I’m thinking of selling mine. It is a beautiful two bedroom, two bath oceanfront condo in Rodanthe, North Carolina. Rodanthe is on Hatteras Island, one of the barrier islands on the Outer Banks of North Carolina and just a few feet above
sea level. We have week 25, which is the last week of June – usually during Father’s day and always on the first day of summer. I always liked the idea of spending the longest day of the year at the ocean.
We have owned the timeshare for 19 years and have enjoyed it immensely. Both of our children learned to swim at the
complex pool. We watched the Hatteras lighthouse inch its way from near certain death to a relatively safe location a few hundred yards further away from the ocean. We caught hundreds of fish from Flounder to shark on the Rodanthe pier, surf
or from the jetty at Oregon Inlet. We saw dozens of glorious sunrises and sunsets from the deck or balcony.
We shared beach trips with friends and family. We even burned up a blender making frozen adult beverages. Oh, and the maintenance fee? It’s only $450 per year. It has been the ideal vacation destination for a growing family. If you want to hear the story of how we acquired such a property, you will need to read about it in the book - available on Amazon.com at the low, low
bargain price of $2.99.
So why sell such an ideal property? Well, the kids are mostly out of the house and we have a new place at Myrtle Beach.
And then there is Global Warming. The United Nations came out with a report today that says Global Warming is a fact and man has caused it. Yes, the United Nations – the very organization the entire world looks to for accurate weather
prognostication – has confirmed that the earth is warming and oceans are rising. In fact, according to the report, we can expect oceans to rise by about three feet by 2100. If true, our little timeshare will soon be swimming with the Flounder
and Sharks. By then it will be too late to sell.
I knew the water was rising before the UN made its prediction. In May the Baltimore Sun reported that Maryland officials
were considering using Super Storm Sandy federal funds to buy out homes on Smith Island rather than repair them. Maryland has noted that the Chesapeake Bay water around Smith Island has been rising about an inch per decade. Maryland
government officials with no global political agenda have concluded this. They also note that Smith Island is sinking a little each year. Those of us familiar with the Chesapeake Bay know the land in the lower Bay is sinking because of the
pre-historic meteor that slammed into what is now Norfolk, killing the dinosaurs. The entire area is continuing to jiggle and settle from the crash like a bowl of Jello. The combination of rising water and sinking land will ultimately result in the island disappearing beneath the surface and making Smith Island a Federal Government protected wetland, rather than an island
for people.
Back to the UN. Their report concluded that industrial mankind has caused the release of so much Carbon Dioxide that global
temperatures have risen to a level to cause massive melting of ice fields. Further, we have already passed the point of no-return and temperatures will continue to rise and melt more ice resulting in higher ocean levels and ultimate swallowing of all oceanfront properties. People on the Maryland/Virginia Eastern shore or tidewater will see their homes go faster because of the Jello effect. There is nothing we can do - The train has left the station, the ship has sailed, the fat lady has started singing.
In the time we have owned our timeshare, I have noticed slight changes. When we bought the condo our beach was about a
hundred yards wide. Now the dunes are gone and our neighbor’s million dollar house routinely has its pool filled with sand after relatively weak storms. When the full moon graces our week, the lunar tide floods highway 12, making Rodanthe isolated from the mainland for a few hours. In 2011, Hurricane Irene washed away dozens of Rodanthe houses and cut a new inlet just north of town. Hatteras Island was cut off from the mainland for about three months.
If Global Warming and rising oceans are done deals and there is nothing we can do about it, then it’s just a matter of
time before the entire OBX is swallowed up by an unrelenting ocean. Anyone with a million dollar beach house will find themselves literally underwater. On the other hand, if your house is on higher ground, you may find yourself with
beachfront property in 40 or 50 years.
So, does anyone want to buy an oceanfront timeshare at the absolute best week of the year? Get it while you can because –
when it’s gone, it’s gone forever! Did I mention we are letting it go for a song?
Here is the story:
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/the-last-time-co2-was-this-high-humans-didnt-exist-15938