THE LAST RESORT by Alec Nevala-Lee

Some days, I feel that my two passions, Writing Fiction and Environmental Science are galaxies apart. When I’m teaching English or Literature, my mind is focused on craft and language, seeing the world as a writer and consumer of literature and good writing. When I teach Environmental Science, I notice more of the natural world around me and focus my attention on the systems and cycles that feed the natural capital upon which all human systems are based. Because I seem to have at least these two competing personalities, I am thankful for stories like Nevala-Lee’s “The Last Resort,” which combines good fiction with characters that are passionate about science and the environment.

“The Last Resort” is the ever present struggle between the economic opportunity to profit by exploiting natural resources and the ecological mandate for the preservation and protection of our environmental inheritance. Helki is an expert in field of Herpetology, a branch of Zoology focusing on amphibians and reptiles. She has been called in by a friend to help assess the ecological impact of a new Ski Resort on the local population of Garter snakes, a breading ground lays within the influence of the resort’s plans.

Helki is a mother, a wife, and a snake expert. She feels like a sell out after a brief encounter with three activist-hikers. The hikers were waiting for her. They knew that she would arrive and begin her assessment of the area that day. After their brief conversation, it is apparent that the hikers belong to an activist that is not afraid of action, something that Helki envies about them. However, she says, “It’s a class privilege [ ] It’s easy to care about the planet when you’ve never had to worry about anything else” (56). They go on their separate ways. Helki has a job to do, a job that almost gets her killed.

It would seem that the activist-hikers were of the radical variety, willing to make sacrifices for a greater good. What are a few snakes, a rare breading ground, and human lives when you are fighting for mother earth? An explosion at the developments cooling station sets off a chain reaction that no one could have predicted. Well, almost no one, a report submitted to the parent company of the resort was ignored. A report that alluded to the environmental impact of pumping water under up the ski slopes to remove surface heat in order to keep the slopes cool enough so that the snow wouldn’t melt.

With all natural systems, when one element of the system is removed or significantly altered, ripples can some times become unstoppable catastrophes. To find out what happens and if anyone survives, you will need to pick up a copy of the September issue of Analog.

The sadness of Nevala-Lee’s story is that in this case, the work was done, an environmental assessment was conducted. One of the leading causes of environmental problems is humans trying to manage nature without fully understating it. This time the impact was known, but it was ignored, furthering the struggle between a society that values short-term profit over sustainability.

Truly, “The Last Resort” is a must read.

Nevala-Lee, Alec. “The Last Resort.” Analog . September 2009, Vol. CXXIX, No. 9. P. 54 - 71