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Center For A Sustainable Coast
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Climate Change: A Call to Action by the Center for a Sustainable Coast.
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The Center is the ONLY non-profit organization
devoted exclusively to protecting the interests of Georgia's coast.
> "Our work improves your life!"
> Center seeks to enhance Georgia's barrier island protection.
  • We depend on people like you to support our efforts...
  • Current Newsletter
  • Informal Statement Made by the Executive Director
    Regarding Sustainability and Speaking Truth to Power
    • The Center is working to...

    1. Advance policies that promote innovative, sustainable ways to use resources in supporting the needs of coastal communities and future generations.
    2. Encourage use of the "precautionary principle" to avoid significant risks to public resources when information is inadequate to make reliable decisions.
    3. Ensure consistent, accountable, and fair enforcement of all environmental regulations.
    4. Insist on thorough and accurate assessment of current conditions and trends, as these reflect the public interest in the region's future.
    Collaborative Partner Links: Save Georgia's Coast
    Recent News, Updates, Alerts and Events
    • Union of Concerned Scientists, a page on climate change 4.24.13
    • Letter to the Editor of The Brunswick News By David Kyler. Editor: I am troubled that the Jekyll Island Authority is proposing to include any portion of the tidal marsh as part of the calculated area of upland on Jekyll Island... more. 4.17.13
    • Press Release: Sea level projections likely too low, to be worse than predicted According to the Center's executive director, David Kyler, sea level will rise significantly more than previously predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)....more. 4.15.13
    • Steps should be taken for agreement. For years, the Center for a Sustainable Coast has been wrestling with EPD over marsh-buffer protection - in court and on the ground....more.The Brunswick News Letter to the Editor 3.20.13
    • An honest look at sustainability . The term "sustainability" is heard more every day - from the impassioned pleas of those protecting nature to the halls of corporate America, the clinics of spin doctors and TV ads...more. 2.5.13
    • Two messages for President Obama urging priorities for his second term.
      1. Submitted on January 16, 2013 via National Public Radio website and "Talk of the Nation" discussion on Obama's second term.
      2. Statement sent to President Obama on Climate Change, January 16, 2013 [Based on an action alert from Sierra Club.]       1.17.13
    • CHASING ICE: ABC segment on Climate Change - compelling visual evidence. 1.1.13
    • Center for a Sustainable Coast: Georgia Coastal Sentinels Program: We are proposing to establish a network of carefully chosen individuals who will serve as volunteers performing as "sentinels" on each of the major barrier islands... more 12.21.12
    • Coastal areas are at escalating risk - Study: Sea Levels Rising 60% Faster Than Projected. All the more reason why pollution-free, clean wind & solar energy is needed to replace dirty power plants ASAP! 11.30.12
    • Center legal action defends the public - Appeals court sends back shore lawsuit - The Brunswick News 11/15/2012
    • Georgia Water Coalition names this year's Dirty Dozen November 2012
    • Center comments on reservoirs and water mismanagement in Georgia, published in the AJC as a guest column - August 17, 2012 11.18.12
    • An important interview with our friends and colleagues at Earth Justice - highly recommended!
      The Center for a Sustainable Coast strongly supports the "Green New Deal" - help us build awareness about these critical issues; 9.19.12
    • IMPORTANT ACTION ALERT FROM OUR FRIENDS AT PEW ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP! Read NOW
      Subject: Take Action! Help Keep the U.S. #1 in the Clean Energy Race
      Urge Congress to extend the production tax credit for clean wind power immediately!
