tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804513671389132165.post4465559490224132073..comments2023-07-25T07:08:51.934-06:00Comments on Bill Longstaff: I participate in an historic eventBill Longstaffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15883751372039947365noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804513671389132165.post-46168852699526176302013-07-19T15:12:58.853-06:002013-07-19T15:12:58.853-06:00Good to be back, Mound.
No, I wasn't in my a...Good to be back, Mound. <br /><br />No, I wasn't in my apartment when the big water arrived. I had taken to my heels. Awe-inspiring it certainly was.Bill Longstaffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15883751372039947365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4804513671389132165.post-35032388868150684672013-07-18T20:33:56.854-06:002013-07-18T20:33:56.854-06:00Hi, Bill. Good to hear from you at last. Were yo...Hi, Bill. Good to hear from you at last. Were you in your apartment during the deluge? There's something eerily awe-inspiring in a flood. It pries away our comfortable notions of control, akin to what is experienced in communities hit by tornadoes or coastal towns battered by hurricanes. It's there, before your eyes, in your face and there's nothing within our power to do about it except to find a safe place to wait it out.<br /><br />What if the floods that struck Calgary and Toronto this year are "the new normal" as some suggest? What if this is climate change's grand entrance - one upside the head?<br /><br />It's like a prize fight. It's not so much how well you can take a punch but rather how many punches you can absorb over successive rounds. How many hits will we be able to take before our society buckles at the knees?<br /><br />Here on the coast some otherwise well off types are beginning to get concerned about sea level rise. It's not that a few centimetres matters in itself. It's what that modest sea level rise translates into during high tides magnified by storm surges and rivers engorged with spring mountain runoff. When those three factors come together, seaside homes become indefensible.<br /><br />Even the Dutch with their smallish coastline and relatively dense population concentration are accepting the necessity of surrendering lands back to the sea.<br /><br />Good to have you back. Hope you can return home soon.The Mound of Soundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023839743772372922noreply@blogger.com