IN THIS EDITION
FOCUS: Lowcountry track and field athletes medal in Olympics
COMMENTARY, Brack: Anti-mask mandate will hurt South Carolina’s children
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Charleston Gaillard Center
NEWS BRIEFS: State’s natural areas to get more protection
FEEDBACK: Clear, cogent column on expanding voter access
MYSTERY PHOTO: Classical art
CALENDAR: Party at the Point adds more shows
IN THIS ISSUE
FOCUS: Protect your pets during cold weather
COMMENTARY, Brack: Legislature needs to wake up on environment
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
NEWS BRIEFS: 39th Southeastern Wildlife Expo set for Feb. 11-14
FEEDBACK: Send us your thoughts
MYSTERY PHOTO: Hers, not his
CALENDAR: City to hold two more holiday market weekends; Free parking
By Laura Cantral | Trash. Trash has always been a problem, and now that problem is getting even bigger all over the world. Global and local circumstances now mandate that we get creative on how we reckon with waste, including in our own backyard.
The New York Times recently reported that recycling efforts across the country are collapsing. For cities and towns, costs to run their recycling programs have skyrocketed after a crash in the global market. Communities used to make money selling cardboard, bottles, and glass, but now they get little or nothing for the material. At times, they even have to pay processors to take it away.
Small towns in Florida have canceled entire curbside pick-up programs. Philadelphia now burns about half of its recyclables, while city residents grow more concerned about air quality. Every plastic bottle dropped in a blue bin at the Memphis airport is thrown away. And in Charleston County, a month of recycling now sits under a tarp at the Bees Ferry Landfill.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Conservationist Dana Beach years ago described how to keep development from mauling everything into a mess of sprawl.
Don’t, he said, talk or write about merely “protecting land.” Instead, use words to conceptualize protecting “special places” in South Carolina. The first approach is kind of clinical and vanilla. It outlines what one wants, but doesn’t link to what someone else may really care about. But the second method connects conservation with a reader’s innate definition of keeping safe …
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | The beauty and majesty of South Carolina’s natural assets from the mountains to the sea are a part of what makes the state great. But unless people, including state legislators, take ongoing steps to keep what makes South Carolina special, then we risk losing what we’ve got.
To ensure the state’s natural attractions remain viable, you should get involved at local and state levels to conserve and preserve what’s makes South Carolina great.
Locally, you can pay attention to what’s happening in city and county council proceedings to check development and to make sure local governments abide by smart growth strategies. You can write letters to the editor, attend meetings, run for office when you see a wrong or just speak up when talking with friends and neighbors.
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | With so much that could be done to protect the South Carolina’s special places and put the state on a stronger, more renewable energy footing, you may sometimes wonder whether we just have too many environmental cowards.
Maybe that’s a bit harsh. But look at some recent stories that show that technology exists to transform how we power our economy from the traditional dirty oil and coal to a blend of renewables plus nuclear power with natural gas as a backup for peak usage.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina! (2019) by editor and publisher Andy Brack offers incisive commentaries on the American South, politics, the common good and interesting South Carolina leaders. Available exclusively for Kindle for $7.99. A paperback version will be ready soon. Learn more.
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