Myrtle Beach Confronts Climate Change Risks as Hurricane Season Approaches

Myrtle Beach Faces Climate Change Challenges Amid Hurricane Season

As I stood there, mowing my lawn in picturesque Myrtle Beach, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was in the eye of a storm—both literally and figuratively. Hurricane Milton had begun to unleash its outer bands and those notorious tornadoes on Florida, while I was knee-deep in grass clippings, enjoying what felt like a trivial task amidst a brewing catastrophe. It struck me how different things felt in our town; it’s late in the season for lawn care and yet here I was, trimming hedges that had inexplicably soared to heights usually reserved for late spring.

Nature’s Canvas Transforming

This unexpected garden maintenance costs me little more than a few dollars in gas and a sweaty T-shirt—small price to pay for a flourishing yard, right? Yet, the reality is that this is hardly just a personal inconvenience. The shifts in our climate—though significant on a global scale—have started manifesting right here, closer to home in Myrtle Beach. The beauty of our coastline, the allure of spots like Broadway at the Beach, the SkyWheel, and Ripley’s Believe it or Not!, heavily relies on one critical factor: the weather.

Stable, mild weather motivates nearly 20 million visitors every year to flock to our sandy shores. But our idyllic beach days could quickly become less appealing if climate patterns continue to warm up. There’s barely a debate now; NASA has made it abundantly clear that with the rise of greenhouse gas levels, Earth’s temperature is climbing too. Even though pinpointing the exact cause of my unseasonably lush lawn is complicated, the evidence is mounting that climate change isn’t just an abstract issue; it’s real and it’s right here with us.

Belief in Climate Change Grows

80% of South Carolinians now acknowledge that climate change exists, exceeding the national average, which hovers around 72%. Yet, the consensus fractures when discussing its causes or the urgency of addressing it. For instance, only 55% of folks in North Carolina tie recent extreme weather to climate change, and even fewer consider it an emergency.

It’s a puzzling disconnect, especially in light of disasters like Hurricane Helene, which laid bare the vulnerabilities of rural areas. The situation seems even more pronounced in Florida, where a staggering 90% of residents agree climate change is real, yet less than half would be willing to fork out an extra $10 a month to reinforce their state’s infrastructures for future hazards.

The Political Dichotomy

In Washington, the climate conversation appears polarized, with Democrats often lambasting Republicans for inaction, particularly in light of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the most significant green investment to date, which only 13 GOP House members supported. It can feel like we’re on a runaway freight train, barreling down the tracks. Instead of coming together to either prevent it from derailing or preparing for its arrival, the narrative remains entrenched in partisan squabbles.

The Hidden Costs of Inaction

The reality is we’ve been paying the price for climate change in subtle yet increasingly clear ways. My frequent trips to mow the lawn, the stifling heat during what should be a mild autumn, and the quirky sight of homes slipping into the ocean on the North Carolina coast all illustrate a looming crisis. Beyond our personal yards, it’s estimated that natural disasters now cost the country nearly $100 billion annually—a figure that’s continuously climbing.

Though we can’t conclusively say whether the chaos unleashed by Milton and Helene stem directly from climate change, it would be foolish to dismiss the connection. Let’s stop allowing partisan politics to keep us from acting decisively. After all, the storm is already here; the question is how prepared we will be to weather it.