APRIL 28, 2106 Today, I gave Ben his birthday present — a nice set of pastels and some heavy paper so he can draw Portland and Falmouth Foreside and take in all this beauty. But a weird thing happened. He told me he wanted the skis instead. He said Canada sounds exotic. He said he might go there. I just looked at him. I wasn’t going to say anything, but then I did. I forced myself to. I said, “What about us moving in together? You know I can’t move into my own place — energy and water is too expensive! And now you’re saying you want to leave? You want to go someplace colder?” He didn’t say anything. I gave him the skis and told him to go. He did.

JUNE 2, 2106 I should have seen it coming. I haven’t talked to Ben in a month and now he’s traveling up north and doesn’t respond to my messages. We’re heading into another summer and Nana needs me to keep an eye on her full-time because of the heat coming our way. Lately, I’ve caught her looking at me and smiling. Last night, before she went to sleep, she said everything will be okay, that Maine isn’t as bad off as some places — like India or Afghanistan — that are hotter and poorer than our place and can’t afford the millions or billions of dollars to build irrigation systems or sea walls. Last night she asked me if I wanted to go down south below the equator, where the temperatures haven’t fluctuated so much. I didn’t know what to say. Finally, I held Nana’s hand and I lied. I told her thinking about everything we’ve lost doesn’t hurt me as much as it does her because I don’t remember Portland the way it used to be. I told her Portland is my home, for better or worse. I told her I’ll never leave.

The above scenario was created from accepted theories on likely climate change and its probable effects on the US, Maine, and Portland in 2106, assuming current warming trends continue unabated. Scientists consulted for this article noted that additional variables like disease, natural competition, and local weather patterns will alter Portland in ways that are especially hard to predict.

Sources Paul Mayewski, Director, Department of Earth Sciences Climate Change Institute, University of Maine; Travis Wagner, Professor, Department of Environmental Science, University of Southern Maine; Joseph Kelley, Professor, School of Marine Sciences, UMaine; Alan Wanamaker, PhD candidate, Department of Earth Sciences Climate Change Institute, UMaine; USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report, 2002; US EPA Office of Policy, Planning, and Evaluation; Matthew Davis, Advocate, Environment Maine; Grant Foster, Maine Global Warming Activist; “Climate Change in Maine - Reducing the Risks, Reducing the Costs, and Planning for the Future” conference, May 10, 2006, USM; “Global Warming in Maine — Warning Signs, Winning Solutions” publication, Natural Resources Council of Maine.

Email the author
Sara Donnelly: sdonnelly@thephoenix.com

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