I once knew a girl in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Little Bessie, And she told me just to come on by if there’s anything she could do
Welcome to ground zero of climate chaos
When the world’s leading scientists warned that climate change is “code red for humanity,†it was no surprise for those of us living on the frontlines.
“The alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable,†they tell us. No kidding.
Welcome to my home, Lake Charles, La. We are ground zero of the age of climate consequences.
I first started working in Louisiana’s petrochemical industry in the 1980s. At that time, I had no idea that climate change would one day turn my family into climate refugees. But that day has arrived.
In the past year, my family had to relocate after our home was ravaged repeatedly by wind and water. In one terrifying day, Lake Charles was deluged by 15 inches of rain in a matter of 12 hours. I have seen bodies fished from drainage ditches. I have watched the coffins of family members washed from their graves and floating away in flooded streets.
This is the land where natural disasters are no longer natural.
Lake Charles is 15 feet about sea level, though, not that far above the rivers and lakes. That’s what happens. Always has. But, Ground Zero, folks!
