Special Reports

  • Folks Ready to Talk Change: NC Climatologist

    State Climatologist Kathie Dello says that since taking the job in 2019 she has found residents of North Carolina are ready and willing to talk about climate change, and that the state can be a leader.

  • Resilience Bigger Part of Plan to Save NC 12

    Maintaining the vulnerable sliver of Outer Banks highway known as N.C. 12 has long been a challenge, but state officials say they are now adopting a more resilient approach to infrastructure design.

  • Young Adults On Banks Have Ridden Storms

    Young people on North Carolina’s Outer Banks who have grown up facing the challenges of climate change on an almost yearly basis say decision makers should take the problem more seriously.

  • Where Storms Are Lore, Folks See Change

    In Down East Carteret County, where tales of hurricanes are woven through far-reaching family histories, residents say more recent storms are different and signs of a bigger change.

  • NC’s Turning Point For Climate Science

    Hurricane Florence in 2018 marked the beginning of a shift in attitudes toward climate science, researchers say, but whether increased acceptance leads to policy changes remains uncertain.

  • Students Share Experiences Of Florence

    The following is a series of essays by students at Brunswick Early College High School in Bolivia on their personal experiences during Hurricane Florence in 2018 and their perceptions of climate change. This is part of a series for the Pulitzer Center’s nationwide Connected Coastlines reporting initiative. For more information, go to pulitzercenter.org/connected-coastlines. A State […]

  • Stage Set For Battle Over Clean Water Rule

    Some farmers call it an overreach, but water quality advocates say the Waters of the United States, or WOTUS, rule that the Trump administration seeks to repeal and replace is crucial for North Carolina’s wetlands and seafood industry.

  • US Clean Water Rule Repeal Set to Take Effect

    Special Report: The repeal and replacement of the Obama-era Waters of the United States rule under the Clean Water Act will soon go into effect, putting North Carolina’s wetlands and fisheries in peril, but challenges are expected.

  • Coastal Research: Would You Swim Here?

    Students with the UNC Institute for the Environment’s Field Site program spent last semester researching how contaminants get into Beaufort’s Town Creek and what happens next.

  • Coastal Research: One Town’s Septic Risks

    UNC researchers recently presented findings from a study of how climate change and failing septic systems combine to affect Nags Head’s water quality and how the town is addressing problems.