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: 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.

  • 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.