Community Rising

Community Rising examines environmental news in the coastal Carolina region. We focus on the environment, development, climate change, pollution, and public health.

Hosted ByKatie Tomberlin

All Episodes

After Flooding, a Biologist’s Story

Ana Zimmerman is a biology professor at the College of Charleston. She’s also a flood survivor. Over the course of a few years, her home was repeatedly flooded after...

PSA: Chemours Toxic PFA Spill into Cape Fear River

On July 22nd, the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority was notified by the facility Chemours in Fayetteville, North Carolina of a potentially toxic sediment spill into the Cape Fear...

Hurricanes Affect River Systems and Water Quality in Coastal NC

Larry Baldwin is the Crystal Coast Waterkeeper and the Advocacy Director of the White Oak New River Keeper Alliance. He’s an advocate for improving the health and quality of...

Climate Change is Threatening NC’s Largest Estuary

North Carolina’s Albemarle-Pamlico Estuary is the second-largest estuary in the United States and serves as a vital resource for several industries and communities. Bill Crowell, Director of the Albemarle-Pamlico...

Student Housing During Hurricanes and COVID-19

Peter Groenendyk is the Director of Housing at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW) and has experienced countless hurricanes. Groenendyk discusses the process of evacuating students during...

David “Clammerhead” Cessna is Embracing Climate Change to Help Fight It

As a seventh generation commercial fisherman, David “Clammerhead” Cessna, of Smyrna, NC, speaks about how his family’s tradition led him to sustainable shellfish harvesting. At age 59, he is...

Atlantic Coast Pipeline Cancelled

With the cancellation of plans to build the Atlantic Coast Pipeline on July 5, 2020; we examine the negative impacts it would have caused and ask activist Hope Taylor,...

UNCW’s Disaster Response: Hurricanes and COVID-19

Eric Griffin and Jeff Campbell are both seasoned administrators at UNCW, responsible for environmental health and safety on campus. They both explain how they could draw from past hurricane...

Mapping the Floods

Where will you be when sea waters rise the most? Climate change is affecting coastal communities right now, across the world. Even so, people still don’t understand exactly how...