The pending construction of Interstate 73 endangers the health of the Little Pee Dee River, threatens the wetlands and wildlife habitat along its course and increases flood risks for surrounding communities, conservationists say. Read moreAt a tipping point: SC's Little Pee Dee qualifies as 5th most endangered river in US
Support The Post and Courier Climate Reporting Fund: As part of our Public Service reporting, environmental and climate projects like Rising Waters, Our Secret Delta and Ghost Bird help address our communities’ concerns of the impact we are placing upon South Carolina. We need your financial support to continue reporting on these critical stories. Please donate today. DONATE NOW
Charleston is pushing through a king tide cycle, which is bringing higher-than-normal tides to the city. Here's the tidal forecast for the next couple of days.
A partial eclipse of the sun will darken the skies over Charleston on April 8. A king tide is predicted to roll in the same day. How are the events connected?
Colorado hurricane researchers predicted an extremely active 2024 Atlantic hurricane season in their first seasonal forecast. Climate factors such as warmer waters and developing La Niña conditions are the primary factors behind the predictions.
Charleston is undertaking the first comprehensive rewrite of its zoning code in nearly sixty years. Here's how, when and where to weigh in on the project.
The South Atlantic Salt Marsh Initiative is based on a simple principle: Salt marshes don't adhere to political borders, so why should conservation projects?
City spokespeople said the decision to cut the Rainproof mini-grant program was rooted in the philosophy that public funds shouldn't be used for private gain. Supporters of the program say this misses the point of the program altogether: Stormwater doesn't care about property lines.
HOAs can be a barrier to sustainable stormwater management practices, but they don't have to be, one neighborhood president says.
In anticipation of bad weather March 22 and 23, the city of Charleston is activating its new Active Flooding Mitigation Plan. Here's what you need to know.
Charleston saw record rainfall on March 9, causing flooding across the city. City leaders hope a new strategy can help them respond quicker during the next storm.
A recent Supreme Court decision that rolled back wetlands protections has left these essential habitats more vulnerable to exploitation. What does this mean for the future of the Lowcountry landscape?
Officials often discuss flooding management features in terms of gray, green and natural infrastructure. Homeowners can use this spectrum when considering options for private property.
We receive questions and concerns from people related to flooding and sea-level rise. This month, you asked us what how to limit exposure to microplastics.
We regularly receive questions related to flooding and sea-level rise. This month, we explain the difference between Charleston's two sewage systems.
When the weather service and city communicates tidal information, they often use the term mean lower low water, or MLLW. But what does this term mean, and why is it useful? Here's what we found out.
This month, readers asked about wetlands, their benefits and what happens when they're filled in. Here's what we found out.
This month, readers asked us about updates on the seawall project, including how it would affect adjacent communities and its timeline. Here's what we found out.
We receive questions and concerns from people in and around Charleston related to flooding and sea-level rise. This month, you asked us about erosion, accretion and the recent severe weather.
This week we answer questions about tree mitigation laws and how amounts paid into tree funds are determined.
Saharan dust plays a big role in whether hurricanes form off Africa — and strike the United States. Climate change is affecting this important hurricane nursery. Read moreWill hurricanes hammer the East Coast? We traveled to the Sahara Desert to find answers.
Saint-Louis, Senegal, is one of the most vulnerable cities in the world to rising seas. With a new sea wall, the city also offers lessons for other cities, like Charleston, considering similar barriers. Read moreLessons of Senegal: What an old city in West Africa teaches about rising waters
Greenland is 3,000 miles north of Charleston, but what's happening in this icy wonderland will largely determine the Lowcountry's fate. Its rapidly melting ice is sending torrents of freshwater into the ocean, gumming up key ocean currents. Read moreGreenland is a wonderland of ice. Its melting glaciers could seal the Lowcountry's fate.
What is the single most important contributor to rising seas in Charleston? A. "Too many buildings?" B. "Too many people at the beach?" or C. "Greenland?" Read moreVIDEO: The Greenland Connection Explained
Charlestonians have lived alongside water for centuries. Yet, 2021 is likely to be the first time in Charleston's history that water plays a dominant role in the city's future growth strategies.
Can anything be done to speed our city toward a better place? Scientists, planners and other experts say yes, but it will take creativity, leadership and a new sense of urgency. Here are some of their ideas.
Prospective homebuyers in Charleston want to know one thing first: "Did the house flood?" That will play into further interest in the property and the price, as homes on the peninsula aren't appreciating as much as others in the region.
The cost of fixing flooding in Charleston has bloomed to some $3 billion in total, city officials say — a price tag for solutions from cleaning out plugged drainage systems to new, deep tunnels and a wall that could deflect hurricane waves from the downtown peninsula.
A new analysis for The Post and Courier’s Rising Waters project shows how the Charleston area’s unprecedented building boom has made us more vulnerable amid the accelerating forces of climate change. The study shows that a fast-growing Charleston has lost 5 percent of its tree canopy, and that faster-growing Mount Pleasant lost 22 percent of its tree cover. Read moreCharleston area lost more than 10,000 acres of tree cover since 1992, making floods worse
Type: Educational
Host(s): TEDxCharleston
When: Wednesday, Apr. 17, 12:30 p.m.
Where: The Charleston Music Hall
Notes: Find more information on the speakers here. Tickets are $65.
