Description
The Project: As the last Ice Age was coming to an end about 12,000 years ago, the global environment underwent radical change. The world was warming, glaciers melted, and sea levels were rising. Plants, animals, and entire ecosystems had to adapt. So did human cultures. For example, as rising seas inundated low-lying coastal areas, people inhabiting these areas were forced to migrate to higher ground. One place where this is known to have occurred is the vast area between present-day Denmark and England known as Doggerland, now under the North Sea. As homelands slowly became inundated, the forced evacuation to higher ground created history’s first known cases of climate refugees. Historians and scientists are actively studying such areas today. Of particular interest are questions surrounding how these climate migrants were received by people inhabiting their escape route from rising seas. The answers provide a cautionary tale for the climate struggle unfolding today: rising sea levels are already causing problems in low-lying parts of the world, including the United States. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, formed under the auspices of the United Nations, predicts that sea levels will rise 7 to 24 inches between 1990 and 2100. Flash forward to the year 2066. Coastal populations are again on the move. Create a narrative using real modern-day nationalities that draws from two perspectives: one from the perspective of the climate refugees, and the other from the perspective of the people who are being swamped by newcomers to their homeland. But this is no ordinary narrative. Desperation, tension, survival, and security: the perfect ingredients for an epic rap battle!
