My husband, a Buffalo native, and myself, a Colorado native, moved to Buffalo this past December of 2021 due to global warming and in particular West Coast wildfires. We left Bend, Ore., due to the unimaginable air pollution that accompanies forest fires and population area fires. we left behind so many things; our home, my business, family and friends, fresh mountain air, our lifestyle and a globe that used to be 1.5 degrees cooler. We knew from information available and many visits that Buffalo would be cool. We are banking on it for the next decade only. We are truly heart sick at what is happening to the globe called Earth, the only one we have.
We recycle, fly Seldom and own a plug-in hybrid car. We practice conscious decision-making around consumption. Our hybrid car just performed 1,500 miles on one 12-gallon tank of gas and a nominal electric cost. Our dog is not a big methane producer and brings joy wherever he goes. We consciously didn’t have children and of the many factors there was overpopulation and cultural consumption to consider.
We are grateful for the open-armed welcome the City of Good Neighbors has extended into our arrival. We walk Delaware Park every morning and see and meet those that share the same joy of being outside; of changing morning salutations and of connecting in a time of disconnection. We have been up to Artpark for awesome music, to festivals and fairs, taken classes at Tri-Main and enjoyed a gorgeous sunset listening to the rocking Blaise Mercedes and her band down at Wilkeson Pointe. Buffalo is cool. And summer is exactly as everyone said, “You are gonna love it!” and I do love it. It is my first summer in five years as all the others were spent running from wildfires and smoke.
Grateful to be here as I offer up this cautionary tale of a cool experience in a time of rapid climate change.
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