New storytelling series shines light on climate progress in the South  

WASHINGTON – Today, the Southern Environmental Law Center announced a new storytelling series, highlighting community-led climate efforts across the South. Launching this Earth Month, SELC will launch a year of storytelling to celebrate the untold stories of the different people, programs, and communities making a difference in the South. 

The South has inherited and created some of the greatest climate challenges facing the world today. The region plays an outsized role in contributing to climate change and communities are already experiencing more intense flooding and storm events, sea level rise, extreme heat, and vanishing mountain forests and wildlife. Yet across the South, communities are coming together to tackle these challenges in extraordinary ways. 

From the banks of the Carolina Lowcountry to West Tennessee, here are some of the solutions being implemented across our region:    

• In Charleston, South Carolina, innovative nature-based solutions are aiding the city’s adaptation to climate change in the face of rising sea levels.   
• In the small college towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, North Carolina, municipalities are paving the way for creative transportation alternatives.    
• In Memphis, Tennessee, advocates recently sparked a seismic shift, pushing the local utility from fossil fuels towards sustainable solar energy. 

“We are in a critical moment for climate action. With the impacts of climate change intensifying, Southerners are increasingly aware of how climate affects their daily lives and mobilizing to create change,” said Southern Environmental Law Center’s Climate Initiative Leader Alys Campaigne. “The climate solutions series shines a light on our partners and changemakers making solutions happen in the South.”