Warming to the times

Like it or not, overwhelming evidence says global warming will impact the planet, and without question, the Charlotte region. South Carolina anglers and hunters are already noticing such changes as earlier springs and hotter summers. Even without ocean rise, veteran South Carolina game warden Ben Moise told us the coast and adjoining wetlands are already eroding seriously from the pressure of intense beach use, housing development and the constant pounding of boat wakes.

With predicted climate change, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates the sea level at Charleston is likely to rise about 19 inches in this century, imperiling waterfront lands and magnifying the danger of hurricanes. Independent studies now suggest potentially much larger water-level increases along U.S. coasts. "Just the name, 'the Lowcountry,' should send shivers down our spines," Strachan Donnelly, president of the Center for Humans and Nature told The Post and Courier's David Slade.

A smart region fights back and not just with clearly defined hurricane evacuation plans. Charleston took a lead among South Carolina cities in 2001 with a major effort to reduce its own energy use and carbon emissions. Substantial savings are already reported. But to make much impact, the effort will have to go regionwide; Charleston represents a declining 17 percent of the three counties' population.

And if new coastal levies or protections against rising storm surges need to be built, can any one city or county conceivably do the job?

Global warming is like all of today's key challenges: Responses have to be forged jointly by the three counties. Leave them to piecemeal action, and ultimately they'll fail, with potentially grim consequences.