Isle Of Palms Magazine Spring/Summer 2019

5 www.IsleOfPalmsMagazine.com | www.ILoveIOP.com | www.IOPmag.com B eing a champion for Mother Nature is a full-time job. There are so many ways she is being attacked. One example is our neighboring beaches we all love so much. If we don’t all join with the Isle of Palms City Council, our representative in Washington, D.C., Joe Cunningham, people like Howard Hogue – aka Beach Santa – and other champions, Mother Nature and her slices of paradise will look terribly different in decades to come. We need to be an advocate for Mother Nature and approach these concerns in a way that will bring attention to them. For example, Rep. Cunningham blew a horn during a House Natural Resources Committee hearing to demonstrate how disruptive the noise of seismic airgun blasting can be to marine life. It’s a fun story and a creative approach. Check it out: Google “Joe Cunningham uses air horn.” At a recent Isle of Palms City Council meeting, Hogue, who lives in Moncks Corner, informed the council that after 34 trips to the beach since July 2018, he removed the following items between the Windjammer and 21st Avenue: – 279 straws and stirrers. – 5,138 cigarette butts. – 744 articles of Styrofoam. – 10,283 pieces of litter. Speaking of our beaches and surrounding waters, Bill Farley penned a great story titled “Deep Search 2018” about an expedition 160 miles off the South Carolina coast that led to an unexpected discovery of coral. What they found even amazed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Bureau of Energy Management and the rest of the team who are out to better understand the oceanographic, geologic and geochemical makeup of our nearby waters. You can read about their discoveries beginning on page 16. One of my ongoing personal favorites is Anne Shuler Toole’s articles on “We Are Isle of Palms.” It’s a quick read with a lot of information. “We Are Isle of Palms” allows you to get a glimpse of the people who call Isle of Palms home. If you know anyone we should feature, email WeAre@IsleOfPalmsMagazine.com or WeAre@SullivansIslandMagazine.com . Anne would love to hear from you. I can’t leave you without bringing up our front cover. Isn’t it great? When Thomas Runion and Sarah Hunnicutt said they were getting a puppy, I knew Thomas would take some good photos of Indi. But I didn’t know one would be this awesome! Just take a look at this. … Even if you’re not a dog lover, you’ve got to love it. What a great team effort. Sarah wrote about how Indi became part of their family, and Thomas captured great moments to share with us. Thanks guys. For more about our Mount Pleasant four-legged family members, visit www.MountPleasant.Pet . We hope you enjoy our magazines as much as we enjoy bringing them to you. And if you would like us to deliver a slice of paradise home every time we publish, visit www.IsleOfPalmsMagazine.com/Subscribe. Thanks for spending time with us. Enjoy, Bill Macchio Publisher@IsleOfPalmsMagazine.com [ Publisher’s Note ] Howard Hogue, also known as Beach Santa, collects trash left on the Isle of Palms beach.