Bold, creative imagining of the future is and should be going on now for Western North Carolina and its largest city, Asheville, in the wake of the catastrophic tropical storm on Sept. 27. Helene left our home region a war zone. That is an accurate description for the apocalyptic warlike devastation, as I can testify as a resident WNC witness and former foreign correspondent who covered wars and other disasters worldwide. Here this war zone was caused by a cataclysmic weather phenomenon resulting from climate changes.
Previously, many considered our beautiful mountains uniquely protected — far from oceans, deserts and plains — a refuge from climate disasters. Now that we know our place could not escape, we must ask and act: how can we best rescue and sustain our local populations, rebuild our infrastructure for sustainability, help restore our natural environment, at the same time diversify our socioeconomic foundation, renew our renowned tourism industry, work together to build a future that preserves and promotes all the good cultural traditions of all WNC people, mountainous region, city, towns, rivers, valleys, hollers?