Title
Allison’s Climate Story
Name
Allison Schmidt
Place
the drive between Minneapolis, MN, and Fargo, ND
How are you sensing climate change?
While I now live and work in Philly, I grew up in Fargo, ND. My family would often drive between Fargo and Minneapolis to see relatives, and we would pass by farmland and many lakes. I just remember it was always a pretty green and blue in summer that made the freezing winters worth it. This August I made the trip at the height of a drought, and the fields were all dry and brown. I actually started crying because I knew that this was a result of climate change and the possibility that millions of people (or even a billion) could go hungry became very real.
How do these changes make you feel?
At first I felt sadness and grief because I knew that things would never be the same. Then I felt a gradual acceptance and, eventually, some hope. Midwesterners have been really insulated by the effects of climate change until now, and, like some people everywhere, can even be dismissive or recalcitrant about it. I think it really gave people some pause, except for the local meteorologist who seems really into writing newspaper columns implying people are overreacting about climate change and there were droughts a hundred years ago. But extreme weather events are his bread and butter, so maybe he should just stick to the skies and leave the climate science to the climate scientists. That’s a bit above his pay grade.
Collection
Citation
Minneapolis, MN USA
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