There’s No Location B

Advocates of a more robust effort to slow climate change have warned that “There’s no planet B.” I never entertained the fantasy of a planet B, but I did imagine that there might be a location B — a place that would be spared the afflictions of climate change for many decades ahead. Much of Canada was on my list of candidates. When that idea was eclipsed by smoke this past June, I thought, well, there’s Hawaii. I’ve spent some time on Kauai, Maui, and the big island of Hawaii and regard them among the most favored pieces of geography in the world. The fires, particularly on Maui, this week have been horrific and unsettling. I’ve given up thinking about location B.