Last year, my town spent $2 million on flood barriers after another record storm, yet scientists say extreme weather will only get worse. Some argue climate adaptation is smarter than mitigation because we can't reverse the damage already done. But isn't that a false choice? Communities on the Gulf Coast are already seeing sea levels rise, and investing only in resilience plans leaves the root cause—rising emissions—untouched. Adaptation might save homes today, but without serious mitigation, we're just building sandcastles as the tide comes in. Can we honestly call that a sustainable strategy?