Florida is drowning

Miami in particular is in trouble. Sitting at only 6 feet above sea level. It is estimated by 2100, the ocean will rise by 8 feet.

The question is why are people still developing and buying luxury condos in an area that will be underwater in the next 80 years or so?

Because of the story we tell ourselves. A story of scarcity. The status beach front property brings. The story that we are not a statistic. The story of ignoring the consequences of tomorrow. The difficulty of ignoring sunk costs.

We can’t say we weren’t informed. 80% of people in Florida already believe climate change is occurring.

Perhaps, people have faith that a solution will present itself. Or maybe they just don’t believe in the science. Others might be just enjoying the time that is left.

Each of our narratives are so powerful that it’s easy to justify any decision we make despite the presence of conflicts of interests. That narrative is there to protect us. Yet, sea levels don’t care about our stories. Delaying difficult decisions only make them more difficult.