Elected and municipal officials along with other community, nonprofit and business leaders from the Charleston region will discuss issues involving shoreline change management at the Charleston Community Leaders’ Forum on Shoreline Change July 13 at the Charleston County Public Services Building, DHEC reported.

Topics will include implications of chronic erosion, gradual sea level rise, increased shoreline development and comprehensive beachfront management planning. A public comment period began 5:30 p.m. yesterday.

Organized by DHEC in 2007, the Shoreline Change Advisory Committee is an advisory committee of a broad cross-section of stakeholders including scientists, coastal managers, municipal officials, developers, conservationists and legal professionals. The committee’s purpose is to organize existing shoreline research, identify research priority needs and consider policy-related issues concerning management of South Carolina’s estuarine and beachfront shorelines. A report of the committee’s findings is planned for late 2009.   Read more...

FEMA will use the results of this sea level rise study to assess the long-term fiscal implications of climate change as it affects the frequency and effects of natural disasters. Information from the study will be shared with other states to inform their climate change mitigation efforts.

“…the study will complement an existing study currently being performed by FEMA which focuses on the effect of climate change on the National Flood Insurance Program.” – Phil May

According to FEMA Regional Administrator Phil May, the information and results from this study may help formulate strategies to deal with potential effects of sea level rise on the nation’s coast.   Read more...

It’s amazing what you can find out there if you just look in the right places. I just read a report on the EPA’s website about sea-level rising and it’s impact on us right here in S.C.

Some highlights:

• * Rising water levels are already an important factor in submerging low-lying lands, eroding beaches, converting wetlands to open water, and exacerbating coastal flooding. All of these effects will be increased if the rate of sea-level rise accelerates in the future.
• * Most coastal wetlands in the mid-Atlantic would be lost if sea level rises one meter in the next century. Even a 50-cm rise would threaten most wetlands along the Eastern Shore of Chesapeake Bay.
  Read more...

The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) created the following video which illustrates the impact rising sea levels have on the Charleston area: