Hurricane Ian left Florida absolutely devastated with billions of dollars in damage and over 100 lives lost. The storm was so powerful it would set itself high in the ranks of the worst storms to ever hit the United States, and potentially the second worst in the history of Florida.
As the clouds cleared, and debris settled, it was clear why Governor DeSantis would call the storm’s impact “historic.”
Indeed the storm was historic. Ian would prove to be among the deadliest storms to ever make landfall in Florida with the estimated death toll now reaching numbers over 100.
The financial cost of Ian is also predicted to be well into the billions and perhaps the most costly hurricane to ever blow through Florida.
Yet, why should anyone here in Laramie, Wyoming, a town roughly 2,000 miles away from the location of landfall, even care about the storm in the first place?
This horrific disaster is just one recent case of natural disasters which will continue to scale up in intensity, wrecking towns and cities all over the country and the world. This trend was brought to fruition by global climate change.
This article is not a call to action in hopes to prevent climate change. That ship has already sailed, and there is no turning back.
Rather this is a call for the local population and those beyond our small community to become aware of the developing climate crisis.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Administration (NOAA), the summer of 2022 was the third hottest in the U.S. for the past 100 years, only surpassed by the Dust Bowl summer in 1936, and the summer of 2021. Climate change is here, and it is changing our lives every day.
The federal Bureau of Reclamation has estimated that water flow from the Colorado River may recede below the demand threshold as early as 2025. This may force Wyoming to make decisions about limiting the use of water across the state.
Wildfires have continued to rage across the northwest and west-central states, forcing many out of their homes and turning once habitable areas into vast, desolate, charred landscapes.
Coastlines across the world are beginning to experience rising sea levels, with some estimates calling for a 10 inch increase by the year 2030.
Coastal cities hold much of the world’s economic activity and potential. As sea levels rise, obstacles will have to be overcome regarding how to keep the world moving despite infrastructure and land being challenged.
Large scale economic impacts reach much farther than their location of origin, even Wyoming will feel the effects.
So while many of the worst disasters are happening away from our relatively isolated state, we all need to begin recognizing the coming changes brought about by incoming climate change.
We can no longer look to prevent these disasters. As Hurricane Ian has shown us, these disasters are already here and are challenging our way of life across the country.
Now is the time to plan and prepare for a future that will likely include many more damaging storms, raging fires, drawn-out droughts, and catastrophic floods. Now is the time to adapt.
