Guest columnist John Runkle, one of the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s founding board members, writes that the nearly 40-year-old nonprofit’s mission has been guided by clear messaging, namely, “No wetlands, no seafood.”
Guest Columns
Leadership, action needed to reduce plastic pollution
“Our coast is quite literally our lifeline. And it is being increasingly sabotaged by plastic. So why aren’t our businesses and policy-makers doing something about it? ” writes Oceana’s Randy Sturgill.
Guest commentary: Where plastic flows into the ocean
Kemp Burdette of Cape Fear River Watch and Ann Colley of the Moore Charitable Foundation write that there’s an overlooked connection in our own backyards that funnels plastics toward major bodies of water and eventually the world’s oceans.
Commentary: Does the Corps adequately protect the coast?
Dr. Richard Hilderman of Sunset Beach, where the Corps of Engineers has recently approved permits for a terminal groin, contends that responsibility for protecting the coastal environment has been placed in the hands of engineers, rather than natural resource agencies and coastal scientists.
Hatteras Village relies on commercial fishing, a safe inlet
Alana Harrison, Hatteras Village seafood market owner and fish dealer, worries that shoaling in Hatteras Inlet will cause local commercial fishermen to relocate to neighboring fishing ports.
NC Has Much to Gain from Wind Power
Guest commentary: North Carolina has too much to gain from wind industry to let disinformation from Texas grid failure go uncorrected.
Million-Acre Land Protection Goal Finally Met
Former Gov. James Hunt’s 20-year-old goal of protecting from development 1 million acres in North Carolina by 2010 was finally achieved late last year.
Temporary Rules Needed to Protect Wetlands
Guest column: The Environmental Management Commission should enact temporary rules restoring the Department of Environmental Quality’s authority to regulate activities in wetlands that no longer require federal permits.
Frank Nesmith: ‘Kindred Spirit,’ Coastal Hero
Guest columnist Lauren Kolodij shares her perspective on the life and coastal preservation mission of Frank Nesmith, “the Mayor of Bird Island,” who died in July at 93.
Dorian Remains Part of Life on Ocracoke
Hurricane Dorian, which struck the North Carolina coast a year ago this weekend, was a game-changer for Ocracoke Island, creating a new normal.
Value Fisheries, Communities Who Provide
Guest columnist Timothy P. Clark writes that in order to promote sustainable seafood, coastal North Carolina needs to promote local purveyors and that the social consequences of fishery decline are drastic.
Second Wave of COVID-19 May Be Deadlier
Guest columnist Richard Hilderman, former chair of Clemson’s Genetics and Biochemistry Department and Genomic Institute director, warns of a second wave of COVID-19 infections from a rush to restart the economy.
Birds Tell Us That It’s Time to Act
Guest columnist Robbie Fearn, director of Audubon’s Donal C. O’Brien Jr. Sanctuary at Pine Island, writes that birds along the N.C. coast serve as harbingers of the effects of climate change.
Lessons from Dorian: Oil, Water Still Don’t Mix
Guest columnist Jean-Luc Duvall of Environment North Carolina writes that the oil pollution resulting from Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas could also happen to the N.C. coast if offshore drilling is allowed here.
Strategies for Weathering the Next Storm
As many N.C. residents continue to deal with Hurricane Florence’s effects a year after the storm’s landfall here, Will McDow of the Environmental Defense Fund offers four steps toward a more resilient future.
Fish to Eat? License Fee May Be Waived
For those who fish for food and receive certain government assistance, a subsistence waiver can save the annual $15 recreational fishing license fee, but few who qualify may be aware.
