought and Development
• The Mountains-to-Sea Trail
• Hugh Morton and North Carolina's Native Plants
• Grandfather Mountain: Commerce and Tourism in the Appalachian Environment