The Vineyard is too beautiful for its own good, at least when it comes to climate change. It’s hard to look past the shimmering goldenrod and deep autumn ocean to see growing cracks in the Island’s foundation.

The soil, trees and plants — the powerful roots of wispy beach grass — keep this Island afloat. The land and sea provide food and shelter. Clean air and water sustain our human health. The beaches and parks, forests and farms, vast water views and bold hydrangeas are the fuel that fire the local economy. This is our foundation.

In one quick generation the Vineyard be came a famous summer resort destination. The shoreline and its recreational joys became the drum that beats the local economy. And now that economy is at risk of cracking under the weight of climate change.

Despite the gadgets and technological wizardry that define our era, human beings don’t require much to survive. Yet we’ve manipulated the natural world to the point where our basic needs are at risk. The World Health Organization says it best: “Climate change affects the fundamental requirements for health — clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient food and secure shelter.”

With sea level rise at our doorstep and storms chomping away at the shoreline it’s time to rethink an economy based largely on seasonal, coastal recreation. Why? Because as Ginny Jones, a lifelong Islander from a farming family muses so succinctly, “We can’t eat tourists.”

Tornadoes, an earthquake, the edge of a hurricane — all in Massachusetts, all in one summer. This is unusual, as are the record number of recent floods, droughts and storms across the planet. The natural world is in a climate change flux and even the lush, green foundation beneath our sandy feet is shifting — invasive species are quickly and quietly changing the local landscape.