Who’s Responsible for the Floods?
Iowa has declared about two-thirds of the state a disaster area, as crops, homes and large chunks of cities lie underwater. Like New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, residents along the Mississippi are living under curfews and having to pass through checkpoints to see their damaged homes. Also like New Orleans, government planning is to blame. Environmental groups are proving it is “Global Warming” related while some Meteorologists are still saying it is part of a normal weather cycle. Mother nature many have caused the weather, but who is to blame for the disaster?
While science is demonstrating that global warming is definitely influencing weather, it is impossible to be sure if it contributed to the heavy rains that recently hit the Midwest. If global warming is to blame, it will likely get worse before it gets better, even if we start cutting CO2 emissions now. With weather systems getting more erratic, should we begin to prepare for more extreme weather conditions and flooding?
The Army Corps of Engineers has spent billions of tax dollars in recent years on construction intended to subdue or divert the power of water and weather. Even before the phrase “global warming” hit the scene, some experts say it is a losing battle. With an increase in government spending to control flooding through dams, levees and canals, so have the costs of flood damages.
According to one Washington D.C. based environmental group, the Army Corps of Engineers, along with the rest of the federal government, is simply wasting money and endangering people with futile attempts to overpower Mother Nature. They claim that 100-year floods are now occurring every decade. This is a point that is being recognized by residents of Des Moines Iowa.