environment

Wonder, environmentalism, and a deep appreciation of the expressive and technical possibilities of the piano shape the South Carolina composer's three-part series, receiving its full premiere tonight in Columbia.

During the past decade, a growing body of research has shown that air pollution harms older adults’ brains, contributing to cognitive decline and dementia. What hasn’t been clear is whether improving air quality would benefit brain health.Two studies published this year by researchers at six universities and the National Institute on Aging provide the first evidence of such benefits in an older population.

A coalition working to connect a dozen local, state and private parks along South Carolina's Black River has released a plan. Now all they need is $45 million to complete the 70-mile-long project. The Open Space Institute says the Black River Water Trail and Park Network would start in Kingstree in Williamsburg County and wind along the dark, slow-moving river to where it meets the Pee Dee River just north of Georgetown. They say it would promote tourism, history and business, and that keeping the area undeveloped could mitigate catastrophic flooding expected to become more frequent as the Earth warms.

Work will begin this summer to remove tens of thousands of tons of coal tar from a South Carolina river. The Congaree River in Columbia will remain open for kayakers and boaters, but there will be some changes. A boat launch at private land on Senate Street will be closed for three years as Dominion Energy uses the site as its base to clean up the 40,000 tons of coal tar.

The Open Space Institute’s mission is to protect scenic, natural, and historic landscapes to provide public enjoyment, conserve habitat and working lands, and sustain communities. Over the past 40 years, the institute has saved 2,285,092 acres of land through direct acquisition, grants, and loans. Having begun by focusing on land in New York State, they have in recent years saved significant, complex, and large-scale tracts in South Carolina, Florida, and New Jersey through direct acquisitions.In December 2022, the Open Space Institute (OSI) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) announced the purchase of three properties along the Santee River in South Carolina, expanding the largest contiguous block of protected coastal lands in the state. OSI’s Vice-President and Director of the Southeast, Maria Whitehead, joins Walter Edgar to talk about the acquisition and about the Institute’s plans for land protection in the state.

The Open Space Institute’s mission is to protect scenic, natural, and historic landscapes to provide public enjoyment, conserve habitat and working lands, and sustain communities. Over the past 40 years, the institute has saved 2,285,092 acres of land through direct acquisition, grants, and loans. Having begun by focusing on land in New York State, they have in recent years saved significant, complex, and large-scale tracts in South Carolina, Florida, and New Jersey through direct acquisitions.In December 2022, the Open Space Institute (OSI) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) announced the purchase of three properties along the Santee River in South Carolina, expanding the largest contiguous block of protected coastal lands in the state. OSI’s Vice-President and Director of the Southeast, Maria Whitehead, joins Walter Edgar to talk about the acquisition and about the Institute’s plans for land protection in the state.

“H” is for Hampton, Harry (1897-1980). Writer, conservationist.

“H” is for Hampton, Harry (1897-1980). Writer, conservationist.

Anne Springs Close who used her family's textile fortune to give back to the community through education and land preservation has died. She was 95. Close's family says she died Friday from injuries suffered when a tree branch fell on her at her property in Fort Mill, South Carolina, a few days earlier. Close ended up as the sole heir of the Springs textile empire, which stretched across the Southeast decades ago when textiles were one of the region's main industry. She set aside land for the Anne Springs Close Greenway in the 1980s as suburban sprawl approached. Close also gave money and time to numerous education and family projects.

Officials say cleanup efforts will take several days after oil leaking from the remains of an overturned cargo ship off the Georgia coast washed up on a beach popular with tourists. Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Himes said Monday that bands of oil released into the water during demolition of the shipwreck are being cleaned up along 2.5 miles of beaches on St. Simons Island. The first spill happened Saturday as crews manning a giant crane tried to lift a newly severed section of the ship from the water.