The Greenest Day: Arbor & Earth Day CelebrationType: Festival
Host(s): Medical University of South Carolina
When: Wednesday, Apr. 17, 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Where: MUSC Colbert Education Center and Library Portico
Notes: Find more information here.
Learn to Compost Home Food Scraps in Charleston: A Free Workshop WEBINARType: Presentation and Q&A
Host(s): Town of Sullivan’s Island Tree Commission
When: Monday, Apr. 22, 6:00 p.m. -7:15 p.m.
Where: Town Hall, 2056 Middle Street or on Zoom
Understanding Our Native Barrier Island Landscape with Doug Tallamy, Author of “Nature’s Best Hope”Type: Presentation and Q&A
Host(s): Town of Sullivan’s Island Tree Commission
When: Monday, Apr. 22, 6:00 p.m. -7:15 p.m.
Where: Town Hall, 2056 Middle Street or on Zoom
Notes: To register, email Jessi Gress at jgress@sullivansisland.sc.gov.
Common Ground ScreeningType: Film screening
Host(s): Town of Sullivan’s Island Tree Commission
When: Tuesday, Apr. 23, 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Where: MUSC Drug Discovery Building, 70 President Street Charleston, SC
Notes: To register, email Jessi Gress at jgress@sullivansisland.sc.gov.
Lifelong Learning Global Discovery – an evening with Gaelin RosenwaksType: Presentation
Host(s): S.C. Aquarium
When: Wednesday, Apr 24, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Where: South Carolina Aquarium
Discover, Tour, and Grab Your FREE COMPOST at Bees Ferry!Type: Workshop
Host(s): McGill Compost, Charleston County and the City of Charleston
When: Saturday, Apr. 27, 2024, 9:00 am - 9:45 am
Where: Charleston County’s Bees Ferry Composting Facility
Notes: RSVP for your preferred time slot: 9-9:45 am, 10-10:45 am, and 11-11:45 am.
Erin Donomeyer: PFAS and the Black River WatershedType: Presentation
Host(s): Robert Lunz Group South Carolina Chapter Sierra Club, Winyah Rivers Alliance and Laura Moses
When: Thursday, May 2, 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Where: College of Charleston School of Sciences, Mathematics, and Engineering, Southcoast Electrical Contractor, 194 Calhoun St, Charleston, SC.
Notes: Find more information here.
May the Fish Be with Youth Fishing Rodeo at Colonial LakeType: Fish rodeo
Host(s): SCDNR and the City of Charleston
When: Saturday, May 4, 8:30 a.m. - 11 a.m.
Where: Colonial Lake Park, 46-54 Ashley Avenue Charleston, SC 29401
Notes: Reserve your spot here.
Charleston Green DrinksType: Social:
Host(s): Charleston Green Drinks:
When: Thursday, May 9, 6 p.m.:
Where: Palmetto Brewing Company:
If you have a question, tip or story idea, reach out to her at tcox@postandcourier.com or 843-670-8651.
You can reach him with tips or story ideas at jchester@postandcourier.com or 843-901-3170.
Flooding and sea-level rise pose a critical threat to Charleston's business community, the workforce it supports and the viability of low-lying areas as sites for future investment. Read moreRising tides take Charleston to the brim, threatening businesses
Charleston-area floodwaters are a festering soup of disease-carrying microbes, a new Post and Courier analysis shows.
In two hours, more than 3 inches fell by Charleston's medical district. At one point, it fell at a rate of 5.5 inches per hour. More than 3 inches fell on Daniel Island.
Flooding has been a problem around Charleston's downtown hospitals for years. But a key decision point in the early 2000s committed the institutions there to spending 100s of millions more on the flood-prone peninsula.
Thousands of buildings in Charleston County are lower than the federal government says they should be to avoid flooding, giving the area one of the highest inventories of vulnerable homes in the country.
A sunny day flood in Charleston on Monday is a reminder that climate change will make these events more common.
About 40 percent of Charleston's sea level rise has come from the ground sinking. While the ocean will rise faster in the future than land subsides, scientists know little about the motion of the ground under our feet.
In the Charleston region, one of the most flood-prone areas on the East Coast, Black people face great risks from climate change due to racial discrimination that limited generational wealth and displacement caused by gentrification.
Set aside the notion of climate change. The climate has always changed. The real story is about speed. The pace of change. From rain bombs to higher sea levels, the impacts are coming faster. Wednesday's deluge in Charleston was yet another reminder how this affects our community in many ways. Read moreForget about climate change. The real story is climate speed.
Data obtained by The Post and Courier allowed reporters for the first time to pinpoint about one-third of South Carolina's most vulnerable and water-damaged properties, a revealing disclosure for a state that is near the top in flood insurance payouts from the federal government. Read moreFixed for Failure: How flood insurance keeps dangerous homes standing in SC
The proposal, laid out at the end of last month in a lengthy report by the Army Corps of Engineers, would create an 8-mile perimeter around the city's core peninsula, slicing through the marshlands that blossom out from the water's edge or following the paths of streets on higher ground. Read moreCharleston faces an existential choice: Wall off the rising ocean or retreat to high ground
Not so far into the future, the vibrant South Carolina coast today could largely feature skeletal patches of drowning seascape and dying wetlands. Read moreSea rise, floods to dramatically change SC coast
