CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP)- A sea level rise of 5 feet by the end of
the century could inundate Charleston, unless levees like those in
Holland are built to wall in the peninsula on which the historic city is built.

If nothing were done, Charleston's waterfront Battery would be
underwater, its port awash and large sections of the Historic
District, including almost three dozen historic landmarks, lost,
according to new maps released Thursday.

The grim news came at a forum on rising sea levels rise sponsored by the Southeast Coastal Climate Network, a nonprofit environmental group working with local leaders to address global warming and its effects.

Duke University geologist Orin Pilkey said barrier islands have been shrinking worldwide for a century.

The maps showed that a 5-foot rise in sea level would swamp the
Lowcountry's barrier islands, leaving only thin slivers of sand.

That would destroy tourism, the state's largest industry, which
brings in $16 billion a year.

There have been projections of a 3 to 5-foot sea level rise by
2100 in places like Rhode Island and Miami.

``The peninsular part of Charleston would be right up there with
Miami,'' Pilkey said. ``These are possibilities, not predictions.
But they are genuine possibilities.''

``Levees are certainly viable, but we really don't have much
experience with levees in this country,'' he said, adding that levees to hold back the sea would have to be built stronger than those inland which protect from occasional river flooding.

Rising sea levels would mean higher storm surges from hurricanes, he added.

Water and sewage systems would be destroyed and groundwater would be undrinkable because of salt water intrusion.

``The 800 pound gorilla is the Antarctic ice sheet,'' he said.
``It's beginning to deteriorate at a higher than expected rate.''

This week scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center
reported more evidence of global warming _ that sea ice in the
Arctic Ocean is at its second-lowest level in the past three
decades.

Pilkey said sea levels will continue to rise, even if humans
today stopped pumping greenhouse gases into the air.

A report released earlier this month suggested South Carolina can release less carbon dioxide than in 1990 by promoting voluntary
efforts based on incentives and existing laws.

John Clark, a member of Gov. Mark Sanford's Climate, Energy and
Commerce Advisory Committee which wrote the report and its 51
recommendations, said it wasn't perfect but ``if adopted by the
Legislature, it will put us way ahead of where we are now.''

The report suggested incentives for energy efficient buildings,
using more nuclear and solar power and changing land use and
development patterns to reduce traffic.

John Knott, the president of the Noisette Co. which is
undertaking a 20-year, $1 billion revitalization project in North Charleston, said solutions to rising sea levels must be found as a
community.

``If people think this is about saving high-end real estate in
peninsular Charleston or about saving a port, you are not going to
get widespread citizen support,'' he warned.

``What I want to remind you of is (Hurricane) Katrina,'' he
said. ``What Katrina did was rip the cover off what is truly going
on in this country. We have a huge social justice issue here. The
people who are most damaged by these events are the people who have the least capability to respond.''

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)