LA is on fire and despite having never lived there, I feel a certain closeness to it, and it hurts. During Hurricane Helene, I remember telling people that my parents were evacuating and I remember their replies. “That's what they get for moving to Florida,” and “Sorry not sorry,” they said, as though my family lost some sort of humanity by living there. LA is on fire and it hurts because I hear the same sentiment in comments that, “they’re rich–they can afford to rebuild,” as if their wealth makes the destruction of their home acceptable. 

LA is on fire and despite it not being my own home, my own reality, it hurts. I recently saw a quote online that said “climate change will manifest as a series of disasters viewed through the phones with footage that gets closer and closer to where you live until you’re the one filming it.” And it hurts not because it reached me, but because it reached a 90-year-old man who lost 60 years worth of life and memories, and another man who had to evacuate his elderly father-in-law, and so many others. 

LA is on fire and it hurts because we’ve somehow all excused ourselves from the climate crisis and hidden underneath axioms, like “there’s no ethical consumption under capitalism.” It hurts because there is nuance and there are more sustainable ways for us to exist. We just don't think the nuance applies to us. 

LA is on fire and it hurts because throughout our formative years, our education has taught us about the bad companies, the intricate evil they commit to our world. And yet, capitalism lures the brightest minds to follow a big paycheck, to hide behind expensive apartments in gentrified neighborhoods. LA is on fire and it hurts because I do try and I do care. 

LA is on fire and it hurts because the blame of climate change is passed around like a flaming rock until it burns all of our hands and we say with remorse, “We should’ve tried harder and we should’ve cared more.” 

LA is on fire. Do we realize that we are too?

Born and raised in El Salvador, Irene Posada studied Environment, Economy, Development, and Sustainability at Ohio State University and now works in state-level clean energy development programs. Check out her substack to read more of her writing.

Isabelle Schlegel is a bioengineer and creates comments and graphics on the climate crisis and human nature in her spare time.

This piece is a guest article written for the Center. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the writers, and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the Center.