Scientists like biologist E.O. Wilson are calling for half of the Earth’s surface and seas to be set aside as protected landscape to preserve humanity. With this goal in mind, one might wonder exactly how much is already protected.
To answer this, it’s important to know how much of the Earth has been touched by humans.
conservation
Half Earth: E.O. Wilson Interview
Frank Graff talks with author and biologist E.O. Wilson about his plan to help save the planet.
Greening the Golf Course: Lesson Plan
Learn about native North Carolina plants, then discover how plant scientists and groundskeepers have used plants that are native to North Carolina to create an environmentally-sustainable golf course.
Resting Point: Lesson Plan
Conservationists are working to protect all essential habitats along the piping plover’s flight path, including its resting point in North Carolina.
Resting Point
North Carolina is the resting point for the tiny piping plover, which travels thousands of miles to winter in the Bahamas and nest in Canada. Organizations are coming together to track the birds and preserve their resting point on the NC coast.
Up Close & Coastal
Unveiling baby sharks, swimming with sharks, sea turtle rehab… Enjoy the wonders of the coast as the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island helps us get up close and coastal in this 30-minute special.
Leaping Lemurs
Duke Lemur Center preserves and protects lemurs, unique primates that are the ancient relatives of monkeys, apes and humans. Lemurs evolved in isolation on Madagascar, but are threatened as the island's human population grows. Researchers study behavior, genomics, physiology and conservation biology in order to preserve the existence of lemurs worldwide.
Green Doesn’t Always Mean More Water
The return of Pinehurst #2 to its original design, as discussed in Greening the Golf Course, was not only a way to embrace the history of the course. It was also a bold step into the future. That’s because the water-conserving redesign addresses one of the greatest challenges facing the sport: water.
Water is a precious and scarce resource. In the future, golf courses simply can’t use as much water as they do now.
Greening the Golf Course
The restoration of historic Pinehurst #2 golf course, site of the 2014 U.S. Open, to its original design is a model of golf going green. The course, filled with native plants needing less care, matches the Sandhills environment, using less water and chemicals. The USGA and PGA say it's a model of golf going back to nature.
The Great Egret Rebound
What the researchers, and the students, in my story about the Great Egret, Where In the World is Mrs. Palma?, are discovering about these unique birds is truly amazing. Just imagine a bird flying at more than 60 miles per hour from Beaufort to New York, without stopping! It would be challenging for a person to do that in a car. I can’t imagine a Great Egret accomplishing the feat, even with a tail wind.