Downtown Charleston Flooding

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The intersection of Wentworth St and Barre St during a king tide event.

Downtown Charleston, South Carolina, which sits nearly at sea-level, deals with periodic flooding events whether its caused by the king tides, a heavy summer thunderstorm, or storm surge from a hurricane at least several times a year. Currently, the city usually sees around 11 days of “sunny-day flooding” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA for short. Sunny day flooding are days of urban flooding caused only by astronomical forces that influence greater tides. When high tides are higher than usual, this excess water is pushed up the drainage system and onto vulnerable city streets like the intersection of Wentworth and Barre Streets, Fishburne and Hagood Streets, or Morrison Dr as examples as these streets are usually the first to flood during a sunny-day event. Sunny-day floods are problematic as major vehicular arterials can be closed for hours at a time and property can be damaged. Add a heavy summer thunderstorm to the equation and you might as well shut down the whole city for the rest of the day.

The Union of Concerned Scientists anticipates Charleston, SC may see an average of 180 days of sunny day flooding by the year 2045.

However, as sea levels continue to rise, the number of sunny-day flood events have as well in recent years. Trends already show that Charleston is feeling much of the impact coming from sea-level rise. In the 1970s, the City of Charleston only saw an average of 2 tidal flooding events each year compared to the 11 days we see each year now. As sea levels continue to rise, the number of sunny flooding days will rise as well. The Union of Concerned Scientists predicts Charleston will see 180 days, or roughly 1 in 2 days out of the year, of sunny day flooding by the year 2045. While this is just one prediction and others may show different results, all models show the number of days increasing and this should have residents worried.

Mean water level data conducted in the Charleston Harbor showing a linear increase of water level has occurred over the last 100 years.

Luckily for residents, the City of Charleston has accepted that flooding will continue to be a problem if something is not done and has a list of projects that need to be completed to combat the issue in the short term. One of these projects includes Division III of the Market Street Drainage Improvement Project, which starts this year and will take two and a half years to complete. The project will completely replace the current storm water collection system and link to three drop shafts to pump water out of the city. The project will also improve the surface streets to better allow water collection and add more aesthetic to the popular tourist attraction. The Market quickly floods during sunny-day flooding events and thunderstorms, so while it is unfortunate that taxpayers will be paying the brunt for this project, it will ultimately improve the quality of life in this area when it rains.

Photo of The Market during Hurricane Matthew. -ABC News

Unfortunately, many of these projects are expensive and will likely still take years or even decades just to be approved for construction. Also, flooding is a great challenge for most cities located near sea-level, and we will never be able to completely prevent flooding from ever occurring. While the city needs to improve infrastructure to keep up with the rising sea levels, I think it is also unsustainable if we are not building up as well. Eventually, if sea-level rise does continue, we will need to prevent water from coming into the city by other means. For example, what concerns me is that it will only take one direct hit of a powerful hurricane to wipe out everything that we are currently working so hard to keep up. It would take money that we probably do not have to prevent another major flooding event from eventually occurring again even with the infrastructure improvements we are currently making. I honestly cannot think of an effective and permanent solution, but I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens.

Events

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Tonight I went to a workshop called “Financial Literacy Workshop”. John Hutchson led the discussion. He is a current business student at the College of Charleston. He first introduced himself to the group, and explained how he had served the military for 20 years. He was a nuclear operator in the Navy. He is now 40+ years old, and working to get his college education. He brought up topics that every college student tries to avoid- budgets, insurance, taxes, and everything else that has to do with “adulting”. I found out about this from a flyer that the Office of Sustainability put out. It was a contribution to Sustainability week, and caught my eye because I am always wanting advice when it comes to finances and saving. Knowing how to sustain a good life requires being responsible and knowing where and how to put your money. In less than a year I will be expected to understand 401Ks and other things that come with building and choosing the right career. I am clueless when it comes to things like that.

