ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Climate change is top of mind after extreme weather events such as Hurricanes Florence and Michael, and North Carolina's land trusts have a significant role to play.

The latest climate science – from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – underscores the importance of natural areas such as forests and working farmlands in the fight against climate change, especially in protecting those places that have the ability to absorb carbon dioxide emissions.

Elsea Brown, is director of the Blue Ridge Forever Coalition, a collective campaign led by local land trusts and national conservation organizations. The group has worked to protect more than 40,000 acres of land.

"We're kind of in a unique position in that it's our responsibility to steward and protect the natural areas that are going to allow humans to be more prepared for the effects that we are going to see," she states.

Advocates hope climate solutions will include broad involvement across for-profit, nonprofit and civil sectors.

Without major changes, IPCC scientists warn that by the end of the century the average global temperature will be around 5.8 degrees warmer with the climbing carbon footprint.

For land trusts such as the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, climate change data has helped the organization plan with a long-term lens.

"Before we started using climate change data, we were looking at what land is most important to protect today," says Michelle Pugliese, the conservancy’s land protection director.

Now, with the new data, Pugliese says the conservancy is looking at what land is most important to protect long into the future.

Scientists and advocates alike say conservation goes beyond partisan politics. Brown calls it a unifying cause.

"Conservation is really something that can bring people together,” she states. “We all care about having a healthy environment and having clean air and clean water and healthy food for ourselves and for our families. It's really not something that belongs to one party or the other."

This month, an international panel of scientists released its sixth report on climate change with data affirming that natural areas reduce our carbon footprint.


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Electric vehicles are an environmentally friendly way to get from one place to another, but the lack of charging stations often limits drivers to short trips. A new program aims to install up to 40,000 Level 2 charging stations across the country, including Georgia.

More than 4,000 EVs have been sold in Georgia and more than 42,000 are registered in the Peach State, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

Jared Jenson, manager of the Dealer Community Charging Program at General Motors, said his company's plan is to expand charging-station access at its dealerships in underserved areas of the state.

"Georgia has been a wonderful opportunity," he said. "So we have about 10% of our dealers enrolled there so far, and we have an opportunity where chargers will be installed within the coming months in LaGrange, Georgia - so, in Troup County - so we couldn't be more excited about that."

In the meantime, the Biden administration has encouraged states to transition to electric vehicles through funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It's set to invest $7.5 billion to build a national network of EV chargers.

Jenson said the charging stations can be used by any Georgia EV driver, not just GM customers, and he promised the stations will be working when needed.

"Our charge-station operator FLO has currently a 98% uptime," he said. "So, that's one issue that you see out in the wild right now, is that charging stations may or may not be working. But with this program we have, FLO does a fantastic job at making sure that these chargers are up and they're ready to go."

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, electric vehicles are more energy efficient because they convert more than 77% of electrical energy into power at the wheel./evtech.shtml.

As the year comes to a close, the Sierra Club of Connecticut is looking back on some of its accomplishments and challenges.

The group focuses on battling climate change and supporting environmentally friendly policies. Its members have worked in 2022 for phasing out fossil fuel incentives at the state's Energy Efficiency Board, and to establish an electricity rate for lower-income households.

Samantha Dynowski, the club's state director in Connecticut, described some of the challenges the Sierra Club faces in meeting their goals.

"Probably the biggest challenge is that our utilities don't really want to change," Dynowski asserted. "They are investor-owned, they're looking to profit and maintain their profit, and don't have an interest in getting the state off fossil fuels."

While the group reached some goals this year, she said others will be accomplished in 2023. One in particular is helping get a bill passed to prohibit fossil-fuel heating systems in new construction. The Sierra Club would also like to see fare-free transportation be made permanent in Connecticut, rather than a series of temporary extensions.

In the new year, Dynowski wants to work on moving the state to zero-emission electricity generation, and to advocate for more rights for renters, as well as extending the current eviction moratorium.

She sees the federal government's push for climate-friendly policies as aiding their work.

"One thing to keep in mind is, the federal government has made some massive leaps forward and is investing in clean energy in the state," Dynowski pointed out. "So, we have that momentum moving that will help, I think, move us towards some of the solutions that we've been advocating for."

She added federal money being invested in the state could help with climate-friendly goals. For now, she said the Sierra Club of Connecticut is eager to get to work in 2023.

Tribal leaders from the Northwestern U.S. have been in Washington, D.C., this week to discuss how waste from mines in British Columbia is threatening their way of life.

The tribes want federal help, since the British Columbian government plans to double the number of mines in the province, which tribal leaders argued are already affecting water quality and wildlife on the U.S. northern border.

Richard Janssen, department head of natural resources for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, described what he wants the Environmental Protection Agency and Congress to do, so waste will not continue to affect waterways.

"We just want to continue to put the pressure on, especially our congressional delegation," Janssen explained. "To have Canada come to the table, and do a joint reference with the IJC (International Joint Commission), so we can make it more transparent, and get actual scientists to the table that can start making these decisions, with both of the countries agreeing to it."

He added Canada does not seem interested in such an approach, wanting instead to examine other options, but Janssen insists there are no other options. He stated he is not opposed to mining, as long as the issue of mine waste is taken seriously. He pointed out once a mine degrades an area, it becomes a long-term concern.

Erin Farris-Olsen, regional executive director of the Northern Rockies, Prairies and Pacific region for the National Wildlife Federation, said the waste from the mines is selenium, specifically, along with other pollutants known to affect water quality.

Of concern, she noted, are tailings dams containing contaminated soils left over from mining, which can spread contaminants into the surrounding watershed.

"The Copper Mountain Mine, for example, which sits within the Columbia River watershed, they plan to increase production by 70% and raise its tailings dam from 492 feet to over 850 feet," Farris-Olsen pointed out. "So, this would make that operation alone the second or third-tallest tailings dam in the world."

She feels giving members of Congress and the EPA a chance to listen to Indigenous leadership will benefit the area.