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Western NC | Conservation & Sustainability | Bleed Blue, Forever Duke
Reposted
The Evergreen Ridge Apartments in East Asheville is one of the rare places in Asheville where a two-bedroom apartment can be rented for under $1,000.

But the cheap rent comes at a cost for some residents, who say leaky pipes and festering mold are harming their health.

www.bpr.org/helene-recov...
‘We’re stuck and we’re scared’: Asheville’s beleaguered renters grapple with mold
There are signs of mold all over the Evergreen Ridge Apartments in East Asheville. In one old utility hallway in building D, the walls are crumbling and black in places, pipes are bent. In the main lo...
www.bpr.org
November 10, 2025 at 9:47 PM
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As the anniversary of Hurricane Helene approaches, N.C. educators may be looking for resources to help students navigate challenging times. Ready, Set, Resilience — a middle school program from the Nicholas School and partners — uses nature-based stories to support them.
Roots of Resilience
Two hurricanes and a global pandemic exposed a need for youth mentorship in coastal North Carolina. What began as a training exercise in personal resilience has grown into an expansive middle school c...
nicholas.duke.edu
September 24, 2025 at 8:09 PM
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From studying deepfake whales as a conservation tool to conducting fieldwork in Malawi, it’s been a busy summer at the Nicholas School. Explore recent faculty and student research + impact highlights in our latest newsletter.
Research + Impact: Deepfake Whales and Conservation
mailchi.mp
September 5, 2025 at 3:37 PM
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The South’s wildest, most untouched places are on the line and you have just two weeks to stand up for them. Tell the Forest Service we need the roadless rule now: https://selc.link/3V0gvOG
September 4, 2025 at 4:52 PM
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More than 20 years ago, N.C. legislators passed a law requiring that landslide hazards be mapped across 19 mountain counties.

But after only four of those counties were mapped, lawmakers gave in to developers who said it could harm property values.

(Published May 2025)
Prescient Warnings About Helene Didn’t Reach People in Harm’s Way. Here Are 5 Lessons for the Next Hurricane.
After four months of reporting, ProPublica found that the warnings about Helene were eerily accurate. Yet, local residents remained largely unaware of the enormity of danger approaching as the storm c...
www.propublica.org
August 28, 2025 at 1:28 AM
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Duke is proud to launch a new joint-degree program: the Master in Business, Climate, and Sustainability (MBCS). Designed by @fuqua.duke.edu and the Nicholas School, this pioneering 10-month interdisciplinary program will equip students with core business skills informed by climate science.
New Joint Master Degree in Business, Climate, and Sustainability | Duke Today
today.duke.edu
August 26, 2025 at 1:29 PM
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In NC, legislators have approved a dangerous bill that prohibits them from considering critical things like avoidable serious illness, health harms, and preserving property values when calculating the impact of potential environmental rules, via @wunc.org: www.wunc.org/environment/...
NC lawmakers green-light bill that could weaken environmental protections, critics warn
This week, state lawmakers made it more difficult to establish regulations that potentially protect the environment and public health with the passage of House Bill 402. Critics say the measure create...
www.wunc.org
August 14, 2025 at 8:37 PM
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New Vengosh Lab study finds unique chemistry in critical lithium deposits.
Researchers Discover Unique Chemistry in Critical Lithium Deposits
Much of the world’s lithium occurs in salty waters with fundamentally different chemistry than other naturally saline waters like the ocean, according to a new study published in Science Advances. The...
nicholas.duke.edu
June 4, 2025 at 12:22 PM
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Deepfake images may be notorious for celebrity spoofing, but in ecology, they could be an important conservation tool. Nicholas School researchers used generative AI to create synthetic whale images. These deepfake whales could be used to train wildlife detection systems.
Deepfake Whales Could Be Key Conservation Tool
AI-generated images of rare species could improve efforts to understand, monitor and protect them.
nicholas.duke.edu
August 13, 2025 at 7:16 PM
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No one voted for dirty air and water.

