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I want to hear from you

November 30 marked the end of the hurricane season, one predicted to be the most active on record. That prediction became reality. While we were distracted by COVID-19, storms were churning in the Atlantic. Thirty storms were potent enough to be given a name – a new record – and three of those were the earliest ever recorded. Thirteen storms strengthened into hurricanes, six reached hurricane status in October and November, two more records. An unprecedented 12 made landfall, but somehow South Florida was spared, and we got to November without a storm coming ashore. Almost every inch of the Gulf and Atlantic coastlines, except for a small portion of the Florida panhandle, was under a tropical storm watch or alert at some point during the season.
I am not a scientist, but like you, I have ready access to this information and am able to follow developments closely. Scientists use climate change and climate crisis as a starting point for explaining what happened this season. A warming planet is contributing to warmer waters which are affecting the intensity, forward speed, and rainfall of these larger, more violent storms.  

We find ourselves in Coconut Grove on two beautiful campuses, one of which sits directly on Biscayne Bay and is the location of our awe-inspiring Constance & Miguel Fernandez STEM Center. Thanks to the renovation of the Ransom Campus and the addition of La Brisa we have more green space. Our trees have increased in stature and prominence. In other words, we are more vulnerable than ever to natural disasters.
 
My reason for writing this column is simple: what are we going to do as a community to help address the challenges of a changing climate? Our community is home to some of the brightest, most inventive people I’ve ever known. And I believe that the ideas the world needs so urgently now are likely to come from creative individuals like you.

Therefore, I would like to hear from you. Think globally, act locally, and send me what you come up with. Whether it’s a plan for saving the whole planet or protecting our narrow frontage on Biscayne Bay, write it out, draw it up, and send it to ihaveabigidea@ransomeverglades.org. I will personally read everything that we receive, and your feedback will be helpful.

We have been laying the groundwork for an exciting new initiative in this area, but more on that later. For the moment, please focus on generating ideas that might help save the things we care about so much.
 
Penny Townsend
Head of School
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2045 South Bayshore Drive, Coconut Grove, FL 33133
Phone: 305 250 6850

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Founded in 1903, Ransom Everglades School is a coeducational, college preparatory day school for grades 6 - 12 located on two campuses in Coconut Grove, Florida. Ransom Everglades School produces graduates who "believe that they are in the world not so much for what they can get out of it as for what they can put into it." The school provides rigorous college preparation that promotes the student's sense of identity, community, personal integrity and values for a productive and satisfying life, and prepares the student to lead and to contribute to society.


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