How Climate Change Will Affect Exeter
In the very early hours of Monday, October 30, during violent winds and torrential rain, the power flickered off for a split second. For the hundreds of students still awake finishing their homework, it was little more than a flash and a buzz on their phone. But it was also a wakeup call to the community: These storms will only get more frequent and more intense due to climate change.
The last time a major hurricane directly hit the Exeter area was the Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1938, which caused 13 deaths and over 8.6 million dollars in damage in New Hampshire alone. However, several recent hurricanes such as 1999’s Hurricane Floyd and 2012’s Hurricane Sandy have only missed the area by a small margin.
This year’s Atlantic Hurricane season has been especially harsh. Dozens of Exonians from Florida and Texas have been affected by storms such as Harvey, Irma, and Maria. And this pattern of harsh storms will only increase until every week there will be a major storm, of which many will reach all the way to New England.
Another aspect of climate change which will affect Exeter will be rising sea levels. With just a 6-foot sea level rise, predicted to occur before 2100, a large swath of downtown Exeter including Stillwell’s, the Boathouse, and the entire Swasey Parkway will be completely submerged, and Ewald Dormitory will be on waterfront property, at risk from severe flooding. The Academy will have to plan for the future by building replacements for at-risk structures much further away from the water.
New Hampshire will by far not be the hardest hit by climate change. Places like Bangladesh and the Maldives will have huge portions of their land submerged, and millions of people will be forced from their homes. Will Exeter have to accommodate by instituting mandatory acceptance policies for climate refugees?
Many Exonians have suggested divesting from companies which deal in fossil fuels as a way to stop climate change. I ardently disagree with this proposition, as it would do nothing except hurt the endowment. As President of the Trustees Tony Downer reminded the student body a few weeks ago, the Academy does not make its investments public, and therefore the divestment of a piece of the endowment from a fossil-fuel using company would go unnoticed by the media and the public, and therefore fail to affect the public image of the company. In addition, although the Academy’s endowment is large, it would be unlikely that more than a small percentage would be invested in one company, and even a few million dollars would be considered pocket change to a huge conglomerate, which would have no effect on its stock price or overall performance at all. Therefore, divestment accomplishes absolutely nothing except depriving the endowment of a good investment, the likes of which are necessary for growth and improvement to the Academy, including dorm renovations and the much-coveted Need Blind Admissions Policy.