Casual conversations about climate change often focus on "global warming," with comments about how northern states like Minnesota might "benefit" from population influx and milder winters, ignoring the other effects of a changing climate.
The (silent) drone video embedded above shows the widespread damage caused this week in Vermont from unprecedented rainfall. As that standing water subsides, it leaves behind silt and mud several inches deep, devastating those flooded homes and businesses.
The last time there was this much flooding in Vermont was from Hurricane Irene in 2011. and 1973 before that. https://www.weather.gov/safety/flood-states-vt The topography of the state does not help with water disbursement - water runs down the mountains and is concentrated in the valleys..
ReplyDeleteBut 6 or 10 inches of rain in a day or two, and 90°F ocean surface water temperature in Florida are caused by the government to take away freedom and distract from their child molesting. It said so on the internet. [/sarcasm]
ReplyDeletexoxoxoBruce
I've walked some of the streets in this video. This is very sad and difficult for the people there.
ReplyDeleteMy current thinking on climate change is how do we capture, sequester, filter and transport millions of gallons of rainwater to where it is needed? It is a moonshot to say the least. Imagine if we figured that out? A massive rainwater WPA project? Put a lot of people to work for a long time if we could. Job and environmental security as a 1-2 punch. I know that politically, big solutions to big problems are near-impossible these days. A man can dream...
My current thinking on climate change is how do we capture, sequester, filter and transport millions of gallons of rainwater to where it is needed?
ReplyDeleteWater management is very possible. It's expensive, painful, but cheaper than all the damage. In a mountainous region like Vermont, it's mostly about creating places where the water can go and be stored until the rain is over. Much like many suburban neighborhoods have water gardens these days, but on a larger scale.
The Dutch have a few centuries experience in dealing with water.
https://www.mwah.nl/water-you-thinkingbring-in-the-dutch/
https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/when-rivers-rise-who-you-gonna-call-the-netherlands-pc/
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/15/world/europe/climate-change-rotterdam.html
Note that two years ago (today actually), when Belgium and Germany saw massive flooding damage, while the Netherlands had much less flooding damage, even though the Netherlands is downstream on all those rivers.
One of the painful consequences of water management is that you can't live on the water anymore. You need to give rivers, lakes, seas and oceans more space. After massive flooding in the 90s, the Netherlands removed a few (new!) suburbs from the river edge and reshaped the area to allow the river to flood during high water. This is exactly the area that didn't floor two years ago.
Protecting yourself against water is painful, but cheaper than getting flooded time and time again.
https://www.tamug.edu/ikedike/About_Ike_Dike.html