I have only worked part time jobs and have always just blown through paperwork- not looking at the benefits, W4s, or the fine print. I always have just put down what I was told, and worked. Tonight, I learned about what really goes into a W4 and how to properly find out your individual needs. He mentioned the “IRS W4 Calculator” that can help anyone if they’re not entirely sure. While on the subject of budgeting, he broke down a paycheck. He gave us an example paycheck, and explained how much youll actually get out of it, and why things are taken out. It seems silly at first, but a lot of people don’t quite understand. Being that when we graduate and start job hunting, it will be crucial to understand why things are set aside for you in the paycheck. He also gave us some tip on what to do in your first 4 years of your first full time job: ask about employer paid health insurance, signing loans, and don’t get a pet. Well, I am already breaking one of those rules, but my Golden Retriever is worth it. This event was highly related to our class because money is a huge contributor to how our environment is being impacted. What stood out to me most before deciding to go to the workshop, was that that it was a part of Sustainability Week. Knowing the power of money, and understanding how to spend it wisely is very important for one self, as well as the environment. He brought up the idea of buying a new car when you graduate and get a job. He said that you should just wait and use your old car until it cant run anymore. A lot of people rush to do this, and dump their old car, because they will be able to afford it and it looks nicer. This reminded me of perceived obsolescence. It is so important for many reasons to be careful with your money and decrease your consumption. It saves your future and the earth

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Day at Botany Bay

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This past weekend, I took a day trip to Botany Bay on Edisto Island, South Carolina, with the College of Charleston Outdoors Club. Although the trip was only a day trip, it served as yet another reminder to me of the importance of getting outside, in areas that are relatively untouched by humans.

Botany Bay is a wildlife preserve, so there are no permanent residents, no industrialization, and no noise pollution, something hard to come by here in downtown Charleston. Although Botany Bay was just over an hour away, the difference in the geology of the land, and the feeling of the land, was quite remarkable. Beautiful shells and marine life such as jellyfish were washing up onto shore. We found multiple sand dollars and obscure rocks. The fact that the land is uninhabited was profound because the thought of land being as it was hundreds of years ago is a powerful thought.

Leaving downtown Charleston often reminds me how it is truly necessary to get out of the hustle and bustle of a city. Throughout this year, I sometimes have felt a heavy anxiety coming from a source I was unsure of. The busy life of a college student, especially in a city, surrounded by industrialization, thousands of people, and the stress of school can sometimes be overwhelming. Our bodies are not evolved to sit inside and look at a computer all day, after all. This is why it has been so essential for me to leave the peninsula and go to a more natural setting every now and then. When I have put myself in this position this year, I have truly taken note of silence. I grew up in the woods of New York, and there were not many city noises.

Coming to Charleston is exciting because there is so much activity going on. However, I often need to be reminded that silence is curing. Sitting on the beach at Botany Bay was extremely beneficial for my mental health because it allowed me to be centered in a place of beauty. The fact that I was in such a beautiful atmosphere opened my mind up and let me reflect on the things that have been going on in my life recently. It is hard for one’s brain to keep up with all of the busy activity one does everyday, but putting oneself in a place of silence and natural beauty helps thoughts process and flow better.

There is great value, in addition, to sharing this type of experience with others. Although it’s vital that the group spends some time in silence, sharing this experience with other people often times amplifies the experience. Those who share the experience together can converse about the things they see, and the enthusiasm and excitement of being in a natural, beautiful place can easily rub off from one person to another. I have been on many trips with the Outdoors Club this year, and it has served as an inspiring community of people who also want to go back to their roots and experience nature the way our evolution would have liked us to!

