Beaches and sea marshes
In 1987 the Report of the South Carolina Blue Ribbon
Committee on Beachfront Management declared that “[t]he
state of South Carolina is blessed with 198 miles of Atlantic
Ocean shoreline which is characterized by beautiful dry
sand beaches and rolling sand dunes. This shoreline is vitally
important to the citizens of this state... The shoreline, with
a healthy beach/dune system in place, also provides the first
line of defense in protecting life and property against the
ravages of storms and shoreline erosion. In addition, the
beach/dune system serves as a habitat and nesting area for
many species of plants and animals.”
The Committee went on, however, to say “[t]he South
Carolina beach/dune system is now in a state of crisis. Over
17 miles of our beaches are critically eroding... The primary
causes of this crisis include a persistent rise in sea level.”
The sense of crisis conveyed in the 1987 report came not
only from a realization of the possible impact of climate
change and attendant sea level rise, but also because major
storms, with extremely high tides, occurred in December
1986 and again on January 1, 1987. The coastline suffered
millions of dollars in damage.
WINTER/SPRING 2015 • VOLUME 33
The 1987 report was a bit ahead of its time. Most recently,
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
and the National Research Council of the U. S. National
Academy of Sciences have published extensive reports that
relate directly to sea level rise and its causes and effects. This
important issue is complex but highly relevant to those of us
living on a barrier island.
Eight U. S. cities are among the top 20 cities in the world
most susceptible to damage from coastal storms. Since the
late 1980s, we have seen a succession of major coastal storms
including Hugo (1989), Andrew (1992), Katrina (2005), and
Sandy (2012), and all caused extensive damage. The amount of
federal aid to damaged areas has risen dramatically, from 23%
of the cost in the case of Hugo to more than 75% for Sandy.
Major coastal storms are now a national issue.
An enormous amount of scientific study has been
done on global climate change. In December 2014 the
National Climatic Data Center of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that “[t]he
combined global land and ocean average surface temperature
for the year-to-date is 1.22 °F above the 20th century average
of 57.2 °F, the warmest such period on record.” Regarding
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