Midwest flooding and other natural(?) disasters

by Hollede, Tue Jun 17, 2008 at 05:03:01 PM EST

I am trying to avoid work, following very interesting conversations on mydd, and have an ear on CNN. I am struck by the floods in Iowa. I lived through the 1997 flood in Grand Forks, North Dakota. We were luckier than most, as our house, despite being very close to the river, was not a bad as so many others. Still I can barely look at the footage over the past week; have a bit of PTSD from the event yet; and feel so awful about what the people down there must be going through. Their pain has just started. I will say that my Indian friends in GF said that their ancestors wondered why on earth the crazy white people would build a city on that river.

That said, I am struck by how much more this effects me than other disasters farther away. I am also effected by the disasters elsewhere, but it resonates so much more when you are closer to a disaster in some way. And gee whiz, there seem to be so many of them these days. Hmmmm.  Oh, and please donate to the Red Cross or something. So many people really need help.

Do you think that people make the connection between these events? Do you think that naming the major cause of these events Global Warming has slowed understanding of what is really occurring? I really try to help people understand what is really going on, naming it for it is: Global Climate Change, and once it is explained to them, many seem to get it.

Anyway, just a couple thoughts that have been rolling around in my head over the last week. Any thoughts, comment, flames, whatever...

Oh shit. Cafferty on CNN just said the 'buzz" is suggesting  that Obama take Hagel as his running mate. What a tool. Not Obama. Not even Hagel. Cafferty. God I hate that guy. I shouldn't be so venomous, but that guy really burns me. He is so fucking sanctimonious about everything. Does he really think I don't remember what a fucking cheerleader he was for the Irag war? In spite of most of their other offensive views, you have to say that at least Hagel, Pat Buchanan and Lou Dobbs aren't hypocrites.




Tags: Midwest flooding, natural(?) disasters, global climate change, global warming (all tags)

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Re: Midwest flooding and other natural(?) disaster (none / 0)

Floods are natural occurrences along rivers. If you live on a flood plain you can expect this type of thing to happen.


"No self-respecting woman should wish or work for the success of a party that ignores her." - Susan B. Anthony
by feelfree on Tue Jun 17, 2008 at 08:22:46 PM EST

Re: Midwest flooding and other natural(?) disaster (none / 0)

Wow...a little simplistic.  I hope that you didn't write that to be as cold as it sounded.  I'm in St Louis and I'm going drive 75 miles north to go sandbaging tomorrow.  I know that others will be in the St Louis area when we need help too.  There might be whole towns that are lost.  The one thing that I am proud about is the hundreds of volunteers giving everything they have to save both their own and other people's communities.


Education is the process of shedding one's prejudices.
by Luma on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 01:12:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Midwest flooding and other natural(?) disaster (none / 0)

Thanks for the comment. I have been having trouble posting. I think the comment is incredibly simplistic and rather naive. I just wrote another diary that tries to address this more fully.


The Moose is on the loose. "And I scream at the top of my lungs, what's going on?"
by Hollede on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 01:21:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Midwest flooding and other natural(?) disaster (none / 0)

It is simplistic. This isn't rocket science.

Rivers flood, otherwise there would be no farmland. The earth is a continuous cycle of replenishment and rebirth. People who choose to live on a flood plain know the risks involved. This isn't a phenomenon which was unexpected like a tornado.

Doing man made things to control the flow of water exacerbates the problem. I saw a report of how a man made lake in Wisconsin dried up. Basically the water went over a highway and it drained itself contributing to the flooding. I saw homes falling into a lake as the water rushed by it taking the soil right along with it. I wonder if it was the same lake. Building a home on a levy does not seem smart. Now those people have no land and no house.

We saw the same thing in New Orleans after Katrina. Man contributed to the devastation by building communities on land which would have offered a natural barrier to the flooding and tried to control the flow of water with a man made barrier. These are disasters which can be avoided or least reduced in devastation.

It may sound cold, but it is not like people don't know these things. City planners, builders, insurance companies, homeowners, local, state, and federal governments all know it.

Yes it is wonderful to lend a helping hand to communities and save lives and property. At what point will the federal government stop funding disasters and the rebuilding and tell people to get out of the flood plain. The farmland is one thing, but to keep rebuilding disaster-prone communities is foolhardy.

What I find naive is to say this is related to global warming. It's Spring. If the area was in a drought and the rivers and lakes were drying up a reasonable person may conclude global warming could be the cause.

There is a weather system stalled over the area. The southern plains states experienced a similar weather system in May and June last year. Some places experienced as much as 45 days of rain in varying amounts in a two month period.


"No self-respecting woman should wish or work for the success of a party that ignores her." - Susan B. Anthony
by feelfree on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 03:36:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Midwest flooding and other natural(?) disaster (none / 0)

You know that was rude and I apologize. I guess in a way I agree with you, but thought that was self evident in the diary when I tried to preface my comments with words from some of the smartest people I know, Native Americans. They knew not to live near the river in the spring and the thought white people were crazy for building their cities by the river.

That said, I also think that your comments make the point I was trying to make. You call it Global Warming. That is a complete misnomer. It is really called Global Climate Change for a reason. I'll even give you that (just for arguments sake) these floods are not caused by GCC, but can you deny something is happening to the earth? I do understand that the earth has been around for a very long time and event far worse than we are experiencing have occurred time and time again. I enjoy reading about these things, but am no expert. However, I think that the consensus is now that what is occurring now is unprecedented as it has been caused by human activity.

Now I live on a lake in the middle of the woods and I take very close notice of the weather. It is changing and has been for a while. I wish I could find a site that is not bullshit on either side of the argument. Finally, I would be happy to talk to you again if you have anything further to say.


The Moose is on the loose. "And I scream at the top of my lungs, what's going on?"
by Hollede on Wed Jun 18, 2008 at 01:19:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]


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