Driving through Tyrrell County on the eastern coast of North Carolina, the impacts of climate change are clear.
Roads flood regularly, cutting off people in isolated areas from their jobs, schools and basic necessities. Hurricanes and powerful storms are frequent, the most recent being Tropical Storm Claudette in June. The county sits at sea level and is surrounded by water on two sides — the Albemarle Sound to the north and the Alligator River to the east.
Saltwater intrusion is dramatically shaping the environment and its economy. Acres of forests and farms are being replaced by grassland.
“These are the ghost forests,” said Willy Phillips, pointing through the window of his rumbling white truck towards haunting fields of dead pine trees. “Forests that give in as the sea level rises. Gradually, it becomes uninhabitable for them.”