Guest Columns

  • NC Missing at New York’s Billion Oyster Party

    Guest columnist Tom Looney recently attended a celebration of oysters in New York, noting North Carolina’s absence despite being ideally positioned to compete in the growing shellfish aquaculture market.

  • Guest Column: A River Brings Folks Together

    A recent event held to celebrate and inform on efforts to protect and restore the Cape Fear River, the ninth annual StriperFest brought together people of different backgrounds and political affiliations.

  • Guest Column: Cypress Trees as Sentinels

    Marcelo Ardón of N.C. State says cypress trees can serve as sentinels of North Carolina’s coastal sounds, and the public can help in discovering what these trees can tell us about the effects of sea-level rise and other changes.

  • Guest Column: Costly Catfish Trade Barrier

    North Carolina seafood dealer Justin Conrad says a federal program created under the guise of improving food safety is nothing more than a trade barrier to imported catfish, one that also puts the state’s agriculture-export business at risk.

  • Guest Column: Seismic Tests Won’t Harm Fish

    The president of the only trade group for companies and people involved in seismic testing for oil and natural gas says there’s no evidence that the tests harm fish as some environmental groups now claim.

  • Guest Column: Seismic Tests Critical

    Donald R. van der Vaart, the secretary of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, responds to congressmen who oppose proposed seismic tests off North Carolina.

  • Guest Column: The State of Predators

    Sharks splashed across headlines this summer but not reported is that many shark species are near extinction and that could upset entire marine ecosystems.

  • Guest Column: Asleep at the Helm?

    Duke geologist Orrin Pilkey raises the question about the state and its coastal management program after a project at North Topsail Beach left tons of rock on the beach.

  • Guest Column: Buffer Bills Shortsighted

    Two bills in the state legislature that would eliminate or greatly reduce buffers along the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico rivers would place greater burdens on cities, towns and farmers to clean up the polluted rivers.