Video portraits of a changing planet, in real time.
Climate Stories NC

Video portraits of a changing planet, in real time.

A UNC video series shows ordinary people reacting as climate change reshapes the world around them.

Video portraits of a changing planet, from North Carolina


Bill Carson, founder of The Orchard at Altapass in Spruce Pine, N.C., is interviewed for a Climate Stories NC video. Still image courtesy Climate Stories NC.

April 27, 2016

A UNC video series shows ordinary people reacting as climate change reshapes the world around them.

By Douglas Fischer

The Daily Climate 

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—North Carolina is famous in climate science circles for a legislature that mandated the state's planners look only at historical sea levels when planning for future sea-rise. 

But plenty in the state are finding that the present is not quite like the past—and that the future suddenly seems anything but predictable.

Eight of those individuals are the subject of a University of North Carolina project that seeks to capture the voices of ordinary North Carolinians dealing with the effects of a changing planet.

The project, run by UNC's Institute for the Environment, documents real people talking about real problems.

They're folks like Bill Carson, who runs an apple orchard and shop in Spruce Pine, N.C.—a town of about 2,250 people on the western edge of the state, about 90 miles from Great Smokey Mountains National Park.

"For 4 of the last 6 years, we’ve had weather-related crop failures," he told Climate Stories NC.

A beekeeper and a fishing guide

The profiles include a beekeeper, a fishing guide, a wildlife refuge manager and a seafood market owner. More are planned, and we'll feature them on occasion on The Daily Climate.

The tales are similar to one we told a few weeks ago, about North Carolina commercial fisherman Dewey Hemilright and his fears for the future as President Obama mulled opening the Atlantic coast to drilling.

Hemilright's fears still live—several companies say they intend to continue seismic testing along the North Carolina coast, despite Obama's decision, in mid-March, to keep the drilling ban in place through 2022. 

And the seas, despite state lawmakers' best efforts, are still rising faster than in the past.

All of which suggests the stories North Carolinians are telling about their changing environment are worth listening to.

Douglas Fischer is director of Environmental Health Sciences, the nonprofit, independent publisher of DailyClimate.org and EHN.org.

The Daily Climate is an independent, foundation-funded news service covering energy, the environment and climate change. Find us on Twitter @TheDailyClimate or email editor Brian Bienkowski at bbienkowski [at] EHN.org

Steel mill under a cloudy sky.
Credit: Michi/Pixabay

Steelmaker retreats from clean energy plans as hydrogen costs and politics shift

Cleveland-Cliffs is scaling back plans to build the nation's first green steel plant in Ohio, pivoting away from hydrogen and back to fossil fuels as federal incentives face repeal and political winds change in Washington.

Alexander C. Kaufman reports for Canary Media.

Keep reading...Show less
Desert field with solar panels.

California mining company turns to solar heat but can’t quit coal just yet

In California’s Mojave Desert, a mining plant is turning to solar thermal energy to replace one of its coal-fired generators, but a second unit may run for years due to the intense heat and 24-hour power it needs.

Ivan Penn reports for The New York Times.

In short:

  • Searles Valley Minerals, a mining company in Trona, Calif., is replacing one of its two coal plants with a solar thermal system but says the other may need to stay online for the foreseeable future due to operational demands.
  • The company will use a concentrating solar power system from start-up GlassPoint, which uses mirrors to generate high heat, a solution that works well in hot, sunny areas but requires a large land footprint and remains rare in the U.S.
  • Despite California’s push to phase out coal and President Trump’s efforts to revive it, economic and geographic constraints continue to complicate full industrial transitions away from fossil fuels.

Key quote:

“We just think coal is going to be a problem. We’re going to have a hard time sourcing it. We need to be ready to pivot.”

— Dennis Cruise, president of Searles Valley Minerals

Why this matters:

Industrial heat — the kind used in mining, chemical production, and heavy manufacturing — accounts for about half of global energy use, yet it’s rarely mentioned in public climate debates. Unlike home heating or car travel, generating this level of heat without fossil fuels is still tough. Most renewable energy technologies don’t deliver the extreme, continuous heat these facilities need. That leaves industries like the one in Trona stuck with coal, even as it becomes harder to source and politically unpopular. As the U.S. attempts to decarbonize, industrial energy needs present one of the biggest hurdles.

Related: Farmers use solar panels to protect crops and conserve water

Oil refinery against a setting sun.

New gas plant approved in Newark despite community objections over health and pollution

A state sewer commission approved a controversial gas-fired backup power plant in Newark’s Ironbound neighborhood, drawing opposition from residents who say it adds to the area’s already heavy pollution burden.

Emilie Lounsberry reports for Inside Climate News.

Keep reading...Show less
An image showing a downpour with a caution sign.

New research links stalled jet stream to rising summer weather extremes

The number of extreme summer weather events driven by trapped atmospheric waves has tripled since 1950 due to climate change, new research shows.

Seth Borenstein reports for The Associated Press.

Keep reading...Show less
A stream running through green forested hills.

Brazil moves to auction vast oil blocks despite climate and Indigenous concerns

Brazil is set to auction off oil and gas exploration rights in a massive offshore and Amazon region sale, prompting backlash from Indigenous groups and environmental advocates just months before it hosts the Cop30 climate summit.

Constance Malleret reports for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less
A coal power plant in the distance with smoke billowing from the towers.

South African coal town struggles to see benefits of clean energy shift

Residents of Komati, a former coal hub in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province, remain skeptical of the country’s green transition as job losses and slow infrastructure rollout leave them in economic limbo.

Rachel Savage reports for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less
a row of flags in front of a building.
Credit: Mmoka/Unsplash

World climate talks resume without U.S. as global negotiators assess new path forward

The United States skipped a major round of United Nations climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany this week, leaving other nations and U.S. civil society groups to navigate the talks without the world's largest fossil fuel producer at the table.

Bob Berwyn reports for Inside Climate News.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.