Drawing on your knowledge of climate change projections, write a first person narrative of a day-in-the-life in a context in which as a society we implement significant climate adaptation and/or mitigation strategies. What does 2050 look like in your life under those conditions?
As I sat outside the coffee shop, I noticed a group of kids marveling at the frost left on the grass from the night before. It was cold last night, even for January. If the forecast was correct, the temperature would have gotten down to 30 degrees fahrenheit, the lowest anyone has seen it in years. As I watched the kids play in the icy patch I couldn’t help but feel a touch of sadness. I remembered how mystifying it was when I was a child, spending hours upon hours constructing snow forts with my neighbors when the amount of snowfall had caused schools to close for the day. Be grateful, I had to remind myself, for it was not too long ago that our town, like many others in our area, were considering a move underground. I felt a wave of relief rushed through me, my subconscious does well to keep these memories out of my everyday thoughts, but I will never be able to completely forget how close we were to living life miserably, at the foot of the disaster we ourselves had caused. I still remember listening to the radio the day the industrial conglomerate finally decided to surrender and cease the use of fossil fuels entirely. I remembered the wave of emotions hitting me as I heard the verdict, thinking I may not live to see the apocalypse after all. Sure, we don’t live like we used to, for better or worse, these days we are much more self sufficient. The solar farm outside of town provides us with all the energy we will ever need, and the rainwater purification site has paid dividends to keep us all hydrated and healthy. As I watched the kids move onto their next source of bemusement, I felt my sadness turn to profound appreciation for the efforts we had made