Evidently, there has been more reporting in the media about Duluth as a destination for those trying to escape the worst effects of climate change. I haven't read the reporting or any of the attendant comments or follow-through. So these are just a few thoughts from someone who discovered the area thirty-two years ago, and has spent a total of about a decade here since then.
The first thought is that people should have no illusions about the weather in northern Minnesota; even now, there are a full six to seven months of winter (temperatures from 30 above zero F to 30 below, with occasional wind chills of -50 or colder). This very morning, halfway through March, started below zero but the temperatures will warm up into the 20s. This winter has been extremely snowy -- I can no longer shovel and reach my arms up high enough to deposit snow in piles. And we are due to get another foot or two this weekend. The growing season here is terribly short, barely long enough to get tomatoes ripe, and, while spectacularly beautiful, summer's weather can be quite variable. It can be 40 degrees near the lake and 80 up on the hill! Even after all this time, an upbringing in upstate New York, and a preference for England, I have never quite acclimated. (My happy temperatures are about 40 degrees F to 70 degrees F!) People living with climate crisis elsewhere may not feel they have the luxury to fully check other destinations out, but there is no question that December-January-February-March here needs to be experienced, if possible, before making a decision.
Secondly, I think I've said this before, but fear will become a really bad basis on which to make any decisions as we head into coming earth changes, be it our own fears, or manipulating others through fear. I think the Law of Attraction will become more and more evident, and if we go anywhere or do anything because we are afraid, we will be more and more likely to attract the thing we fear. And there is no place on earth that will be unaffected by climate change. If longterm power outages, food shortages, or other disruptions occur, Duluth will be just as challenging as anywhere, even more so, particularly during the half year of winter.
And finally (for now!) it's so painful that we continue to think of the climate/Nature as separate from us. That it is something we can or should escape from. Goodness, that is the same duality thinking that got us into this pickle in the first place! It is a huge leap in thinking, but it has to be done...look into the blizzard or the torrential rain or the flooding rivers or tornados or tsunamis, and know that it is you. It is all of us, made more extreme by human choices over generations. We cannot change those past choices, but we can start to make different ones, and start to embrace our unity with the weather and the natural world around us. I'd rather live long enough to start to create new human constructs, but if I die in an extreme weather event, it will be an honor. Nature is doing only what She has to do to bring earth back into balance, and I'm trying not to fear "losing my life" -- because I know that life is eternal. I'll be part of the continued flow of existence no matter what happens. And so will you.
