Climate Change Catastrophe: Honorable Mention, Speculative Memoir
Brendan Fogarty is another one of our chosen honorable mentions in the Speculative Memoir category. He talks about housing relocation, water damage, and near death experiences, educating readers on the pain of climate change. By including points in history, such as the disastrous Hurricane Katrina of 2005, Brendan follows up his claims. Whether 20 years from now, or tomorrow, this story shows how difficult life may be as a result of climate crisis.
By Brendan Fogarty
Climate change is already affecting me in a big way. Today, we are reaching 60-degree temperatures in the month of February. If this pattern continues, this is how I would picture the future.
The year is 2042. I am roughly 40 years old and fighting for my life. When climate change became impossible to escape, people around the world accepted their fate and moved to safer land. In the 2030s, my family and I were one of the many people that had to relocate further into the continent to avoid the flooding. The entire state of Massachusetts was under water, including all the other coastal states. Another place dear to me would be Bridgton, Maine. My family owned a cottage there, and I loved going up whenever I could. It was a safe place for me, a place where I knew the troubles of the outside world couldn’t bother me. But now that world is gone, the once beautiful waters of Highland Lake have now been overrun with ocean water, tainting its purity.
By the time my family and I found out that the waters were going to overrun our home, it was too late to salvage much of anything from our house. When the first wave hit, it happened to be during a hurricane. That hurricane was the worst I've ever seen in my life, up to that point. This hurricane had disastrous results and was absolutely devastating. It was worse than Hurricane Katrina of 2005, which decimated New Orleans and the surrounding areas, losing over 1,800 souls. My family and I barely made it out of Massachusetts alive, taking only essentials, and the family dog. The dog almost drowned to death. I believe that is one of the worst ways you could possibly die. When I discovered how many people perished during that storm, I sobbed. We later named this hurricane, “Hurricane Catastrophe.”
My family consisted of me, my wife, our two young children, and the family dog. We traveled all the way to the heart of the North American continent, passing through the refugee ridden states of Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma. There were so many people affected by the flooding that they, along with my family, were called “flooders.” It made sense. We flooded into their states when ours were submerged in water. It wasn’t easy for my family or myself, adapting to the new climate and terrain, but we managed to the best of our ability.
When the northern polar ice caps melted, it opened up the entire Arctic Ocean, revealing a new type of energy source that would make all fossil fuels obsolete and 100% clean. Soon enough, the countries with the biggest influence over the Arctic began to get confrontational. With a war on the horizon, and the support of my family, I joined the military, and fought off anybody who would try to use this new Miracle Resource for their own greedy means. I truly believe that if America and our allies got their hands on this resource first, they would play fair, and share this new resource throughout the world. Now, I stand, bloodied and bruised, but still alive, holding on with hope, that there’s still a chance for humanity on this great planet of ours.
Edited by Samantha Flaherty