Communities across the South are feeling the impacts of federal funding freezes, staffing cuts, and rollbacks of our bedrock environmental laws.
July 16, 2025 at 7:15 PM
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Avner Vengosh, Erika Weinthal and Ginger Sigmon are part of a team looking to establish an interdisciplinary platform for research and education of critical minerals. The project was selected as one of three new hubs funded through the provost’s office.
New Hubs Represent “Big Bets” on Interdisciplinarity at Duke | Office of Interdisciplinary Studies
The Office of the Provost has chosen three faculty-led projects to receive Multiyear Interdisciplinary Hubs grants for research, education and engagement.
interdisciplinary.duke.edu
June 6, 2025 at 2:15 PM
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Nicholas School researchers studying trends in global photosynthesis found different stories unfolding on land and sea. The findings, published in Nature Climate Change, could inform ecosystem management strategies and climate change mitigation efforts.

nicholas.duke.edu/news/study...
Study Identifies Global Upswing in Photosynthesis Driven by Land, Offset by Oceans
The findings could inform planetary health assessments, enhance ecosystem management, and guide climate change projections and mitigation strategies.
nicholas.duke.edu
August 4, 2025 at 1:15 PM
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The Gullah Geechee, descendants from enslaved West Africans who were forced to work in the Carolina Lowcountry, are struggling to preserve sacred traditions as wealthy northerners swallow up valuable property around Hilton Head Island. nyti.ms/4mmAwdW
July 29, 2025 at 9:24 PM
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North Carolina!! Sam and band are returning to Earl Scruggs Music Festival this Labor Day Weekend, on Saturday, 8/30. Spend the Holiday weekend with some of our best friends and favorite musicians. Weekend & 1-Day Passes are on sale now! Tkts & info: www.etix.com/ticket/k/26463349
July 29, 2025 at 6:47 PM
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Historian David Cecelski has "devoted a fair bit" of historical research to the people of Betty Town, how their land was taken, and how the community’s people were driven out of their homes to make room for the new town of Aurora, but there is much he doesn't know.
coastalreview.org/2025/07/our-...
Our Coast: Remembering Betty Town | Coastal Review
Historian David Cecelski has "devoted a fair bit" of historical research to the people of Betty Town, how their land was taken, and how the community’s people were driven out of their homes to make ro...
coastalreview.org
July 17, 2025 at 12:46 PM
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A federal court decision Wednesday blocks US Fish and Wildlife Service from using a potentially harmful algaecide at Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, a compound that environmental groups argued would endanger the waterfowl the refuge is supposed to protect.
coastalreview.org/2025/07/judg...
Judge blocks pilot Lake Mattamuskeet algaecide application | Coastal Review
A federal court decision Wednesday blocks the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from using a potentially harmful algaecide at Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, a compound that environmental groups a...
coastalreview.org
July 24, 2025 at 12:59 PM
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North Carolina lawmakers passed a bill that will grind cleaning up water of PFAS to a halt, burying it under red tape. | Opinion
A bill will make it almost impossible for NC to clean up water. Keep it vetoed | Opinion
North Carolina lawmakers passed a bill that will grind cleaning up water of PFAS to a halt, burying it under red tape. | Opinion
bit.ly
July 25, 2025 at 10:40 PM
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Here’s the latest on recovery efforts for the roadway that’s been closed for nearly a year. More openings are expected soon.
Almost a year after Helene, a stretch of NC’s Blue Ridge Parkway reopens
Here’s the latest on recovery efforts for the roadway that’s been closed for nearly a year. More openings are expected soon.
bit.ly
July 22, 2025 at 9:00 PM
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Never mind that it was the worst moment of many people’s lives. Some tourists just love to gawk.
Helene cements North Carolina as a target for ‘disaster tourism’
Never mind that it was the worst moment of many people’s lives. Some tourists just love to gawk.
bit.ly
July 22, 2025 at 8:40 PM
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Thank you, Western North Carolina. Because of you, we face the future... together. 💙
July 22, 2025 at 8:31 PM
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Congress eliminated public media funding. At a time of deep division, public media brings us together.

Help keep it strong. Join our monthly donors today: n.pr/458sOhq
July 19, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Helene spared their home. But without a bridge, living there isn't easy.

www.citizen-times.com/story/news/l...
Helene spared their home. But without a bridge, living there isn't easy.
Helene damaged more than 8,000 private roads and bridges in WNC, at a cost of $460 million, according to an early state estimate.
www.citizen-times.com
July 20, 2025 at 1:20 PM