In the coming decades, at least thirteen million coastal U.S. residents will have to pack their bags and move from their homes, rising sea levels and superstorms put lives at risk and cause billions of dollars in damages. In the popular tourist town of Charleston, South Carolina, climate denial, widespread gentrification, over development, and racial issues compound. The city, like so many other coastal regions across the world, has no workable plan to relocate its most vulnerable populations away from the path of harm.
Harvard Law Professor and Author Susan Crawford tells the story of a city that has played a central role in this country's painful racial history since the early 1800s and now, as the waters rise, the city stands at the intersection of climate and race. In her book, 'Charleston: Race, Water, and the Coming Storm' [https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Charleston/Susan-Crawford/9781639363575 ], Susan Crawford puts out a well-researched call for climate adaptation and mitigation, guided by Black community leaders whom she documents with in-depth narratives.
Some say a sea wall is the answer, others find the suggestion to be an expensive undertaking that falls short of impending climate predictions. So what would it mean to uproot an entire town due rising sea levels and flooding neighborhoods?
In this show we discuss the issues Charleston and other similar cities face and how long term planning and respectful engagement and treatment of local communities of color can result in necessary solutions.
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Susan Crawford is the John A. Reilly Clinical Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and author of ‘Charleston: Race, Water, and the Coming Storm’ [https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Charleston/Susan-Crawford/9781639363575 ]. She previously was Obama’s special assistant to the president for science, technology, and innovation policy and co-led the FCC transition team between his and the Bush administrations. Earlier in her career, Crawford was a partner at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. As an academic, she teaches courses about climate adaptation and public leadership. Crawford is the author of several books, including Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age and Fiber: The Coming Tech Revolution and Why America Might Miss It.
Jessica Aldridge, Co-Host and Producer of EcoJustice Radio, is an environmental educator, community organizer, and 15-year waste industry leader. She is a co-founder of SoCal 350, organizer for ReusableLA, and founded Adventures in Waste. She is a former professor of Recycling and Resource Management at Santa Monica College, and an award recipient of the international 2021 Women in Sustainability Leadership and the 2016 inaugural Waste360, 40 Under 40.
More Info/Resources:
Coastal Flood Resilience Project: https://www.cfrp.info/
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Executive Producer: Jack Eidt
Host and Producer: Jessica Aldridge
Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats
Episode 170
Photo credit: Susan Crawford
