Climate change will continue to hurt America if we do nothing | Raúl M Grijalva

We don't want to wake up one day soon and find our own homes at risk, no easy solutions in sight and no answers for why we waited too long to act

For too many people around the world, climate change is, without any exaggeration, at their front door. It won't be long before more Americans - in Florida and across the south-east, for instance - will have to live with and confront these risks every day. That's why the Paris climate talks are so important.

There are 31 Alaskan villages already facing "imminent threats" from warming ocean waters, erosion and flooding, according to a 2009 Government Accountability Office assessment. At least a dozen have relocated or are exploring relocation options. The same is happening elsewhere, both in the US and around the world.