Flooding in North Charleston, SC | Taken on October 4, 2015 | Photo by Ryan Johnson
Charleston, S.C., has been ranked the number one tourist destination in the nation for several years in a row, but the charms of the Lowcountry are endangered by climate change, according to local business owners who depend on tourism. The city’s many visitors stroll along the harbor, where restaurants, boutiques and curio shops line historic streets, but these days, tourists are increasingly likely to encounter flood waters along with their sightseeing.
At the Palmetto Hammock, a gift shop in the market district, owner Sandy Bridges told Bloomberg Business that when rain falls during high tide, water often flows into her store.
She knows bigger floods are around the corner. The U.S. National Climate Assessment identified Charleston as one of the Eastern cities most at risk for sea-level rise. That’s why Bridges joined nearly 100 local businesses in using tape and decals to show customers where high tide will be after decades of climate change. “Where I’m standing right now, the water would be up to my chest,” she said.
Bridges is just one of many business owners in harm’s way. Tourism is the biggest industry in a state where the official tourism slogan is “Made for Vacation.” Yet flooded streets and eroded coastlines are threatening this economic engine.
Failing to address climate change will intensify the threat, but none of the Republican candidates crisscrossing the Palmetto State this week ahead of the presidential primary has presented a plan for confronting climate change.
Donald Trump says, “I’m not a believer in climate change.” Senator Ted Cruz held a congressional hearing to showcase climate deniers. And though his state of Florida is also imperiled by sea-level rise, Senator Marco Rubio recently joked: “I don’t have a plan to influence the weather.”
While the candidates bury their heads in the sand, inland South Carolinians are also facing major climate threats. Experts say climate change will increase temperatures in the state, and children born today could experience an additional 50 days a year hotter than 95 degrees by the time they reach middle age. Warmer air increases smog and other dangerous pollution linked to asthma, heart attacks, and cancer.
More intense storms and sea-level rise will also pummel the state. Rain is already falling in more potent bursts — what local experts call “rain bombs” — and storm surges are growing.
The historic, devastating floods last October point to what lies ahead. After 20 inches of rain fell on communities south of Columbia, at least 11 dams failed across the state, more than 400,000 people were under a “boil water advisory,” and 16 people died.
Tens of thousands of people saw their homes flooded with several feet of water. Angela Williams from Columbia told CNN, “We have lost everything. What I got on my body is what we have. Pretty much everybody down the hill there has lost everything… our vehicles, our clothes, everything.” More than 50,000 residents applied for disaster assistance for a price tag of $26.7 million. The total for all flood damage was expected to soar over $1 billion.
People across the state are working to ensure such losses don’t become routine. South Carolina recently passed a law that will expand solar power — and save money and reduce carbon pollution in the process. Officials have been developing a robust and inclusive plan to meet national limits on carbon pollution from power plants — even as the attorney general joined a lawsuit against the Clean Power Plan. Meanwhile, every municipality along the coast has passed a resolution opposing offshore drilling for oil and gas, both of which contribute to climate change and threaten the state’s popular beaches.
South Carolina residents support action. Eighty percent of Republican primary voters in the state want to prioritize renewable energy resources. Republican Congressman Mark Sanford said, “Climate change is going to present real challenges for the Lowcountry, and the nation as a whole.” And former Republican Congressman Bob Inglis is urging conservatives to address the climate threat.
None of the Republican contenders for the White House has supported this kind of action. South Carolina deserves leaders who will tackle climate change, strengthen the economy, and preserve vibrant coastal communities.