Who do you blame for the floods?
Water, water everywhere ............ although not in Windsor
or Eton of course! The opening of the Jubilee River in 2002 redirected the
threat of flooding away from such regal towns over towards Wraysbury which is
now swimming in several feet of water. Funny that!
The Question: Are the floods in the South of England and
Ireland a consequence of global warming? Politicians worldwide have accepted
the likely raising of global temperature by 2 degrees and this for example is
being taken into consideration in sea defence planning. If global warming
activists are correct this temperature raise could go higher with the
consequences leading to sea water levels rising significantly and major shifts
in our weather. Is concern for the public’s loss of interest in climate change
and the costs of alternatives to CO2 emitting energy production and
transportation weakening politicians commitment to meeting European and
International targets. What are we doing about the CO2 emissions of our lifestyles?
It's all so complex, isn't it? The scientists are battling it out over the global warming debate. Every new report reveals more and more evidence with conflicting conclusions on global warming. Eeny, meeny, miny, mo ............... Yes there is, no there isn't ......... Nigel Lawson buries his head in the sand and claims we're just having a bit of a bad run on the weather. Meanwhile the evidence is stacking up. Climate change is a reality.
ReplyDeleteIt's all very laudable to set strenuous targets for a very distant 2050 but here, now, today in 2014 a substantial part of the country is knee deep in flood water as a direct consequence of climate change. David Cameron may well don his oh so shiny upmarket wellies for the mandatory photo shoot and he may even deploy the armed forces to help out in the most affected areas. There will be lots of great shots of impressive high tech land and sea crafts ferrying people off to the local grocery store and lots of 'your country is behind you' good-feel talk. In fact, if David and the gang play it right, all this flooding could actually prove to be vote winning! A few more photo shots of Boris wading around in Wraysbury, and the next elections could be sown up!
But hey! Is there actually anyone out there who is presently, now, today looking at the causes of this flooding? Is there anyone developing strategies to ensure that no-one has to abandon their houses again? If these houses are built on flood plains why is the government continuing to allow such building? And if these lands are deemed habitable at all then they must be fully protected from flooding. In the Somerset levels and Wraysbury the locals have been forced to abandon their homes. Isn't it time the government decided either to accept that this area is uninhabitable and so relocate the local population or invest in proper hydro engineering solutions such as abound in Holland?
Flooding is a political issue. It's not enough to make us aware that we have to cut back our CO2 emissions. No-one is going to go back to the days when we didn't make long haul flights. No-one is going to pack away their computers and their TVs. No-one is going to turn off their fridges and sell their cars. We live in a world with a rising middle class. There will be more and more people with TVs. There will be more consumption. And unless we do something to drastically reduce the toxicity of our emissions, climate change will become increasingly threatening to our existence. Like most people I try to walk and use public transport when possible but I still want to drive a car when I need to. I still want to fly when I have to. I still want to use electricity. Is it really that difficult in this day and age to provide me with a more environmentally friendly form of power?
And yes I am prepared to pay higher taxes in order to live in a healthier environment. But I also want to know that the government is requiring the major power companies to invest in the research necessary to develop a better environment for us all. So much investment in the traditional fossil fuels and so little in biodegradable energies! And who is benefitting the most? Not the consumer!