Guest Author
Last week I had the honor and the privilege to stand with our president on the 45th annual celebration/recognition of Earth Day.
When you are with a U.S. president – any president – it’s hard not to stand in awe and to walk away inspired. While there are so many things to share and so many moments where I was genuinely moved, perhaps what inspired me the most was his sense of optimism. He was unwavering and reassuring in his desire to stand above the political fray, to ignore the doubters and deniers, and to begin tackling the single largest challenge facing our generation.
…And you know what I am talking about.
Our president reminded us that the cost of ignoring rising sea levels, crumbling coastal infrastructure, salt water intrusion, inland flooding of homes and businesses or other such tangible, touchable and measurable changes to our state is more than about hunker-down preservation. It’s more than about stopping bad things from happening. His message, his resounding clarion call, was that taking affirmative action today will not only protect our homes, our coasts and the foundations of the American economy, it will create an unparalleled engine of opportunity.
Our president wasn’t defensive, saddened or even threatened by the challenges that face us. In fact, he set an optimistic path and a vision of harnessing the entrepreneurial spirit that makes our nation among the strongest and most resilient the world has ever known. He shared his vision of America as a nation of doers, not deniers and of achievers, not doubters. He challenged us to boldly go where we have not gone before.
And we can.
And we should.
For those of us blessed to live in Florida, we have been entrusted with a great and beautiful bounty…a bounty of incredible forests, crystal clear springs, unparalleled coasts and, of course, a unique river of grass.
These treasures are not just worth saving because they are beautiful (although some could argue that is reason enough) but because they are, at some level, the cornerstones of our economic future. Our state is, according to Florida officials, the top travel destination in the world. People come here for our sunshine, our beaches, our parks and related entertainment venues. Imagine a Florida with diminished beaches left unprotected from rising tides. Imagine a Sunshine State with inadequate drinking water or polluted springs and flooded streets. Imagine then how our economy would pale in light of decreasing tourism dollars.
If the economics of tourism isn’t enough to motivate us, consider that approximately 50 percent of all U.S. trade to Latin and South America comes through Florida. Imagine then how Florida’s import/export economy – worth billions to our state – fades when we fail to improve the resiliency of our ports.
The list of ways our economy and our future is tied to climate and sea levels goes on and on…and on…and on.
President Barack Obama is challenging us to rise above the political fray and not only accept the challenges that face us, but embrace them as the key to our economic future and our enduring prosperity.
I learned as a child that a small part of my family heritage is Cherokee. When you are even “just slightly” Native American, it defines a large part of your identity and way of viewing the world. In that spirit, I want to conclude with a short retelling of a Cherokee proverb about the two wolves that reside in each of us. One wolf is evil – he is anger, envy, greed, self-pity and arrogance. The other is good – he is joy, inspiration, hope, humility, faith and truth.
The wolf that grows, we are told, is the one we feed.
Let us feed that part of us that sets aside our differences. Let us feed our future with enthusiasm, hope and joy. Let us nourish the inspiration to meet – with a positive outlook – the challenges facing our state. Let us do so because of the very good things that will result, and not because of our fear of failure.
And in doing so, let us be reminded of another Native American missive that speaks to the better angels of our nature: “We do not inherit the land from those who came before us, we borrow it from our children.”
Kristin Jacobs is a member of the Florida House of Representatives and is the national director of leadership development for the National Institute for Coastal and Harbor Infrastructure. Column Courtesy of Context Florida.
