The opinions expressed in this piece are solely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carolina Journal or its publisher.
Climate change activists, when not blocking traffic, would like for us to believe that flooding from a black swan catastrophe could happen at any given moment wherever you are. They have been telling us for some
time now that storms are getting more frequent and more intense. Credence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising” was not just a song but a prophetic statement of what is now their ever-present reality. The
climate change hype has reached such a crescendo that I’m surprised we’re not being ordered to wear life preservers like the government told us to wear COVID masks.
We all know about the recent Hurricane Helene disaster in western North Carolina and other widely spaced historical storm events. And I’m not minimizing those situations or the response they demanded. What I am objecting to is the idea best expressed by the Democratic Party operative, Rahm Emmanuel, who is known for famously saying, “Never let a crisis go to waste.” Disasters, and there are plenty of natural disasters to point to, present a political opportunity to impose measures for constraining people further. Expanding the reach and cost of government, all under the guise of our future safety and protection, is what the environmental movement is all about.
Climate change, as a viable scientific theory, has suffered credibility damage over the years from data manipulation, data fabrication, and model falsification. Despite this, government slogs on, falsely believing voters are ignorant of the elements characterizing climate change and that it’s widely viewed as just another science-like boogie man scam. If this is the “best available science,” we should be demanding our money back.
However, the Rahm Emmanuel opportunities are endless for imposing crazy environmental regulations
on the public, and with the billions, maybe trillions, government has already invested, it’s impossible to do a “Bill Gates” and just walk away from the issue and say, “Never mind!”
On March 3, 2026, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) issued notice of a public information session regarding the roll-out of the “Flood Resiliency Blueprint” taking place on March 25.
The stated purpose is to provide “an overview of the state’s science-based and stakeholder-driven flood mitigation planning initiative.” Early indications are this is going to be a big government, technocrat-heavy initiative, where citizen input is going to be minimized and pushed aside for the greater good.
Granted, at the time of this writing, we’re going to have to wait and see what all this “blueprint” is going to entail. However, NCDEQ climate resiliency activities have been going on for several years now in the North Carolina coastal area.
A good representation of this blueprint is the situation with the coastal Town of Beaufort. Beaufort received a grant under the “Resilient Coastal Community Program” (RCCP) administered by the coastal management
program of NCDEQ. The RCCP has been throwing grant money at coastal North Carolina local governments like a drunken sailor on shore leave, and no one seems to be curious enough to ask why.
So, here’s my take: The idea will be to convert existing Federal Emergency Management (FEMA) flood zones, designed to administer federal flood insurance, into Coastal Area Management Act-style areas of environmental
concern. In the Town of Beaufort’s case, according to an article by Todd Wetherington in the Nov. 1-2, 2025, edition of the Carteret News-Times, the plan will impose severe land-use restrictions on town properties located within the designated floodplains.
In eastern Carteret County, designated FEMA floodplains are extensive, covering most of the Beaufort peninsula and virtually all of Down East. Builders there are already well-versed in FEMA requirements for
first-floor elevations and foundation design. So, what’s the point? Hidden in the ordinance are measures for improving water quality, controlling stormwater, reducing shoreline erosion, and protecting wildlife habitat. But wait a minute! Why all this? These issues are already addressed by existing state environmental programs!
This raises a few questions: Does “climate resilience” really mean imposing stricter requirements at the local level than the legislature could realistically pass as state law? After all, it’s much easier to get a majority from a small town or county board of a dozen members or less, than it is from the 170-member General Assembly. Could shifting environmental regulatory duties to local governments be the only way to achieve the kind of authoritarian-style citizen surveillance needed for a higher level of enforcement? Could the extra staff needed to enforce these regulations be more easily funded by raising local property taxes on property owners? And could it be that universities have been churning out environmental studies graduates for years, and now we need to create the openings to employ them?
So as NCDEQ’s statewide blueprint for climate resilience is rolled out, it’s going to be interesting to see how the rest of the state responds to what the North Carolina coastal area has been enduring for over 50 years. As we sink into this environmental regulatory mire, looks like we’re really going to need those life preservers.