People of the South Carolina Lowcountry are feeling less like a dolphin gliding through open water and more like sardines packed in a can. A reader sent this summary: “The business interests of profits over ‘natural landscape’ will continue to deplete the beauty of Hilton Head Island by wanting more customers. The growing customer base will reach a break-even point and the attraction of the island will be lost forever, if not already.
” Concern about stacks of people, houses, cars and boats clogging an area known for its subtle beauty roared to the front again in May as a great victory for the local environment was celebrated. The Town of Hilton Head Island recognized the Hilton Head Fishing Cooperative’s role in fending off a BASF petrochemical plant from the banks of the Colleton River in 1970. That was a clear victory for the waterways.
But it placed “we the people” as the heavy industry. And even those who won the BASF fight were soon chiding the people for not doing enough to protect the Port Royal Sound estuary. When I wrote about that on June 2 , another reader responded: “What is the call to action? I was hoping the piece would conclude with a clear invitation to join a cause to increase thoughtfulness.
Please pass on any contacts whom we could join in this effort.” The call to action has several phases: Get out into nature, then find answers to all the new questions about “what is this” and “why is that,” and soon you’ll care much more abou.