In this episode of The Sustainable Angler, I sit down with Belvin Olasov, Director of the Charleston Climate Coalition, a grassroots organization of passionate Lowcountry citizens working to accelerate local climate solutions through creativity, compassion, and community action.

We dive deep into the Coalition’s incredible work — from developing Climate Action Plans for the Town of James Island and Charleston County, to building rain gardens, planting native species, and advocating for better transportation infrastructure like safer bike lanes downtown.

But the heart of this conversation focuses on a critical environmental fight: stopping Dominion Energy and Santee Cooper’s proposed methane gas plant on the Edisto River, and the dangerous pipeline route planned through the ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge — one of the largest undeveloped wetland ecosystems left on the Atlantic coast.

Belvin explains how this outdated, $2 billion fossil fuel project threatens wildlife like the red-cockaded woodpecker, bald eagle, wood stork, loggerhead turtle, and shortnose sturgeon, while locking South Carolina into decades of greenhouse gas emissions — all paid for by you, the ratepayer.

This is a must-listen episode for anyone who loves South Carolina’s wild places, believes in clean energy, and wants to make a difference.

Take action: Visit www.charlestonclimatecoalition.org/dominion-energy
to sign the petition and help protect the ACE Basin from this destructive project.

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