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): w  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. Revised: May 2014_REV 8 Page 10