
North Carolina's Bogs Have a Dirty Secret, and That's a Good Thing
In its natural state, the soggy, spongy soil known as peat stores exceptional amounts of planet-warming carbon. Peatlands cover only about 3 percent of land on Earth, but they sock away twice as much carbon as all the world's forests put together. They also offer protection from wildfires, floods and drought, and support rare species.
But decades ago, in peatlands across North Carolina, people dug ditches to drain the waterlogged earth, often to fell old-growth trees or plant new ones for timber.
As peat dries, its virtues turn upside down. The soil itself becomes highly flammable. Even without burning, drained peat starts to emit the carbon it once stored, converting a climate solution into a climate problem.
The land no longer soaks up floodwaters. And in times of drought, there's little water for the ecosystem to fall back on.
Now, nonprofit, state, federal and private sector scientists and engineers have teamed up on what amounts to a series of giant plumbing projects. They are coaxing water to stay on the land to restore moisture to the peat.
Tell Us About Solutions Where You Live
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
HR Exec Who Was Seen Wrapped in CEO's Arms in Viral Coldplay Video Remains in Role as Company Moves Forward
While Astronomer CEO Andy Byron resigned over the weekend after he was seen wrapping his arms around one of his female executives at a concert, she appears to still be with the company as new leadership is vowing to move forward. Kristin Cabot, Astronomer's chief people officer, was caught in the now-infamous clip with Byron in the audience at a Coldplay show in Massachusetts last week. Their unusual reaction — she quickly turned her back to the so-called "kiss cam" and he ducked out of sight — led Martin to joke that 'either they're having an affair or they're just very shy.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Both Byron and Cabot are reportedly married; neither has spoken publicly about the nature of their relationship. As of Wednesday, July 23, Cabot is still listed on the company website in her role as chief people officer, though Byron has been removed. (Efforts to reach her for comment have been unsuccessful.) An Astronomer spokesman previously said that "no other employees were in the video." The entire imbroglio spawned countless memes and mockery and put a national spotlight, for a few days, on the former colleagues. Many online purported to dig up and share personal details about both of their families. The controversy was also the subject of much discussion about the nature of privacy in a digital age and what behavior should and shouldn't subject someone to public scrutiny. In a press release in November announcing Cabot's hiring at Astronomer, Byron was quoted as saying her 'exceptional leadership and deep expertise in talent management, employee engagement, and scaling people strategies will be critical as we continue our rapid trajectory. She is a proven leader.' In a statement after Byron stepped down titled "Moving Forward at Astronomer," his replacement, Pete DeJoy, acknowledged that 'the events of the past few days have received a level of media attention that few companies—let alone startups in our small corner of the data and AI world—ever encounter." All of the attention had been 'unusual and surreal for our team,' DeJoy said, 'and, while I would never have wished for it to happen like this, Astronomer is now a household name." Read the original article on People
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Neuralink targets $1 billion revenue by 2031, Bloomberg News reports
(Reuters) -Elon Musk's brain implant company Neuralink aims to generate at least $1 billion in annual revenue by 2031, driven by plans to perform 20,000 surgeries per year, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing investor documents. The company aims to operate five large clinics within six years and offer three versions of its brain device, including Telepathy for communication between the brain and machines, Blindsight for restoring vision, and Deep for treating tremors and Parkinson's disease, according to the report. Neuralink did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The company expects regulatory approval for its Telepathy device by 2029, with plans to perform 2,000 surgeries annually and generate $100 million in revenue, the report said. By 2030, Neuralink anticipates launching Blindsight, expanding surgeries to 10,000 per year and generating over $500 million in revenue. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Neuralink Sees $1 Billion of Revenue by 2031 in Vast Expansion
(Bloomberg) -- Elon Musk's brain implant company Neuralink Corp. expects to put its chips in 20,000 people a year by 2031, generating at least $1 billion in annual revenue, in a major ramp up of its work to treat disease and gain unprecedented access to the human mind, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg. Trump Awards $1.26 Billion Contract to Build Biggest Immigrant Detention Center in US Why the Federal Reserve's Building Renovation Costs $2.5 Billion The High Costs of Trump's 'Big Beautiful' New Car Loan Deduction Salt Lake City Turns Winter Olympic Bid Into Statewide Bond Boom Milan Corruption Probe Casts Shadow Over Property Boom Within six years the company also plans to have about five large clinics in operation, with at least three versions of its device available, according to a recent presentation shown to investors. One version, Telepathy, is for enabling communication between the brain and machines; another, Blindsight, is aimed at giving vision to blind people; and a third, Deep, would treat tremors and Parkinson's disease. The financial projections, as well as the company's work in patients with tremors and Parkinson's, haven't been previously publicly reported. Representatives for Musk and Neuralink didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The company's stated goals show the enormous scale of Musk's vision for Neuralink and the ambitious timeline on which he seeks to operate. Fewer than 10 people are publicly known to have Neuralink brain devices so far as part of clinical trials, and no patients have them to restore vision or treat Parkinson's. By 2029, the company expects to gain regulatory approval in the US for its Telepathy device, and it hopes to perform 2,000 surgeries a year and generate at least $100 million in annual revenue, according to the documents. Then by 2030, Neuralink sees the launch of its sight-restoring chip Blindsight, expanding to 10,000 surgeries a year and bringing in over $500 million. The figures assume 'a conservative reimbursement of $50k per surgery,' the documents show. Neuralink has raised $1.3 billion from investors and is now valued at $9 billion, according to PitchBook. Brain-computer interface companies like Neuralink have attracted significant attention and investment in recent years for potential medical applications. No devices are approved by US regulators for permanent use in humans, as companies are still working on gathering data on safety and effectiveness. Musk has hit a number of milestones with Neuralink, though he is also known for overstating how quickly he'll be able to reach technological achievements. For example, in 2015, Musk said that Tesla Inc. cars would be able to drive themselves within three years. He moved the timeline back several times and finally launched Robotaxis for testing last month. As part of clinical trials, paralyzed patients have used Neuralink devices to control computers, allowing them to browse the internet, play games, and edit videos. The company has also been testing its vision implant in monkeys. Several other brain implant companies are building and testing devices to stimulate or read data from the brain. No brain-computer interfaces are approved commercially for permanent implantation by the US Food and Drug Administration. Elon Musk's Empire Is Creaking Under the Strain of Elon Musk Burning Man Is Burning Through Cash A Rebel Army Is Building a Rare-Earth Empire on China's Border What the Tough Job Market for New College Grads Says About the Economy How Starbucks' CEO Plans to Tame the Rush-Hour Free-for-All ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data