The 12 days of Christmas could be the perfect time to take part in a holiday tradition that goes back 119 years, the Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count.
Commentary
Smarter Energy Investment Needed Now
Guest columnist R. Bruce Holsten writes that market conditions, inherent risks and other business-related factors make Atlantic offshore exploration and drilling an unwise investment.
Sam’s Field Notes: Wildlife Festivals Ahead
Celebrate North Carolina’s wildlife during Swan Days Festival at Lake Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge and Wings Over Water Wildlife Festival encore, both the second weekend in December.
Improving NC’s Floodplain Buyout Program
David Salvesen and Todd K. BenDor of UNC-Chapel Hill explain in today’s guest commentary their research on identifying ways to improve the floodplain buyout process in North Carolina.
Building for Change vs. the Price of Inaction
Informed choices by property owners saved one stoutly built Mexico Beach, Fla., house from Hurricane Michael’s devastation, but government’s response to climate change has been woefully inadequate.
Sam’s Field Notes: Interpreting Coastal Plants
A plant identification book, “Seacoast Plants of the Carolinas,” that was fundamental to our Sam Bland’s work as a park ranger on the coast has been updated and doesn’t disappoint.
Sam’s Field Notes: Hurricane Florence
An Emerald Isle resident, our Sam Bland weathered Hurricane Florence, which brought destruction to the community but also brought out the best of those who call it home.
Op-Ed: Connecting Climate Change, Storms
Environmental journalist Miles O’Brien has partnered with Clean Air Carolina to present a short film series Sept. 27 in Durham on the impact of climate change on North Carolina.
Florence Recovery: We’re Trying
We’ve been unable to publish since Hurricane Florence made landfall but we’re back online for the first time since Thursday and doing our best to report on conditions on the North Carolina coast.
Study: Ocean Wilderness is Disappearing
Columnist Jared Lloyd explains his concerns about the results of a recently published study on the health of the world’s oceans and its diminishing marine wilderness.
Marines: Last Days of a New River Village
State historian David Cecelski writes about the visit of Greensboro photographer Charles A. Farrell to Marines in 1941, soon before the Onslow County village was displaced to make way for Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.
Sam’s Field Notes: Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles
The rarest, smallest of sea turtles, the Kemp’s ridley has also long been one of the most mysterious, but turtle watchers recently assisted as hatchlings emerged from a rare nest in Emerald Isle.
Analysis: A Cry for a Life Preserver
Our founding editor Frank Tursi, who retired in 2016, shares his analysis and opinion regarding the recent Union of Concerned Scientists report on the effects rising seas could have on coastal communities.
A Search for Answers in Rare Whale’s Death
Pat Garber of Ocracoke shares her firsthand account of the necropsy earlier this year of a rare Gervais’ beaked whale that stranded and died on the beach at Ocracoke Island.
Accidental Habitat or Nature’s Ghosts?
Columnist Jared Lloyd explores whether alligators in the salt marsh are the result not of some fluke but rather a species returning to old haunts we didn’t know about — and the implications for wildlife management.
Sam’s Field Notes: Diamondback Terrapin
It’s not a sea turtle but its home is aquatic and its future in peril. Our Sam Bland recently joined area wildlife researchers on a quest to document the diamondback terrapin’s abundance in coastal N.C. waters.
