A $1 million donation from Duke Energy is helping the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy and other partners help wildlife adapt to the effects of climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.
Learn more about climate change on North Carolinas east coast.
The donation will fund climate change research and adaptation for a pilot project that focuses on the effect of rising sea levels on the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.
"This gift and partnership allows us to go from an open dialog to action on a climate change issue that is of great concern to everyone--conservationists, communities, and businesses," said Mike Bryant, Project Leader for the North Carolina Coastal Plain Refuges Complex, which includes Alligator River, Pea Island, Pocosin Lakes, Mackay Island, Currituck, and Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuges.
"The Nature Conservancy and its conservation partners have a big investment in the Albemarle Peninsula, protecting more than half a million acres there in 30 years of work," said Katherine Skinner, executive director of The Nature Conservancys North Carolina Field Office. "Duke Energys generous gift will help us protect that investment against rising sea levels."
North Carolinas coast is considered particularly vulnerable to climate change because it is so long and flat. A 2008 study by the University of Maryland identified the states coast as one of the countrys most vulnerable areas to climate change. Rising sea levels have already altered the landscape, which is valuable habitat for an array of wildlife, including black bears, red wolves and migratory songbirds. Peat soils are degrading, and plants and trees have died as saltwater has pushed into the area. If nothing is done to adapt the area to rising sea levels, researchers estimate that one million acres could be lost within 100 years.
