Climate Pillar - The Post and Courier Investigative Fund

CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING

ENVIRONMENTAL COVERAGE THAT EXTENDS FROM LAND TO SEA...
TO THE AIR WE BREATHE.

Conservation and protecting natural resources through deep dive reporting that brings to the forefront areas of environmental concern is a key pillar of our reporting strategy.

South Carolina is facing a climate emergency.It’s as serious as that. As seawaters rise and the ground sinks, flooding is becoming a more common and grave concern. The Post and Courier has heavily invested in the resources necessary to capture and illustrate the crippling effects of sea rise and flooding on the lives of people throughout the state.

In September 2021, the newspaper sent an investigative reporter and photojournalist to Greenland to study the effects of melting glaciers on coastal flooding. They found that rapidly melting ice caps 3,000 miles away are sending torrents of freshwater into the ocean, gumming up key ocean currents and ultimately flooding South Carolina’s coastal lands and potentially sealing our fate.

Our environmental coverage extends from land to sea and includes stories on the air we breathe, South Carolina’s secret delta in danger of development, vanishing green spaces, shrinking tree canopies, rising rivers and protection of the elusive black rail.

CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Exposed the story of coastal flooding in real time and the impact it has had on the Lowcountry from researching harmful bacteria to sharing the communities most at risk.

Shed light on how climate change might make the black rail disappear forever; in response, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it would list the bird as a “threatened” species.

Detailed the history and increasing vulnerability of South Carolina’s storied Santee Delta watershed amid sea rise and threats from man.

Sent a reporter and photo journalist to Greenland. They connected melting glaciers there with the Lowcountry’s flooding dilemma through a scientific approach and breathtaking photos.

Analyzed how the building boom and subsequent loss of tree cover has created vulnerabilities within our communities, especially amid climate change concerns.