Microstory 320: Geographic Stability Part I

This is an experimental Stepwisdom microstory. The introduction can be found in Microstory 300. More to follow.

As I was nearing the end of my tenure as a high school student, a few things were made clear. One of those things was that I wasn’t ready for college. Another was that I didn’t have the sufficient skills or experience to enter the workforce either. My parents suggested I look into major volunteer work. I’m talking full committment; move to a new state, or even country. I ended up volunteering on a farm in California. It was supposed to be for six months, but only lasted two, so I needed to find something else. As it would happen, not long after I returned home, Hurrican Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. I went to the Red Cross to earn the necessary certifications that following Thursday, went back on Friday for travel plans, and left on Saturday. I saw a lot of damage at my ultimate location in Slidell, Louisiana. I saw more when I returned for a second stint in Florida later that year. So many people lost their homes, their belongings, their lives, and their loved ones. Katrina wasn’t the first natural disaster, it hasn’t been the last since, and the worst is yet to come. Climate change is ravaging our world, and though there are things we can do to protect ourselves, we won’t be able to do enough. By the 2050s, the global temperature will rise so high, we’ll start to experience superstorms the likes of which we’ve never seen before. A great number of coastal towns will be completely underwater, and will probably have been abandoned by then due to earlier frequent flooding. Everyone has the right to live in a location that is geographically stable. We need to find ways to fix our environmental issues, but right now, if you live close enough to the ocean, I can’t recommend you not make plans to move inland. You may not find happiness if you don’t.