      Sincerely, Phyllis Cuttino - Director, Clean Energy Program, Pew Environment Group; 7.16.12
    • Help Jekyll Island win a competitive outdoor recreation grant for as much as $100,000! Go the following link and follow instructions to cast your vote in a national competition for America's favorite parks. If Jekyll wins, all visitors will benefit, as funds will be used to enhance and protect this beautiful barrier island state park. Please vote today by going to this link hosted by our friends at the Initiative to Protect Jekyll Island. Thank you! 6.27.12
    • Southern Environmental Law Center comments on behalf of the Center and other groups in criticizing the Savannah harbor deepening environmental review. 6.15.12
    • Our attitude toward the environment -- June 7, 2012, by AJC Opinion Guest Columnist DAVID KYLER, executive director of the Center for a Sustainable Coast. Bad choices hurt potential: Contrary to what our leaders would have tax-paying citizens believe, Georgia's competitive economic standing is declining, not benefiting, from dominant state policies and priorities....more. 6.15.12
    • Promising growth in clean energy investments. Despite Georgia's tendency to favor coal and nuclear power, promising headway is being made...more. By DAVID KYLER, executive director of the Center for a Sustainable Coast. 4.24.12
    • "Robin Hood in Reverse: Consumers Bailing Out Georgia Power Stockholders" - Published AJC 4.3.12. As outrageous as it is, most Georgians evidently don't understand ...more. By Guest Columnist DAVID KYLER, executive director of the Center for a Sustainable Coast. 4.12.12
    • "Savannah Harbor Deepening" - Published AJC 3.9.12. Funding project is premature, fiscally irresponsible...more. By Guest Columnist DAVID KYLER, executive director of the Center for a Sustainable Coast. 3.28.12
    • "Wasting Our Waterways 2012: Toxic Industrial Pollution and the Unfulfilled Promise of the Clean Water Act". Published by Environment America Research & Policy Center; "Industrial facilities continue to dump millions of pounds of toxic chemicals into Americaęs rivers, streams, lakes and ocean waters each yearăthreatening both the environment and human health"...more 3.27.12
    • Vogtle Venture Costs Public AJC Guest Editorial by Center executive director David Kyler, March 2012 ...more 3.27.12
    • NRC LICENSE FOR NEW VOGTLE REACTORS WILL BE OPPOSED IN FEDERAL COURT, SUSPENSION OF CONSTRUCTION AT GEORGIA SITE TO BE SOUGHT...more 2.12.12
    • Extreme weather is harmful to the coast, linked to climate change. See more at this link. 1.26.12
    • "Video - Reasons why we support Green Energy for Georgia and the rest of America: Jobs & Environment!" With Georgia's current push for building expensive and destructive reservoirs as a wasteful way to supply water, there's been no mention of water-squandering power plants. If wind and solar replaced coal and nukes as power sources, weęd be saving around half a BILLION gallons a day, now being taken from our rivers.That's enough water to support millions of households and small businesses without ANY need for reservoirs or other fish-killing projects. 1.22.12
    • "Deepening denial" op-ed published in Connect Savannah, By Guest Columnist DAVID KYLER, executive director of the Center for a Sustainable Coast. 11.26.11
    • CENTER NOMINATES TWO THREATS TO GEORGIA WATER COALITIONęS DIRTY DOZEN On November 5, 2011 the Georgia Water Coalition, Georgia's leading water protection group, named its –Dirty Dozen” for 2011, exposing the worst offenses to Georgia's water. As an organizational member of the Coalition, the Center nominated two of these Dirty Dozen threats to state waters: the proposed Savannah harbor deepening and ongoing mishandling of coastal dock permitting. These nominations can be seen at Savannah River and Coastal Wetlands. The Georgia Water Coalition, a consortium of more than 180 conservation and environmental organizations, hunting and fishing groups, businesses, and faith-based organizations representing more than 300,000 Georgians, announced the list at a celebration marking the Coalition's 10th year of advocating for clean water. The Coalition press release, the Dirty Dozen Report, and Fact Sheets for each threat can be found at:"Dirty Dozen" 11.10.11
    • "A multi-state regional approach is necessary to wisely invest in our ports" Posted in Saporta Report Guest Columns - Saporta Report is a public policy-oriented website that focuses on issues impacting the Atlanta region and our state; Date: November 6th, 2011, 11:55 pm By Guest Columnist DAVID KYLER, executive director of the Center for a Sustainable Coast in Saint Simons Island. 11.7.11
    • Pork-Barrel vs. Wise Spending in the Savannah Harbor Project" - There's enough misinformation circulating about the proposed Savannah harbor deepening project to make a Greek bank-loan look solid by comparison. ... more 10.12.11
    • Center executive director David Kyler summarizes concerns about the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project, as quoted in the August issue of Atlantic Coast Watch  go to www.susdev.org 9.13.11
    • "Motor tours violate wilderness protections on Cumberland Island, Center protests." Click for news article by Mary Landers 9.6.11
    • Georgia Public Radio features quotes by executive director David Kyler on an issue first raised by the Center regarding the need for a regional port analysis: "Nationwide, Ports Wait For Funding". Sustainability includes fiscal responsibility - needed now more than ever. 8.30.11
    • Two of the Center's current legal actions 6.24.11
    • New reports from Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) are very relevant to resource management and sustainable energy issues in Georgia. In many ways, Georgia's wasteful and obsolete energy policies epitomize the risks of the "energy-water collision," as the Center has been warning the public and state officials about for at least the past five years - in testimony given at legislative study hearings and in statewide opinion columns published in the Atlanta Journal Constitution and other papers. Likewise, the Center has taken a position opposing biofuels, based in part on their conflicts with wise water management.
      We urge you to review the three Union of Concerned Scientists (USC) reports at the following links, where they can be downloaded: As always, the Center for a Sustainable Coast appreciates feedback from our members, funders, and other supporters. If you have comments or questions about the content of these reports or any related issues, please email the Center at susdev@gate.net 3.31.11
    • Climate Change Update To inform the climate change dialogue, the Pew Center on Global Climate Change has produced a series of brief reports entitled Climate Change 101: Understanding and Responding to Global Climate Change. These reports provide a reliable and understandable introduction to climate change. They cover climate science and impacts, climate adaptation, technological solutions, business solutions, international action, federal action, recent action in the U.S. states, and action taken by local governments. The overview serves as a summary and introduction to the series. For more information, please click on this link.
