Ten years ago today – on December 12th, 2015 – the world stood together long enough to sign its name beneath a promise:
We will protect the planet we call home.
The Paris Agreement felt like a sunrise, a global exhale, a moment when countries big and small agreed that the Earth was worth fighting for.
But anniversaries are strange things.
They don’t just ask us to celebrate.
They ask us to look back… and look around.
So here’s the question for this Flotsam Friday:
If the Shore could speak, what would she say about our progress?
Would she whisper,
“Thank you for trying – I see your solar panels and your wind farms and your kids marching in the streets”?
Or would she sigh,
“You promised to take care of me… and yet the tides are higher, the storms are sharper, and the dunes are holding their breath”?
Would she tell us she’s proud?
Or heartbroken?
Or maybe both – because that’s how love works.
The truth is:
We beach lovers already know the answers.
We’ve watched the erosion lines creep closer.
We’ve seen the storms roll in out of season.
We’ve felt the heat in the water, the strange warm days in December, the winters that no longer bother to show up.
And so today isn’t about guilt.
Or doom.
Or lectures.
It’s about love.
Because people who love the shore – really love her –
protect what they love.
We tread lightly.
We pick up what the tide leaves behind.
We donate, vote, organize, plant grass, rebuild dunes, speak up, teach our kids.
We treat the beach not like a playground…
but like a partner.
The Paris Agreement was a promise made by nations.
But every tide reminds us:
The real work belongs to us.
So, on this tenth anniversary, here’s our question to you:
How do you think we’re doing?
And more importantly –
What small thing can YOU do this week to love the Shore the way she deserves to be loved?
Drop your thoughts in the comments.
Your reflection might just inspire someone else to take the next step.
Because the tide is always rising…
but so is our ability to rise with it. 🌊