Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore

Chris Brunet is a member of the Choctaw community from Isle de Jean Charles whose decision to leave the island is documented in Rising. His family has called the island home for nearly 200 years, and like other residents, he found the decision to leave the island an extremely difficult one to make. For him, he was leaving a place where he truly belonged. One of the reasons he agreed to relocate, however, was because it was a community endeavor. While the environmental degradation of the island was challenging to witness, the fragmentation of his community hurt even more. He saw their relocation as an opportunity to rebuild his community. 

Edison Dardar is another member of the Choctaw community from Isle de Jean Charles. In contrast to Chris, Edison decided to stay on the island, even when most of the community relocated further inland. The island is an integral part of his identity. While it has been challenging to live there, he has found happiness Leaving the island would be like losing a piece of himself. 

Dan Kipness was a resident of Miami Beach, Florida. In Rising, he details his decision to leave the home that he deeply loved because of rising sea levels. In this account, Kipness expresses frustration with city and state government officials. He believes that they are not taking the climate crisis seriously and are providing the public with misinformation. However, he is tired of fighting them, which is partly why he decided to move inland.

Leonard grew up in Oakwood Beach, a neighborhood situated on the eastern side of Staten Island. Despite the flooding problem and a wastewater treatment plant located nearby, Leonard loved the community and decided to raise his three children there, including Nicole Montalto. The unprecedented storm surges of Hurricane Sandy, like many other residents of Oakwood Beach, caught Leonard off-guard. He was one of 14 people who lost their lives during the storm.

Nicole Montalto provides one of the most powerful first-hand accounts in Rising. She describes the days before, during, and after Hurricane Sandy and the impacts this storm had on her personal life and community. Nicole expresses frustration with developers and city officials who were not honest about the dangers the physical location of her neighborhood posed to community members. She also argues that she and other coastal residents should not be blamed for the flooding of their homes, a sentiment Rush strongly agrees with. 

Richard Santos lives in Alviso, California. Like other coastal residents, Richard, who is in his seventies, has lived his whole life along the coast. He believes strongly that his town should not be further developed, insisting that it would ruin its beauty and magic. While Rush remains critical of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, Richard believes the project is what will save his community.

Laura Sewall was the director of the Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area. While her family had roots in Maine, she spent decades away from the community working on environmental projects around the world. However, she decided to return to Maine and has been acting as a kind of liaison between the Sprague River Marsh and surrounding community. She keeps the community aware of the changes that are happening to the marsh and how those changes will immediately impact them. Like many other individuals in Rising, Laura contemplates leaving her home on the wetlands and heading inland. In the end, she thinks it is unlikely that she will leave. She loves the beauty and dynamism of the marsh too much and would like to spend more time appreciating it.