An Influence to a Healthier Lifestyle

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Last Tuesday in class we had an influential guest speaker, Justin McGonigal who came in to talk to us about the importance of nutrition and whole food plant based diets ( not only based on health science but his life experience). If you attended that class you are aware that his story provided great proof of how we are ruining our bodies by all the animal products and fast food we eat. He gave us background on his poor eating habits and how they affected his health and mental health too. However, as college students we all know it is very hard to eat off of this whole food diet. One reason being that, some of us may live in dorms and have a crappy meal plan. Two, we are broke and eat what we can find. And three, we just are not to the point where our health worries us because we are young and enjoy a good Taco Bell burrito. However, being a Public Health major I want to eventually work my way into nursing. That being said, I would need to know about the best diets and in what ways they affect our bodies. So Justin telling us about how his heart was so unhealthy at such a young age really made me pay attention because the health of people is my focus. This was probably the only lecture with a guest speaker I’ve actually cared for in any of my classes. I always want an excuse not to care about the food I put in my body. But with the way he laid the facts out for us, it really got me thinking about how I and all the people in my life are unhealthy. We need to cut out the garbage and try to make adjustment to our diet, even if it’s just a little. I have a friend at work that eats lots of chicken every day and I always give him a side eye as he’s scarfing down a whole chicken breast for the third time that day. I already knew that wasn’t healthy, but after this lecture the next time I saw him I hit him with a few new facts I had learned from Justin’s story and the response I got was, “so what you’re saying is  I’m going to have a heart attack and I’m 24.” Obviously, that’s not necessarily the point I was trying to get across, but it just goes to show how this specific story got me thinking about the diets in my life. As well as mine, ever since my first blog about trying to be vegetarian I have definitely cut back on meat. It’s almost not in my meals these days, which is a huge step for me. So I think after learning a little more from this lecture I can apply this to my already changing diet and keep adjust it in order to be the healthiest version of myself, starting with the food I eat.

“Forest Bathing” and it’s Health Benefits: News and Freestyle Post

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In the NPR article “Suffering From Nature Deficit Disorder? Try Forest Bathing”, author Marcelo Gleiser reports on the findings Dr. Qing Li has found about the health benefits of the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, which can be described as “forest bathing”. Gleiser explains that in today’s society, approximately 54% of the world population lives in an urban area. While living in an urban area brings employment opportunities, social connections, and cultural experience, it also limits the ability of urban residents to experience nature and make environmental connections. There are widely felt effects of air, noise, and light pollution in urban areas. Gleiser reports a statistic that was found by an EPA study. According to the EPA, “Americans spend approximately 90% of their time indoors, where the concentration of air pollutants can be 2 times to 5 times higher than outdoors”.

Dr. Qing Li has found the answer to this issue that more than half of the world’s population is experiencing. In his new book, “Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness”, Dr. Li provides his findings (backed by research data) that spending time in nature, such as in forests, parks, and other green areas, can reduce common health problems such as stress, anxiety, depression, and anger. His scientific findings conclude that spending time with trees and in green spaces result in reduced levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. Other health benefits that come from spending time in these natural settings include increased energy levels (by more than 30%), sleep improvement (by 15%), immune system improvement, better cardiovascular health, and improved parasympathetic system response. Additionally, practicing shinrin-yoku results in a general better sense of well-being. Dr. Li says that those who live in large cities should not panic though, if their location doesn’t provide access to large forests. He says that even going for regular walks in a park, having house plants, and practicing aromatherapy using tree oils can show the same health benefits. The practice of shinrin-yoku can be done by anyone, no matter their location, and can result in important health benefits for those who make time to connect with trees and nature.

I thought this article was very interesting because it relates to my personal connection with nature. For the past nine summers I have spent my summers on an island in the middle of Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. Being surrounded by trees on the island is very calming, and improves my well-being during the summer. I feel very connected to nature during the summer, and I try to incorporate this feeling into my life in Charleston as a student in an urban area. I have flowers in my apartment and I go for regular walks and runs down to the Battery and around Colonial Lake. Being near the water and surrounded by trees and plants provides a sense of shinrin-yoku during the stressful school year. I think that other students should try to incorporate shinrin-yoku into their lives, because even the smallest connections with trees and nature have great health improvements. It is a simple thing to do to have a house plant or go for a walk, and doing so can relieve some of the stress and anxiety that we feel as students. I believe that if more students focused as much on self-care as they do on school work, we would all feel less stress, and have a greater sense of well-being in the busy lives that we lead.

