"These beaches are doomed." Those are the sobering words from Duke University geology professor emeritus Orrin Pilkey, who told our media partners at the News & Observer that the days are numbered for North Carolina's beaches. "The buildings are doomed, too," he said. Pilkey, who is also the founder and director emeritus of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at Western Carolina University, has been sounding the alarm about rising sea levels for decades. Pilkey said rising sea levels are an imminent threat to North Carolina's 18 barrier islands and to the Inner Banks, the areas just behind...