S.C. has much to celebrate, and do, for Earth Day

We in South Carolina are blessed with wonderful surroundings, from the beautiful beaches of the Lowcountry to the parks and forests in the Midlands and the mountains of the Upstate. The water bodies in our state — from the gentle streams to the lovely lakes and the majestic rivers — add to the beauty and provide extensive entertainment and sport: canoeing, rafting, fishing and swimming. The forests, state parks and mountains host many long hikes during the day and gatherings around the campfires at night that provide memories of a lifetime.

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You can ‘adopt’ a piece of the Earth from NASA for its Earth Day celebration

Photos: Party for the Planet at the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia

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South Carolina has a wide range of weather and climate as well. Just in the past year, we have seen the entire range of extreme weather conditions: snow, thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes and a drought. All of these add to the beauty of our surroundings, through flooding, droughts, continuous growth of new vegetation and decay of the old, changing of the colors of the foliage in the fall and the bloom of flowers in the spring.

But there are many threats to our environment, none bigger than us, the humans.

South Carolina is an attractive destination for people across our nation and the world, and this results in further development. Although such development is inevitable, it is imperative that we exercise caution. Development of housing, retail and entertainment-golf courses should be carried out with care and in a sustainable fashion so as to protect their surroundings.

There are a couple of very important factors that can help accomplish sustainability.

First, instead of mass clearing forests and other natural growth areas, we must try to accommodate the new construction within the existing environment. This could mean placing a new housing development or a golf course amongst the existing natural environment, creating a certain rustic charm and appeal in addition to being green.

Second, we should ensure proper drainage during and after construction to divert water from the human-made structures and minimize paved areas in order to conserve the surroundings. Failure to do so results in either ponding of water and flooding and/or flash flooding due to the quick runoff from the impervious areas. Placing human structures in forest environments promotes infiltration and hence proper drainage.

Third, structures should be designed so they blend in with their surroundings and do not cause undue environmental damage. This is particularly important at the coastline and at banks of the rivers and lakes, where there is a greater risk of erosion and proper drainage is even more important. Erosion could undermine the foundation of the structure, creating uneven settlement, tilting or even toppling.

We in South Carolina want to preserve all our wonderful surroundings so future generations may enjoy them as much as we do. Simple steps such as these will help make that happen.

Saturday is Earth Day, but in reality every day is Earth Day. After all, we inhabit this earth, we are its guardians, and we must assume responsibility for its well being.

We need to make smart decisions to ensure its viability for generations to come.

This story was originally published April 16, 2017 at 6:03 PM with the headline "S.C. has much to celebrate, and do, for Earth Day."