Link to article: https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2018/04/04/599135342/suffering-from-nature-deficit-disorder-try-forest-bathing

Human Culture and Nature

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On my weekends here in South Carolina’s low country, I can commonly be found either exploring a new beach or woodlands. It’s my escape from the gradually increasing fast-paced life of downtown; and, as a biology major, a favorite pass time. On my outings, I’ve seen a vast amount of South Carolina’s wild residents from deer to alligators. While these encounters are typical for me, they definitely aren’t for everyone. When I told one of my friends from D.C. that my ecology lab involved us wading in wild swamps, she seemed quite horrified. I didn’t think much of it until I had to read an article on American culture and nature for a sociology class. The article is titled Natures Looking Glass and it delved in to how a pair of red-tailed hawks fascinated city-goers in Manhattan. The hawks chose the ledge of an NYU building to start building a nest to raise a family. The students took notice and set up a camera to capture what everyone felt was “pure nature”. They were all entranced by the hawks’ daily life and a professor took notice of the students’ view of nature. They looked at it as “unspoiled” and “unaffected by humans”. Their bubble was soon popped when the hawk couple began to add human products to their nesting materials. People criticized the choice of material as “unnatural” and disrupted peoples images of the hawks being “natural”. Sociologists went on to describe how people living in more urban setting tend to view nature as separate from humans. They termed this as “asocial nature”. Sitting back for a moment, I realized how odd this sounded to me. Growing up in rural South Carolina, nature was everywhere.  It was totally normal to see white tail deer a few times a week or to see otters around the lake streams. I personally had never thought of nature as separate from humans. After college, I plan on being an ecologist and after reading how some people have an asocial nature viewpoint; I think its even more imperative to educate people on nature. While I don’t think people should go up to bobcats or alligators wanting to “connect with nature” I do think that people should understand that we as humans are also animals and that we should not subtract ourselves from that category given that we share a lot of common needs with the rest of the animal kingdom. Conservation biology would probably go a lot smoother if people accepted themselves as part of nature and thus have even better reason to protect it. I encourage everyone to get to know your local ecosystems.

 

Source:Angelo, Hillary, and Colin Jerlomack. “Nature’s Looking Glass.” Vol. 11, ser. 1, 23 July 2012, pp. 24–29. 1, doi:10.1177/1536504212436492.

 

 

Marlboro Advertisement

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This is an advertisement for Marlboro cigarettes made by the company. It’s target audience is most likely older men who work outdoors regularly as it is labeled “Marlboro Country” and has two cowboys on it. Personally, my Grandpa watches old western movies 24/7, and this ad would definitely appeal to him. This ad appeals to people who live a country lifestyle; working outside doing hard manual labor, working on farms, etc. I think it is extremely ironic that they are displaying a cigarette ad in the countryside as if it’s natural. It gives you the indication that people who consider themselves “country” smoke marlboro cigarettes, which isn’t always the case. It is extremely common for people who smoke cigarettes to discard their buds anywhere, as there is not always a designated spot for them to leave the buds. More than likely, if those men were smoking, they would end up polluting that land by tossing their cigarette buds out. So it’s interesting that they would use land that typically is untouched by mankind as an advertisement for cigarettes. Many people looking at this advertisement could have different opinions on it. They could think it’s cool because it’s got an old-time feel to it, or they could think it’s ironic like I have. The goal of this advertisement is for people to have more positive associations with cigarettes. The placement of the ad in the countryside could give a person the perception that they aren’t super harmful to your health (even though there is a small disclaimer in the left hand corner).

