My Coming of Age at the End of Nature

The essays in Coming of Age at the End of Nature were brilliant. Young writers from the millennial age group, share their stories about growing up in a constantly changing environment where we are faced with transforming landscapes and the impact that is having on our Planet. We are living in the time of climate change influenced by our societies and global civilization. Coming of age at the “end of nature” to me means figuring out who we are in relation to our environment. It is discovering our place on the Planet, and where we belong.

The reason for so many of these complex environmental issues is the human-nature divide. The nature/culture dichotomy has separated people from nature. Coming of age in this time means discovering that we are not separate from nature. It is re-discovering that we are nature. Our actions have impact across ecosystems and the entire planet. In college, I am redefining my definition of nature from what I once viewed as this pristine, untouched by humans “wilderness” (which is a social construction, and feeds into the dichotomy) to including people and culture into the landscape which takes many forms. In a way, it’s a loss of innocence. The romantic notion of nature we once had has been debunked. Our generation is faced with all the problems in the world that we are learning about in our Environmental Studies courses. This knowledge and awakening is essential if we are to repair the damage to our Earth and our lives.

After reading the stories of many individuals in Coming of Age at the End of Nature, I’ve begun to reflect about experiences growing up with my environment. Growing up in Miami Beach, there was flooding after any thunderstorm or intense rainy day. Flooded streets were nothing surprising. I remember walking in parts of the streets, depending on the elevation, through knee-high water. I didn’t understand what was happening when I was younger. I assumed it was normal, because we live on an island below sea level. I saw people bringing out their kayaks on those days and kayaking through the streets because it was so flooded. I didn’t think it was a problem, it would drain away in a couple hours anyway. It wasn’t until I learned about climate change through Al Gore’s famous documentary film and in my environmental science class in high school where I was suddenly brought to reality about what we were experiencing in Miami Beach. Sea level rise caused by anthropogenic climate change. About every climate change documentary I’ve seen since references Miami Beach when explaining the impacts. When I see the streets of my home on the screen of documentary on Netflix, it hits me all over again that in the future, my beloved city will be under the sea.

The city of Miami Beach embarked on an over $100 million dollar project to install storm-water pumps and raise the streets as a flood prevention project to curtail the rising sea levels impact on our island. I’ve witnessed all the construction every time I go home for breaks from college. The construction is complete, but there is still flooding. Mayor Levine always states this flood prevention project will buy our city 50 years at best, before the flooding gets real bad and the island goes underwater. He says that proudly, but it’s short-term thinking. The most boggling part is not everyone is concerned! People are continuing their day to day life not facing the urgency of this issue. It makes me feel useless because climate change is not an issue we can solve overnight. I think of all the islands and coastal cities and towns in the world...what are we going to do? Abandon our homes and move inland (what about the folks who cannot afford to do that?). This is happening slowly over time, and because of that slow violence, people aren’t alarmed. In Florida, a policy passed banning officials from using the terms “climate change” and “global warming”, in a place most affected by this problem they are censoring climate change.