A special screening of State of Change, which examines climate change impacts in North Carolina and how communities have responded, and panel discussion with climate change experts is set for 6 p.m. April 21.
The iniative looks at how land conservation, living shorelines, new building practices and beach nourishment programs are creating a more resilient state as it faces sea-level rise, coastal erosion, ghost forests and increasingly powerful and frequent hurricanes directly impact North Carolina’s more than 12,000 miles of coastal shoreline.
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Register online to reserve a seat to attend the free event either in person at 3D Theater at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, 11 W. Jones St., Raleigh, or virtually. After registering, online attendees will receive a link to join the online event.
“Our producers spent almost a year collecting the most impactful stories from across our state, highlighting the effects of a changing climate on North Carolina and, most importantly, on all our residents from the coast to the mountains,” PBS North Carolina’s Chief Content Officer Justine Schmidt said in a statement. “Luckily, North Carolinians are addressing the issues and providing solutions to this local — and global — problem. PBS North Carolina is proud to showcase their stories of impact and resilience through strong reporting and artful storytelling.”
Following the screening, there will be a panel discussion moderated by PBS North Carolina’s Frank Graff, producer/host of Sci NC. Panelists are Dr. Kathie Dello, director of the North Carolina State Climate Office; Todd Miller, director of the North Carolina Coastal Federation, which publishes Coastal Review; Dr. Amanda Martin, chief resilience officer for the North Carolina Office of Recovery & Resilience under the state Department of Public Safety; and Dr. Solomon Bililign, professor of physics and applied sciences and technology at North Carolina A&T State University, and director of the NOAA-ISET Center, a NOAA Educational Partnership Program Cooperative Science Center.
PBS North Carolina, the North Carolina Science Festival and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences are offering the screening and panel discussion free of charge.
Before the panel discussion, a new broadcast special, narrated by musician and North Carolina native Rhiannon Giddens, is to premiere at 7 p.m. April 20, on PBS NC. the special will be shown again on Earth Day at 9 p.m. April 22.
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The special will be on the PBS website, the PBS Video app and YouTube with accompanying digital shorts that report how North Carolina communities have addressed the challenges of rising sea levels, increasing temperatures, stormwater management, flooding, habitat destruction and beach erosion.
Climate portraits introduce viewers to a municipal leader in Princeville, a commercial fisherman in Ocracoke, an urban farmer and beekeeper in Winston-Salem, a river guide in Wilmington and a coastal scientist in New Hanover County, all of whom have seen climate change first hand.
State of Change is produced with support from the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and is part of the Pulitzer Center’s Connected Coastlines reporting initiative.
Email Karen Nowak at knowak@pbsnc.org for more details.