    • We urge citizens and officials to seriously consider the issues raised in this recent article about sea level rise impacts in coastal North Carolina. What is true for North Carolina will prove equally threatening to coastal Georgia within the near future. We are advising that all coastal development should be re-evaluated in light of these considerations. As you may have surmised from rapidly rising insurance rates for coastal properties, there is widening realization by the business community - including banks -- that coastal development is a risky enterprise. more
    • Climate Change in Georgia Posted previously in a 2008 newsletter article 1.25.11
    • To protect coastal Georgia it is essential that timely action on climate change is taken by our state and nation. To build support for these actions, the public needs to be better informed on the issue. A very effective presentation about climate change and what you can do about it - which we urge you to review- can be seen at the following link: The Basics of Climate Change
    • The Center for a Sustainable Coast believes that legislative action dealing with climate change is urgently needed. Rising sea level and increasing storm surge intensity are just two of the many threats imposed on coastal Georgia by climate change. We are collaborating with Citizens Climate Lobby to advance information about the impacts of climate change and the most effective means of reducing them. Please see more about CCL and their agenda using the following link. Citizens Climate Lobby Overview
    • Sustainability is a concept with many facets and, as a public policy guide, is often misunderstood. In the article at the link below, author Eric Zencey provides important insights on sustainability and it value as a policy goal. We urge you to read it and share your thoughts on the topic with us. Excerpted from Orion Magazine, May/June issue, 2010. ~ David Kyler, Center for a Sustainable Coast ... more
    • "Face the realities, true costs of our dependence on oil," Guest Column in Atlanta Journal Constitution July 11, 2010 by David Kyler, Executive Director, Center for a Sustainable Coast ... more 7.30.10
    • In states where the energy market is not monopolized by a few major providers, solar energy is already proving to be more efficient than nuclear power. In Georgia, dominated by Georgia Power (Southern Company), consumers are being forced to pay - in advance - for the expensive expansion of nuclear energy at Plant Vogtle. That not only will cost consumers more for their electricity, but it will delay urgently needed conversion to renewable power sources - including solar, wind, tidal and geothermal. We urge you to read the article, "Solar Power Now Cheaper Than Nuclear," recently published in Sustainable Business.
    • Clean American Power Now! Call your senators to promote shift away from oil and coal. Go to: youtube video
    • Offshore oil vs. offshore wind ... who wins? How many offshore wind turbines could have been bought for the cost of 1 Deepwater Horizon? The answer is enlightening... more
    • Offshore Oil: "Think, Baby, Think!" The Center produced an iconic image and slogan as a compelling rebuttal to the hackneyed plea, "Drill, Baby, Drill."Even now, in the aftermath of the BP calamity in the Gulf of Mexico, that wrong-headed notion continues as a misleading mantra of the misinformed.
      See the Center's comments that accompany the notion of thinking rather than drilling. According to a Wall Street Journal online survey taken the week of April 26, more than 65% of the public now opposes offshore drilling. We urge you to circulate these materials and send us your comments about the issue of offshore oil development. (Send comments and other information on this issue to susdev@gate.net).... more
    • Gulf fishermen and volunteers protect marshes and way of life: go to video link.
    • Climate change and the world oceans: Ocean Tipping Point? ... more
    • PBS on Climate Change. Scientists now predict with a great degree of certainty that unless we switch to a clean energy economy, climate change will result in increased severity and intensity of storms, melting sea ice, rising sea level, changes in food production and drinking water availability and importantly, the acidification of our oceans and a mass extinction of corals.... more
    • "The Power Struggle" - PBS investigation of the green energy prospects in America... more
    • Center position, seismic surveying offshore... more
    • Water Stewardship Act commentary... more
    • How the Center improves your life... more
    • Energy Conservation in South Could Save Billions, Create Jobs... more
    • Center for a Sustainable Coast joins our colleagues at Dogwood Alliance and Energy Justice Network in opposing the burning of forests as an energy source. Go to www.dogwoodalliance.org and www.energyjustice.org for more details, and see the statement from Dogwood Alliance, which opposes Congressional subsidies for this misleading and wasteful source of energy, which is anything BUT green.  Ending the Taxpayer Giveaway for False Climate Solutions.
    • A Call to Action: Reconsidering reality in times of rapid change  Autumn 2009 Newsletter Updated March 2010
    • Center presentation on coastal issues: Conference of Georgia River Network, Feb. 20, 2010, Jekyll Island... more
    • Climate change survey is reason for concern... more
    • Georgia wastes too much water (Savannah Morning News, Sunday, August 23-Opinion Page)... more
    • Please Visit the Center's Latest Newsletters • State of Georgia Coast Report, 2009 Update
    • Learn about how Climate Change is specifically impacting Georgia's Coast

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