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Surge Issue 9 Online Reader

Read Surge: The Lowcountry Climate Magazine Issue 9 now at https://issuu.com/charlestoncitypaper/docs/241101surgebookweb?fr=xKAE9_zU1NQ

The Trouble with Extending 526

Surge Radio: 526 with Emma Berry0:00/1057.6979591× Emma Berry, Communities & Transportation Project Manager with the Coastal Conservation League, joined us on Surge Radio to discuss the $2.3 billion 526 extension up for a vote this November as a transportation sales tax. We talk through induced demand

Put a CAP On It!

Dispatches from a Climate Activist by Belvin Olasov Climate Action Plans are not a magic spell that, once passed, will transform the entire governmental apparatus into a climate progress juggernaut. (This is despite my attempts at druidic rituals and positive thinking.) CAPs are, however, a crucial step forward, the foundation

Dominion's New Gas Plans

John Brooker, Energy Policy Director at CVSC, joined us on Surge Radio to talk through Dominion's plans to build a massive new gas facility in Canadys, SC

Charleston County Tree Defense

Surge Radio Emma Berry on Charleston County Tree Defense0:00/1446.1126531× Emma Berry, Communities & Transportation Project Manager, came on Surge Radio to break down the current Charleston County tree oversight issue – the curent protections in place, how County Council wants to remove oversight from the Board of Zoning

CHS 2030: Nurturing Our Urban Creeks

Gadsden Creek is only one of the Charleston water bodies with “urban creek syndrome:” contaminants from surrounding car traffic and development, reduced water intake from inflexible anti-flood infrastructure, and reduced ecological diversity. To put it simply, we don’t take care of our creeks.

Building a Better Future: How Charleston's Zoning Codes Impact Climate Resilience

The water in Charleston is rising, and there’s no way around it. Yet, developers continue to seek out low-lying and vulnerable areas for new construction, and often these developments have real, physical impacts on long-standing Charleston communities.

Artist Profile: Vassiliki Falkehag

Vassiliki’s attention to the natural world is apparent in her work – it is her work. I’m fascinated by her ability to embody a spirit of openness, awareness, and a profound sensitivity to the spaces and the people that she encounters.

Wadmalaw Longing Song

Throwing them into relief is the long side of the shed where, painted fresh over the whitewash, a vine-ripe tomato at the peak of its succulence.

Hymn

Rebundling what has come undone, / marsh stems now locked by shadow’s bond

The Gardener

Pollen-stained air / and sun-glare quicken

Saving the King St. Bike Lane

In this special installment of Surge Radio, we sit down with Katie Zimmerman, Executive Director of Charleston Moves, to discuss the King St. Bike Lane in peril.

Bridge to Nowhere

In an era of climate change, rising inequality and conflicting views on how to build the cities of the future, the specter of the American highway looms above them all.

CHS 2030: Urban Natureweaving

Belvin Olasov talks with Rebecca Fanning, Al Mason, and Kate Blatt Ancaya about urban ecological design concepts that could be the future of Charleston.

Art as Activism: The SC State Parks Artist-in-Residence Program

Georgia Walters got in her truck and left the beach at Edisto State Park. Then she noticed something running across the road, so she slammed on her brakes.

Our Shorebirds Story is Still Being Written

Storytelling is as old as humanity. Chris Crolley tells the story of our birds and reminds us that it is still being written - so it's not too late.

Take Action For Climate: Fixing Unbalanced Systems in the Lowcountry

Inbalanced systems exacerbate the climate crisis. This list of challenges and solutions is a jumping off point to get involved with climate activism in Charleston, SC.

Wash Pot

Poetry by R.R. Setari

SOUTH CAROLINA LOVES YOU

Poetry by Noah Meier

Marsh

Poetry by Gracie Cook

What Union Pier Could Be

Coastal Conservation League's Betsy La Force discusses what Charleston, SC's Union Pier could be.

Coming Soon!

Surge: The Lowcountry Climate Magazine is coming soon!

Surge - Issue 3: A Letter from the Editors

Surge started as a dream a little over a year ago and now we’re on our third issue!

Wraggborough is Flooding

Fiction by Twill Adams

What is hope anyway?

Someone recently asked me what I hope for and I didn’t know how to answer. Of course, I hope for things and I am sure you do as well — but in the past few months I’ve begun to reconsider what it means to have hope as an activist.

Climate Change Impacts in the Lowcountry: Sea Turtles

Sea turtles are integral to the Lowcountry ecosystem. So, what does it really mean to #ProtectWhatYouLove?

I grow weary of the cinema

Poetry by Zoe Abedon

Ancestral Plane: Buried in Plain Sight

Poetry by Tiffany Octavia Harris

The land must be given back to the Gullah Geechee community.

