Too Late

 A lot of us wake up and worry about where the morning coffee is coming from. Who will make it? How much will it cost? Will I spill it? Not really a concern for those of us who don't drink coffee, so we have to supplement our worries with concerns outside of that steaming hot cup of java. 

How about climate change? 

This past weekend saw folks in the middle of the country get pounded by what experts called "an historic storm," a blizzard that dumped more than two feet of snow in some areas. Highways were closed. Flights were cancelled. Thousands of people were without power. Hot coffee was not the primary concern for these people as they began to dig out from under that nice wet blanket. My Colorado heritage allows me to recall a great many March storms that reminded us all of the words of my good friend who once asserted, "Don't like the weather in Colorado? Move!" 

Which brings me all the way down to Avon, North Carolina. This little town of just a few full-time residents on an island just off the Atlantic Coast is sitting squarely on the edge of a rising ocean, with little standing between it and the sea. City manager Bobby Outten recently told the town that they needed to raise eleven million dollars to keep the main road from washing away. He suggested raising taxes. By as much as fifty percent. The town had other suggestions, like how about getting tourists to pay for it since they make up a large percentage of the traffic on that road and part time residents could really help out. Or maybe the rest of the county, or the state could find some money. How about the federal government? 

How about packing up and leaving the town that will soon be underwater? Relatively soon. Beaches on this sandbar of an island are shrinking at a rate up to fourteen feet a year. The entire town of Avon rests just two feet above sea level, and that main road runs along the beach. Here in Oakland, we have forty extra feet of elevation, but that isn't enough to lull me into complacency. Climate change is changing geography. 

Cities like San Francisco, Houston, and Miami are even now scrambling to "shore up" their municipalities as the ocean rises and coastlines change. Avon does not have the kind of full-time tax base that these metropolitan areas enjoy. The creeping sea levels are not the only concern, as hurricanes and flooding have become a part of the cycle that now seems to be prepared to batter this little town out of existence. 

So, I guess what I'm saying is that if you happen to meet someone from Avon, buy them a cup of coffee. It's not the first thing on their mind.