Grady McCallie

Yikes! Good news for North Carolina, if I'm reading the graphic correctly - our baseline estimates didn't suffer much from this error. (The ocean is however rising rapidly along our coast).

Opinion: After 31 houses fall into the ocean, a viable way out | Coastal Review Guest commentary: As the Atlantic claims more than 30 homes since 2020, it's past time to shift from the cycle of federal subsidies and reactive cleanups toward insurance reforms and proactive retreat...

This lays out the argument for targeted buyouts really well. coastalreview.org/2026/03/opin...

North Carolina Regulators Nix $1.2 Billion Federal Proposal to Dredge Wilmington Harbor - Inside Climate News U.S. Army Corps of Engineers failed to explain how it would mitigate environmental harms, including PFAS contamination.

NC objects to unwise harbor deepening project, in a "powerful reminder of what responsible stewardship looks like." insideclimatenews.org/news/2502202...

Key point: “As mold’s ideal conditions grow more prevalent, it remains a big gray area in public knowledge, and both state and federal policy.” Sounds like better protections for renters would be a good start.

In North Carolina, Opportunities to Protect People—Not Just Insurance Profits The state can expand proven models that protect homes and keep costs down for families and insurers.

It's worth it for North Carolina to invest in hazard mitigation - including to reduce wind risk. Smart post from NRDC: www.nrdc.org/bio/hope-tho...

Amid record growth, groups protect tracts from development | Coastal Review Population growth on the North Carolina coast has ramped up pressure on conservation groups to acquire and set aside land, such as the more than 2,000 acres in coastal counties recently protected from...

This - visionary land conservation - is a crucial complement to other kinds of protection, including good stormwater management of developed landscapes and smart planning that keeps new development out of floodplains. coastalreview.org/2026/02/amid...

There is no good reason to get rid of the Federal Flood risk Management Standards, and a host of good reasons to keep it. Repealing the standard doesn't just harm the vulnerable; it raises costs for all of us.

Judge upholds that DEQ can set wastewater permit limits | Coastal Review A Wake County Superior Court decision upholds that N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has the authority to set limits of 1,4-dioxane discharges from public wastewater utilities.

Very good news that should never have been in question: Judge upholds that DEQ can set wastewater permit limits coastalreview.org/2026/02/judg...

N.C. Judge Upholds the State’s Limits on 1,4-Dioxane Pollution in Utilities’ Wastewater - Inside Climate News The chemical, used in solvents, degreasers and some consumer products, is a likely carcinogen that can harm the liver and kidneys.

N.C. Judge Upholds the State’s Limits on 1,4-Dioxane Pollution in Utilities’ Wastewater #pollution #environment
insideclimatenews.org/news/1102202...

The hidden costs of North Carolina’s data center boom A surge of AI data centers is driving up power and water demand across North Carolina, increasing emissions and electricity costs for customers.

Great discussion of data centers across NC. “This is a statewide climate and infrastructure question… And it’s arriving faster than the regulatory framework designed to manage it” www.wral.com/news/investi...

Death by a Thousand Cuts: FEMA Under the Second Trump Administration The agency’s mission is simple: to help people before, during, and after a disaster. This administration is making that almost impossible.

We need Congress to enact FEMA reform that strengthens the agency and rescues it from current leadership. www.nrdc.org/bio/joel-sca...

2025 was Earth's 3rd-warmest year on record » Yale Climate Connections Human-caused global warming pushed global temperatures to near-record levels despite the cooling influence of the La Niña phenomenon, which typically suppresses global temperatures.

And this is despite La Nina: 2025 was Earth's 3rd-warmest year on record yaleclimateconnections.org/2026/01/2025...

The costliest NC road repair after Helene got a lot more expensive The rebuilding of the eastbound lanes of Interstate 40 through the Pigeon River Gorge is now expected to cost $2 billion.

This is a necessary project, but it is expensive. It's a good reason to stop prioritizing massive amounts of funding to unnecessary projects elsewhere in the state.
www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...

Washington state’s first-in-the-nation ban on toxic bisphenols in receipts takes effect - Toxic-Free Future Washington state’s first-in-the-nation ban on toxic bisphenols in receipts takes effect; rule protects cashiers, shoppers, and families from hormone-disrupting chemicals.

🏆 WA just became the 1st state to ban all bisphenols in receipt paper & other thermal paper—protecting workers & shoppers from a hidden source of chemical exposure.

This is what health-protective policy looks like: proving we don’t have to accept toxic chemicals as the cost of doing business.

This projects promises significant harm in exchange for minimal benefits for North Carolina. It's a bad idea.

The bright spot is the continuing rapid increase in solar generation. But the increase in coal and carbon emissions is so self-destructive, and so unnecessary.

The chart shows the number of civil environmental enforcement cases brought by the federal government each year since 2015. From 2015 to 2024, these ranged between 65 and 100. In 2025, the Trump administration brought 20, with an additional 15 held over from the Biden administration.