ABZÛ: A Story of Environmentalism Told Without Narration

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Our relationship with the ocean with modern day media is more or less antagonistic. From movies like Jaws to the way many sea creatures are represented in documentaries or science blogs shoehorn the idea that “the ocean is scary” and continue to feed public fear of the deep, blue unknown. The media has more power over public perception than we think. I feel that it’s the responsibility of artists and the media to, rather than brew fear and misunderstanding, make works that have lasting and positive impact when it comes to issues concerning our environment. ABZÛ, a title from Giant Squid Studios, is an indie game that tells a story of environmentalism through a lens unique to video games: the language of interaction.

I will start by saying that ABZÛ is one of the most beautiful games I’ve ever played. It’s full of vivid colors that make the world feel bright and open. As you swim around, you’re able to explore deeper depths, learn about the diversity of species and interact with everything around you. This is already a vastly different representation we see of the ocean. Rather than the usual portrayal of the ocean’s vast emptiness, this world feels full and gorgeous and fills the player with a sense of wonder rather than dread.

But the greatest thing about this game is in its message. Without spoiling anything, ABZÛ biggest message is about the subjugation of nature, and how human activity has played a major role in its deterioration. The imagery used throughout the game is symbolic and moving. As you dive deeper, you see a less dazzling aspect of this underwater world, with wildlife becoming less friendly along with mines and other man-made hazards littering the area. The diversity begins to slowly diminish as well, showing how human activity has deeply affected the ecosystem. Its message isn’t all doom and gloom wrapped is a beautiful package. It’s as much of a story about human responsibility to the environment as it is one of redemption, a path to mending society’s mistakes and building a healthier relationship with the environment. Technology is portrayed as having both the power to harm and to heal, and the player slowly builds a more amicable relationship with the wildlife they’re surrounded by.

What stands out the most to me is the use of the Great White Shark as its mascot. An animal typically depicted as a vicious antagonist is treated with reverence and respect. As I touched on in my first blog post, a shark is an apex predator. Their function goes beyond just eating things. They regulate population sizes and prevent potential trophic cascades. This makes them incredibly important to the health of an ecosystem. Rather than depicting them as bloodthirsty murder machines, they are acknowledged for their usefulness to nature. Instead of looked upon with fear, they are a companion.

I think a story like this is more beautifully told through the medium it’s in. Unlike other art forms like film, that can only show and tell its message, video games actively make the player complicit in this system of subjugation. It’s a beautiful, immersive, and moving experience that’s told uniquely through the interactivity that video games allow us. By letting players explore the expansive underwater world, it teaches about the importance of biodiversity, the negative impacts of human development, and how we can heal rather than destroy simply through understanding, empathizing with living things we would typically run in fear from. In the face of real-world environmental catastrophe, the message of ABZÛ is an important one. It’s a marvelous and profound example of art being used to spread a positive and important message, as well as challenge our views of the natural world.

ABZÛ is available for purchase on PS4, XBOX, and Steam.

http://www.abzugame.com/

Benefits of Cutting Red Meat

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I made a very hard decision last semester, and that decision was to take red meat out of my diet. Doing so has made me feel a lot healthier because when I stopped eating red meat, I lost a couple of pounds in a couple of weeks. Cutting out red meat mean I was choosing leaner forms of protein, so I am now consuming less saturated fats than I was before. After watching a video of cows being penned in these small areas, walking around in their own feces, I would not stand to eat their flesh any longer and watching Food Inc was a good reminder of why I continue to not eat red meat.

There are many reasons to stop eating red meat, and a lot of those benefits are anthropocentric. The benefits affect humans in a positive way physically. Readers Digest has a whole article about the benefits to the body that comes from not eating red meat, and a couple that stood out was the lowered “bad” cholesterol levels, the decreased risk of heart disease, and the associated weight loss.

