The North Carolina Department of Transportation has been awarded $1.1 million to build a drone program to be tested in Lumberton and then used in other communities.
climate change
Warming oceans intensified hurricanes’ strength: Studies
Human-caused climate change has pumped up peak, pre-landfall Atlantic hurricane wind speeds by an average of 13 to 18 mph in recent years, according to the authors of two companion research papers published Wednesday.
Science panel applies 2022 sea level report projections to NC
The Coastal Resources Commission’s science panel has released its “North Carolina 2024 Sea Level Rise Science Update” that applies the findings of a 2022 federal-level sea level rise technical report to North Carolina.
10K grant available for water resources research project
North Carolina Water Resources Research Institute and North Carolina Sea Grant are accepting proposals for the $10,000 Mountains to Sea Graduate Research Fellowship until 5 p.m. Dec. 16.
Ever-worsening wildfire threat burns closer to cities, towns
Longer, dryer droughts, warmer seasons year-round — the outlook for wildfires is increasingly grim as the state rapidly grows with already more acreage considered wildland-urban interface than any other state.
Caution increasingly needed as fall wildfire season arrives
Special report: People cause 99% of wildfires, and half of those are due to carelessness, according to the North Carolina Forest Service, all while climate change is making conditions worse.
Researcher tracks how species adapt to climate change
UNC’s Dr. Paul Taillie says that while there’s reason for concern about the environment, he does not share the anxiety others have, rather, “I tend to be very optimistic about things.”
PBS series explores extreme weather, climate change
“Weathered: Earth’s Extremes” features 30-minute episodes that follow host and science communicator Maiya May as she looks into the impacts of climate change and meets with the people inside communities on the frontline of extreme weather.
Institute’s September lecturer to address climate anxiety
Dr. Paul Taillie of the UNC Department of Geography and Environment, September’s featured “Science on the Sound” speaker at the Coastal Studies Institute, says resilience presents conservation opportunity.
Vesta says olivine sand carbon project at Duck yielding data
The light green sand from a Norway mine deposited nearshore earlier this year in Duck is part of a pilot project studying how the material, when activated by seawater, removes carbon from the ocean and atmosphere.
EPA chief, governor visit Brunswick County to hail funding
Under a canopy of towering pines in the Green Swamp Preserve, Gov. Roy Cooper, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan and others touted grants to reduce carbon emissions and help communities become more resilient.
Long-running UNCW field course merges science, policy
One scholar calls the seven-night, eight-day University of North Carolina Wilmington summer class an “eye-opener” to the environmental issues coastal North Carolina faces.
Chris Herndon joins NC Sierra Club as chapter director
The environmental organization’s new chapter director has spent most of the past 12 years in executive leadership roles with the United Way.
Hurricane season begins; officials advise detailed planning
While forecasters see a “very high chance of a very active hurricane season,” the main point to remember is that preparation is key because it only takes one storm to disrupt lives.
Tyrrell County, Hammocks Beach projects town halls set
The public meetings scheduled for June 11 in Columbia and June 12 in Swansboro will focus on the archaeological discoveries uncovered at Scuppernong River Dedicated Nature Reserve, Alligator River Game Lands, both in Tyrrell County, and Hammocks Beach State Park in Swansboro.
Tree rings show summer 2023 was hottest in 2 millennia
After last year’s record-breaking temperatures, forecasts for this summer indicate another scorcher ahead, just as researchers find more troubling climate data and elected officials point to relief efforts.