Earthjustice blog briefly documents a collapse in federal environmental enforcement over the last year. earthjustice.org/experts/laur...

A map of the US with each 2025 billion-plus dollar weather and climate disaster geo-located on it. Source: Climate Central

After the US admin cancelled the $B Climate + Weather Disaster dataset, @climatecentral.org hired the scientists who ran it and set it back up.

Now the 2025 numbers are in: it's 3rd highest year on record and highest year w/o land-falling hurricanes.

More: www.climatecentral.org/climate-serv...

Strong blog post from Toxic-Free Future: "If EPA were truly relying on “gold standard science,” it would follow the lead of states and companies that have already banned phthalates in consumer products and switched to safer alternatives." toxicfreefuture.org/blog/epa-sid...

NOAA storm prediction modeling in midst of major update | Coastal Review National precipitation forecasting has for decades been hamstrung by static and inadequate climate models, but new tools are in development to provide more accurate rainfall predictions.

The headline undersells this story. It's worth looking closely at the graphic showing projected increases in rain intensity across the state. We need both better sizing for stormwater infrastructure, and better maintenance of it. coastalreview.org/2026/01/noaa...

Cycling like the Dutch would slash the world’s carbon footprint If everybody cycled like the Dutch, we could offset the UK or Australia’s entire carbon footprint.

“Dutch people cycle an average of 2.6km each per day. If this pattern was replicated worldwide, annual carbon emissions would drop by 686 million tonnes.

This mammoth figure exceeds the entire carbon footprint of most countries, including the UK, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Australia.” @euronews.com

Scientists Say the Forever Chemical TFA Could Cause Irreversible Harm. In Eastern North Carolina, It’s Everywhere. - Inside Climate News The discovery of TFA in blood and water samples raises questions about Chemours’ role in adding to the pollution burden.

New- from the state's best environmental reporter:
Scientists Say the Forever Chemical TFA Could Cause Irreversible Harm. In Eastern North Carolina, It’s Everywhere. #pollution
insideclimatenews.org/news/1012202...

Study shows dangers of ‘forever chemicals’ on babies Mothers in New Hampshire who were downstream of sites contaminated with “forever chemicals” experienced triple the rate of infant deaths, according to a new study.

Still more reason to cut off the release of this class of chemicals to air and water now. If companies want to use PFAS, they need to find other ways of disposing of them. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

Zillow’s climate risk reversal looks like a setback. It’s really a wake‑up call. When private models sow confusion, it’s a flashing warning sign that Washington needs to fix federal flood maps,

Strongly agree with this takeaway: "We need probabilistic, future-conditions, multi-peril mapping data that is public and subject to norms of oversight and transparency."
open.substack.com/pub/susanpcr...

The agonizing long tail of disaster recovery is underexplored. I think a lot about this 2024 study finding that when a hurricane hits somewhere in the U.S., the people there are more likely to die *for the next 15 years*. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

World's Mountains Warming Faster Than Lowlands

From the Rockies to the Himalayas, mountains are warming faster than surrounding lowlands, new research shows.

More intense heat is melting ice, threatening a vital source of fresh water for more than a billion people worldwide.

Guest commentary: When the water doesn’t go away | Coastal Review Drainage systems that rely on gravity fail when the difference in elevation that drives water from land to sea has been shrinking as sea level rises.

This is sea level rise: "I’ve lived in Atlantic for six decades. I’ve never seen the roads hold water like this. The fields don’t dry out anymore. The ditches stay full — they just don’t drain."

Guest commentary: When the water doesn’t go away coastalreview.org/2025/11/gues...

Coastal geologist Stan Riggs sets out on 10-book project | Coastal Review “I've done a lot of work here," the East Carolina University professor told Coastal Review, and the book series to be rolled out over three years is a mission to share what he's learned.

I'm looking forward to reading the books. But this is such a thoughtful article, it is worth reading in its own right. And it's lovely for the hope it expresses in the power of clearly communicated ideas. coastalreview.org/2025/11/coas...

Climate disasters displaced 250 million people in past 10 years, UN report finds Floods, storms and droughts have uprooted people across the globe as rising temperatures intensify conflict and hunger

"Three-quarters of refugees and other displaced people now live in countries facing high or extreme exposure to climate-related hazards, with repeated displacement becoming increasingly common."
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Heat map-style graphic showing monthly air temperature rankings in the Arctic at the 925 hPa level for each month from January 1979 to October 2025. There is a long-term warming trend evident in each month. Blue shading is shown for colder months, and red shading is shown for warmer months. A yellow number is shown for each grid box to display the actual temperature ranking. October 2025 was the 4th warmest October on record.

Not every month will set a new record, but the warming trend is obvious. This graphic shows #Arctic air temperature rank by month over the satellite era - now updated through October 2025... 🧪

+ Ranks: 1=warmest (red), 46/47=coldest (blue)
+ Download higher resolution: zacklabe.com/arctic-tempe...