Many Americans suffer from high cholesterol, and according to the CDC, 95 million U.S. adults age 20 or older have total cholesterol levels greater than 200 mg/dL. Having a high saturated fat diet is attributed to high cholesterol levels, and if reducing intake of red meat can lower LDL levels, it seems to be worth the sacrifice. Heart disease is one of the largest issues in the United States and kills over 600,000 people per year, and one of the reasons people suffer from heart disease is because of high cholesterol levels. There is an obvious connection between lowered cholesterol and lowered risk of heart disease. According to a research article by Renata Micha, “On average, processed meats contain about 400 % more sodium and 50 % more nitrates per gram. Dietary sodium increases blood pressure (BP), and may also increase peripheral vascular resistance and impair arterial compliance”. The article explains how red meat can cause cardiovascular problems, and it is a commonly known fact that salt is not heart healthy. Burgers, Hot Dogs, and a lot of other processed meats are very salty and terrible for the body.

Why else should you quit eating red meat?

            Removing red meat from your diet is a great stepping stone towards becoming a vegetarian. I want to eventually be a lacto-vegetarian because it is not necessary to eat meat in order to get the necessary nutrients. Quitting meat cold turkey is very hard, so setting parameters and slowly increasing them is a slow way to introduce the idea that there are other foods that are filling and full of protein. Cows and other animals are not meant to live in cramped pens eating corn all day, shuffling around in feces and getting filled with hormones to make them grow. I drove past a cattle farm in Texas, and the smell was so terrible and spread for miles past the “farm”. There was no grass where the cows were, having been trampled on too many times to grow there, and the cows were loudly mooing, and the cows were shuffling around looking agitated. No living creature should live like our meat cattle do.

 

Works Cited

https://www.cdc.gov/cholesterol/facts.htm

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/type-fat-red-meat-1886.html

https://www.rd.com/health/diet-weight-loss/stop-eating-red-meat/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3483430/

No Red Meat

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At the beginning of this year I told myself that I would stop eating red meat in hopes of being vegetarian once I reach summer. Although I didn’t start immediately I have been more committed to not eating red meat over the past two months. The biggest challenges that I’ve faced so far is realizing how much red meat I actually ate. I didn’t realize it was in almost all of my daily meals. Another thing I’ve realized is how many things at restaurants serve red meat and it has completely changed how I order food in restaurants. I find myself having to opt for the salad or soup instead of a steak meal. At first it was hard to see all of my families and friends eating meat in front of me and me not being able to have any. I loved eating hamburgers, tacos and things like that but having switched to no meat I can’t have any of these. But, I don’t feel like I am missing out on anything anymore because I think after realizing the amount of suffering that these animals go through my conscious doesn’t let me. Although I am still eating chicken and fish occasionally I figured that weening off of meat little by little was the best option because stopping cold turkey (get it?) would be too much all at once. I think that it is really a personal choice that someone has to make and it is hard to stick to but I feel like its the right choice and I’m glad I did it. I’ve also noticed that this has sort of forced me to eat more vegetables and fruits is always a plus since their healthy. Also, I find myself more energetic and I feel healthier. I have more energy throughout the day and not longer need to nap in the middle of the day! This extra time is great because I get so much more stuff done. I didn’t know that this small change in my diet would affect so many other aspects in my life. Recently my friends have noticed this change and have asked me about it, I tell them I’ve been eating healthier and have stopped eating red meat. One of my friends has actually decided to do this as well which is great and I was glad I could influence her into doing so. For anyone that has been considering it and is on the edge of it I would strongly suggest to just try it for a month or so just to see if its for you. Im actually finding myself trying new meals that involve more vegetables and fruits. Its always fun trying new foods and being creative with meals. I am going to stop eating chicken by the end of next month and that will be a whole other challenge but I’m excited to see what happens. My end goal is to be vegan by the end of the year. I know there are some people in class that are vegan so if you guys have any comments or suggestions I would love to hear them !