Reports and Studies 2014 Review: 1975 Environment of Kiawah Report | Page 10
Summary & Analysis of the 1975 Kiawah Environmental Report
• Mingo Point (from 30 August, 2011):
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ww.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KSCKIAWA3
The Beach, Marshes, and Climate Change
Most people in science agree that we are beginning to see the effects of a profound
change in climate that may bring other consequences. Several recent articles point
to this problem.
On November 26, 2013, an article titled "This is the impact of your climate change"
(by Sammy Fretwell) was published on the front page of The Post and Courier.
Chunks of seashore are vanishing from South Carolina’s Cape Romain
National Wildlife Refuge as rising ocean levels and storms chew up the remote,
unspoiled beaches some animals depend on for survival. It’s a trend threatening
the future of rare sea turtles and birds that frequent the shores of Cape
Romain’s barrier islands — and there’s little indication the erosion will stop
anytime soon, federal officials say.
During the past 25 years, erosion has claimed about 1,200 acres from four
primary barrier islands in the nature preserve north of Charleston, according to
statistics provided last week by the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Those include Bulls Island, the refuge’s signature land formation, which
drew national attention last week as U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell toured
the island’s eroding Boneyard Beach.
But even more erosion is on the way as sea levels are expected to rise up
to 5 feet in the Southeast by the end of this century.
On November 18, 2013 The Post and Courier published another article (by Bo Petersen) titled "Climate change drives plants, animals north."
Plants spread and animals move. They always have. But what’s happening
now is an entire ecosystem is starting to move. Bit by bit, white shrimp are
making up more of the catch than brown shrimp in the Lowcountry, as the
browns move farther north. Fewer purple finches are seen. Saw palmetto, which
grows berries mostly in Florida, is starting to grow berries more abundantly
farther north.
Species after species is moving because the air, land and sea are warming.
And the Lowcountry — the farthest north reach of sub-tropical climate on the
East Coast — could see changes more quickly and more severe than other areas.
“Right there on the cusp of (species) ranges,” said Elizabeth Fly, National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration biologist who studies changing climate
on economically and ecologically important coastal marine species. “We’re
going to see increasing temperatures and shifting species distribution.”
Finally, in August 2013 the premier scientific journal Science published on issue on
"Natural Systems in Changing Climates." One article is particularly important to us
on Kiawah Island: "Can Coastal Marshes Rise Above It All?" (Eli Kintisch; Vol. 341,
pages 480-481).
Although they're not the most glamourous biomes, the United Nations estimates
that wetlands are one of the world's most valuable providers of "ecosystem services," such as storm protection, water filtering, and seafood production. They
also help lock up as much as 450 billion metric tons of carbon globally, absorbing warming compounds that might otherwise leak into the atmosphere.
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