Climate Change: The Reigning Power of Water

 

Water destroys and kills. Yet, no life on earth can live without it. It keeps us alive. As water rises and falls, it redefines civilization, agriculture and life at every level. It is the subject of religious doctrine – from Judeo-Christianity’s description of the Great Flood to the Hindu sacred Ganges River – that is often a spiritual determinant, used for blessings and part of essential rituals in reverence to God. But one of the greatest impacts of climate change is the dramatic reconfiguring of water’s placement, power and perseverance. Most of the planet is completely unprepared for the obvious and inevitable.

For example, in the recent torrents in the Valencia region in Spain: “In a matter of minutes, flash floods caused by heavy downpours in eastern Spain swept away almost everything in their path. With no time to react, people were trapped in vehicles, homes and businesses. Many died and thousands of livelihoods were shattered.” Associated Press, November 4th. In fact, hundreds were killed. Can mankind adapt fast enough? Will that adaption ultimately fail? How will other forms of life on Earth respond? And in particular, how is a purportedly modern and educated nation like the United States dealing with these realities? Simply, it isn’t, as climate change deniers literally prevent us from dealing properly with this extraordinarily obvious and accelerating reality.

As Christopher Flavelle, writing for the October 22nd The Morning NYTimes newsfeed, explains: “America has a flooding problem. When Hurricane Milton hit Florida, the images of inundation seemed shocking — but also weirdly normal: For what felt like the umpteenth time this year, entire communities were underwater. Since the 1990s, the cost of flood damage has roughly doubled each decade, according to one estimate. The federal government issued two disaster declarations for floods in 2000. So far this year, it has issued 66…

“The reasons are no mystery. Global warming is making storms more severe because warmer air holds more water. At the same time, more Americans are moving to the coast and other flood-prone areas… Those conflicting trends are forcing people to adapt. Advances in design, science and engineering — combined with a willingness to spend vast amounts of money — have allowed the United States and other wealthy countries to try new ideas for coping with water…”

For starters, we need to stop building in obvious flood-prone areas or near sites where coastal erosion is promising to take back land… into the sea. Insurance companies are sending that message rather clearly. In coastal Florida, there are uninsurable areas and others where increased insurance costs exceed mortgage payments. Flavelle suggests three approaches that flood-control policies address, which mostly involves not doing anything today: fight the water, live with it, or pack your bags.

When you add a belief that government can contain flooding – as the Netherland’s mega-expensive engineering systems hold back the Atlantic for a nation that is mostly below sea level – to climate change denial, you foster a reactive vs a proactive approach. Used to finding someone to blame or pay for our folly, Americans expect either for climate change to end or for government to build the required technology to stop the damage. Simply put, most of that effort is a losing battle.

“Behind those options is a puzzle: With so many tools available, why does flood damage in the United States (which cost more than $180 billion last year, according to one estimate) keep rising? I asked Chad Berginnis, head of the Association of State Floodplain Managers. ‘Two things,’ he told me. ‘Irrationality and elections.’… People struggle to assess the danger when disasters are infrequent but incredibly costly, he said. And politicians realize they won’t become popular by raising people’s taxes to pay for colossal infrastructure projects.” Flavelle

With open hostility towards educated elites, a strong minority of Americans are guided by their interpretation of the Bible: God promised the world, after the Great Flood, that he would never again wreak global destruction on mankind… and that the Earth’s resources were provided so mankind can do whatever they want to extract them. They actually believe that efforts to contain these natural forces defy God’s “pledge.” Other Christians, notably Roman Catholics admonished by Pope Francis to take responsibility to care for God’s gift of the environment, take a more realistic tact. But Mother Nature, not swayed by legislative votes or large gatherings of religious groups certain God will save them, does not care. She’s armed with the laws of physics… she started with nothing and no has issue with going back to zero.

I’m Peter Dekom, and the assuaging yet angry words of sheep-like politicians saying what their flock would like to hear are likely to be drowned out… quite literally.