It is imperative for Black folk to benefit from the land that we and our ancestors nurtured, and more importantly, it is imperative for us to own it.

Charleston 2030: A Root Down Lowcountry

Alternative building and infrastructure are part of our eco-futurist vision for Charleston. Root Down Designs is leading the way.

Steady Oak

Poetry by Sofie Williams

Big Blade Press

Big Blade is a group of friend-artists that felt uniquely positioned to pool our resources and create a cooperative art space.

Yoga is activism: making change from the center

Charleston yogi Alexandra Seaman reminds us how yoga is a tool for activism.

Plenty of Climate Denial to Go Around

At the most basic level, climate denial is expressed as a sort of “business as usual” apathy, the inability or unwillingness to change one’s daily patterns of material consumption and disposal.

The Last Sunset

Artwork by Robert Maniscalo

The Pines

Poetry by Madison Hackett

Surge 2: A Letter from the Editors

Co-Editors in Chief Belvin Olasov and Sydney Bollinger introduce Surge - Issue 2 (released August 2022).

We Are All in the Same Boat

Surge - Issue 2 Featured Artwork: We Are All in the Same Boat by Sue Coe.

Climate Activism is Queer: Words from LGBTQ+ Activists in the Lowcountry

Sydney Bollinger spoke with queer climate activists about their experiences.

Bringing Hygge and Sustainability to Charleston: Louise Rakers of Nordic Cooking

Louise Rakers of Nordic Cooking connects hygge with personal sustainability in her business and cooking classes

Grief is Power

Experiencing climate grief is normal. Sydney Bollinger writes about the power that can be found in grief.

Should CofC be the leader on climate?

Can the College of Charleston be a leader on climate? Read about their current intiatives and the obstacles they have toward sustainability.

Bespoke Community Resiliency in the Face of Climate Change

Get Lit, Stay Lit is an intiative developing resilient communities in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Calypso's Five Decade Soak

Poetry by Hailey Williams

Congaree Crush

"She is like possumhaw or sweetgum." Poetry by Hailey Williams

Clothing Shops for Climate Action

Fashion is a form of expression, but can have massive climate consequences. In Charleston, we're making sustainable fashion the norm.

Mind-Body-Spirit: Healing for Activists

How can activists take care of themselves? Writer Phoebe Crouse shares a mind - body - spirit approach to healing for activists.

Fight Ecological Simplification with Native Diversity!

Native plants are a solution to the increasing ecological simplification. Learn more about South Carolina and Charleston native plants.

A Brief History of Climate Change

Writer and artist Belvin Olasov explains the history of the climate crisis through an original comic.

Imagine the Wall: Charleston 2030 Project

CHARLESTON 2030 PROJECT Highlighting aspirational, ecofuturist visions for the Lowcountry by Belvin Olasov The climate crisis will inevitably thrust us into a different world – the question is how much of that world we’ll get to choose. For Charleston, it’s hard to find that question in a sharper form

The Saga of Gadsden Creek

Friends of Gadsden Creek has been working with SC Environmental Law Project to prevent the filling in of Gadsden Creek.

Surge 1: A Letter from the Editors

With Surge: The Lowcountry Climate Magazine, we aim to connect readers with the fight for climate liberation.

Mic Smith Photography

Mic Smith Photography has sponsored Surge since 2023.

Surge by Duke Hagerty

Surge by Duke Hagerty. Surge - Issue 1 featured artwork.

Climate Alliances: Sightsee & Heron Farms

Sightsee Coffee and Heron Farms are two members of the Charleston Climate Coalition's Climate Alliance.

Finding Hope in the Midst of Chaos

Sydney Bollinger discusses Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We're In Without Going Crazy by Joanna Macy.

Faith & Climate with Reverend Rutledge

We can look at the earth itself as a church, or a spirit of divine power. Many eco-theologians and faith-based climate activists see a sacred connection between human and non-human.

Mary Edna Fraser: Light & Shadow

Mary Edna Fraser is a longtime activist, and her work has been woven into the favric of Charleston's environmental movement.

Finding Charles House

Miracle Mozzee's two years in Charleston public housing living with mold, flooded floors, and pests left her desperate for change.

Climate Action Spotlight: Weatherization

Weatherizing your home is a simple action anyone can take to reduce their carbon footprint and prepare for future weather events.

Lowcountry Climate Stories

Hannah Noel-Bouchard spoke with two Charlestonians about their experiences with climate change and the impact it has on their lives.

What is a Climate Action Plan (CAP)?

The Charleston Climate Action Plan is the first step toward curbing greenhouse gas emissions in the South Carolina Lowcountry.

Charleston Climate Coalition: An Introduction

The Charleston Climate Coalition came together in the fall of 2019 as a group of fired-up citizens rallying for the Global Climate Strike.