Wake Forest News

Winston-Salem Journal

Hope, pride and skepticism shape Winston-Salem views as America marks 250 years

The Declaration of Independence played a key role in the country’s transformation over its 250 years, said history professor Ben Coates. “In the beginning, it (the United States) is really this small, relatively weak nation,” Coates said. “And then early on it was able to exert a lot of power in its immediate neighborhood, especially against the indigenous people who lived here, then becoming more of a regional power and in the 20th century becoming a global power.”

June 26, 2026

Mongabay

Study offers first map of Amazon’s climate-resilient upslope corridors

“As the world warms, plants and animals must quickly migrate to cooler places to stay resilient and survive. But today such migrations are often blocked by deforestation, human infrastructure and lack of conserved lands,” writes journalism professor Justin Catanoso, a regular contributor to Mongabay. Ecologist Miles Silman is quoted in this story, noting the naturally changing climate occurred at the end of the last ice age 10,000 years ago. “Some argue that species [then] didn’t really experience climate change, because they could move so easily over time to new habitats and stay in equilibrium,” he said.

June 22, 2026