Stan Riggs, distinguished research professor and distinguished professor of geology at East Carolina University, returns to the Cypress Group on Feb. 13 to discuss his new book, “The Battle for North Carolina’s Coast: Evolutionary History, Present Crisis, and Vision for the Future.”

Riggs wrote the book in collaboration with three East Carolina University colleagues: Dorothea Ames, Steven Culver and David Mallinson.

The program will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 131 Oakmont Drive, Greenville. The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. The public, including students, are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Riggs has repeatedly emphasized the link between coastal tourism and the protection of coastal resources.

If North Carolinians allowed the barrier islands and the estuaries to respond naturally, “we could continue to have a thriving tourist economy with a healthy, high energy, mobile coastal system by adapting to and living with the coast,” Riggs said in an interview with the UNC Press, publisher of the new book.

The Cypress Group program will provide an opportunity to learn about the natural processes of the North Carolina coast, including how these processes relate to problems facing the coastal regions and what residents can expect in the future.

Riggs emphasizes that “even though this book deals primarily with N.C.’s coastal system, it is a case study in which the basic concepts are directly applicable to coastal systems all over the world.”

The book will be available for purchase for $25 beginning at 7 p.m. on a first-come, first-serve basis. There will be a book signing before and after the presentation as time allows.

For additional information, contact Sylvie Henning, hennings@ecu.edu.