The climate crisis has different impacts in different regions, and one small town along the coast of Maine is making changes on multiple fronts to maintain its way of life.
What's happening?
Stonington, an island 50 miles south of Bangor, is suffering from sea level rise and associated cost of living problems, as The New York Times reported.
A pair of causeways, at risk every time a storm rolls in, became impassable during two major storms in January, cutting off the village of Oceanside and a link to the mainland. This also prevented lobster fishers from getting their catch to local markets and "destinations around the world," per the Times; Stonington has the state's largest lobster fleet.
The rising waters of Penobscot Bay and increasingly intense and frequent storms — driven by the human-induced warming of the planet — have pushed those who work along the waterfront to raise docks and wharves to prepare as best they can for the next onslaught.
Real estate investors are also creating a problem, as deep-pocketed outsiders are snatching up properties while locals spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to rebuild their storm-damaged livelihoods.
"We've got a wall of water coming at us, and a wall of money coming at us, and we're fighting these two big forces," Stonington economic and community development director Linda Nelson told the Times.
Why is this important?
Town manager Kathleen Billings said people can't afford to continue to rebuild. In April, the state earmarked $60 million for recovery efforts, and the city created a resiliency fund, in part to meet the housing demands of the working class, the Times reported.
But the hits keep coming. During summer droughts in recent years, Stonington has had to truck in its drinking water since it otherwise relies on rainfall, proving that no matter what measures are taken, this new normal may still require unsustainable changes.
"There's so much that needs to happen, and I don't think we'll be able to keep up with all of it," Garrett Aldrich, a boat service operations manager, told the Times. "I think there will be more damage, and more pain, before we're done."
What's being done about rising sea levels?
While business owners and others in Stonington take action to limit the risk of rising sea levels, there are proactive steps we can take to try to lessen the number of communities that have to react like this. These steps include cutting the consumption of dirty fuels such as coal, oil, and gas, which power much of our world but also spew carbon pollution into the atmosphere, contributing to the rising global temperature, the melting of ice sheets and glaciers, and more.
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By using clean energy sources such as solar, wind, and water, we can work to reduce the rising temperature and everything that comes with it. You can install solar panels or a heat pump, sign up for community solar, and electrify your home — all of which will save you money, too.
One expert says merely talking about the issue should be the top priority.
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