By Casille Systermans, Washington DC Field Manager and Program Intern
Last week I wrote about the
#ForwardonClimate Rally, imploring our leaders to act. The question remains: why should we care? Those making and influencing our policy decisions will not live to see the serious effects of climate change. It seems like we all think “how bad can they really be?”
In a word: Catastrophic.
This Christmas I flew to my hometown of Boca Raton, Fl. It was a bright, beautiful sunny day and I enjoyed seeing the Florida coastline come into view as the plane began to descend for our landing. My enjoyment of this moment was a bit tempered as I couldn’t help but wonder how this same sight would appear in as soon as a few decades. The striking thing is we build straight up to the beach on an area that is at or just above sea level. Climate experts agree, currently we are on a path that promises 2 to 8 feet of sea level rise by the end of the century. That means that my home town and the homes of 5 million or more American's will not see the end of the century. Of course this doesn't even take into account the rest of the world.
So that's 5 million or so Americans who will need to move inland, most likely to regions that will then be experiencing the stress of a diminished water supply, another unfortunate side effect of our continued dependence on fossil fuels. Now add to that picture even worse heat waves and super storms than we are seeing today, as well as decreased food supply from decreased farm land in the US and you can see how the picture of a climate change future looks more than a little bit dim.
I'll be honest, this isn't the future I want to live in and it's certainly not the future that I want for my loved ones. So on February 17 I'll be on the national mall asking President Obama to move
#ForwardonClimate and to work to ensure that America's future remains a bright and prosperous one.
