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When I heard about the severe flooding in High River, it made me think...this town's name is quite appropriate.
You've got to wonder why so many cities and towns are built along rivers and coastal areas that are so prone to flooding. Personally, I would think twice about moving to a town names High River. Or Burning Hills. Or Deluge Valley. Etc. Gotta think the people who named High River had a reasons for it.
Anyhow, all joking aside, it's very sad to see the flooding and I hope the affected areas are able to recover without too much loss. Unfortunately, this kind of extreme weather seems to be increasingly common as our atmosphere is able to hold more moisture due to warming. Of course, no one wants to hear that climate change might be partly responsible for the intensity of the rains and flooding. Accepting that climate change is affecting our planet's weather - and contributing to the flooding in Aberta - would mean having to address the issue, and that would mean second-guessing the oil sands development, and our government's apathy towards global warming. When it was just droughts in Africa, wild fires in Australia, flooding in New Orleans, and other catastrophes in other far away places, it was easy for us to ignore the problem. Now that we are experiencing this kind of severe weather here at home, I wonder if anyone will recognize he need for our government to take action on climate change.
When I heard about the severe flooding in High River, it made me think...this town's name is quite appropriate.
You've got to wonder why so many cities and towns are built along rivers and coastal areas that are so prone to flooding. Personally, I would think twice about moving to a town names High River. Or Burning Hills. Or Deluge Valley. Etc. Gotta think the people who named High River had a reasons for it.
Anyhow, all joking aside, it's very sad to see the flooding and I hope the affected areas are able to recover without too much loss. Unfortunately, this kind of extreme weather seems to be increasingly common as our atmosphere is able to hold more moisture due to warming. Of course, no one wants to hear that climate change might be partly responsible for the intensity of the rains and flooding. Accepting that climate change is affecting our planet's weather - and contributing to the flooding in Aberta - would mean having to address the issue, and that would mean second-guessing the oil sands development, and our government's apathy towards global warming. When it was just droughts in Africa, wild fires in Australia, flooding in New Orleans, and other catastrophes in other far away places, it was easy for us to ignore the problem. Now that we are experiencing this kind of severe weather here at home, I wonder if anyone will recognize he need for our government to take action on climate change.
High River takes its name from the Highwood River (whose name is a rough translation from Blackfoot - something to do with the size of the Cottonwoods in the bottomlands nearby).
I would speculate that people settled there because there's very little water in Southern Alberta - early settlers could choose between no water or the risk of flood. Not a terribly difficult choice.
Also, in regards to pushing your agenda:
Knock off the proselytizing. Nobody wants to hear it right now.
As a weather forecaster in North Dakota and Minnesota and friends with many Canadians....I look at the flooding in Calgary and High River and soon to be Medicine Hat and other locations with great interest and knowing what we went through in Grand Forks ND 10+ years ago feel great pain for the losses.
But I do know as well, the Canadian and Prairie spirit is alive in well on both sides of the border and we take care of each other.
That 400 year flood or whatever they were calling it was back in 1997. Our farm was not in danger but we were sandbagging for neighbours every day and it was heartbreaking when the dikes failed in Ste. Agathe. If Winnipeg didn't have the floodway (Duff's Ditch) it would have flooded many, many times.
Knock off the proselytizing. Nobody wants to hear it right now.
Actually, it seems a lot of people want to hear and discuss the issues I've raised right now
And I have no agenda, unless by agenda you mean discussing an issue that apparently you and some others just don't want to hear about.
But this is a discussion forum, and I am discussing an important related issue. If discussing this extremely relevant subject which has received widespread commentary in the mainstream news media is "proselytizing" then either you need to check the OED definition of the word you are casually throwing around, or perhaps I should find a board where open, honest discussion doesn't receive the typical "I don't want to hear it now" defensiveness of people who don't think something this important should be spoken about in any other away except expressions of sympathy and "prayers" for those affected. All the prayers in the world aren't going to help a High River flood survivor rebuild their lives. However, taking action on climate change and addressing the issue of building highly populated areas in river valleys and flood plains might prevent a future disaster like this.
Oh, but this isn't the time for that kind of talk. Better we wait a few years when everyone has forgotten about it, and the will to engage in this discussion and make the necessary changes to the way we live no longer exists because people have been lulled back into the their usual state of complacency.
If anyone here has an agenda, it is those who don't want the words "climate change" mentioned in the same sentence as the Alberta flood. Their agenda is to keep people from discussing the connection, from talking about our government's could-care-less attitude regarding the issue, and most of all from mentioning that all those climate disasters we've been watching all these years have finally hit home. But if I'm the guy with the agenda, I'm glad to know I'm far from alone.
I suppose all these news agencies are also prosyletizing?
A quick Google search will lead you to hundreds more articles, OP-eds, blogs, news reports, articles in scientific journals, etc. that make a direct connection between the Alberta floods and climate change. If now is not a good time to talk about this issue, when is?
Last edited by TOkidd; 06-26-2013 at 05:29 PM..
Reason: Added links to other "prosyletizers"
.... If now is not a good time to talk about this issue, when is?
There doesn't seem to be any topics in the Canada forum about climate change. I know there are other very politically charged topics about it in the General Topics sections of CD but I would be more interested to see one in the Canada forum, one that really is about climate change and is less politically charged along the lines of "American liberals vs. republicans" rhetoric. I do think climate change is something that needs to be discussed but it deserves a seperate topic of its own here so it can be more ongoing in diversity and inclusive of other events besides what has just happened in Alberta.
If you are interested to start a new topic devoted to climate change, about how it pertains to Canada in particular and its potential future impacts on Canada as well as the rest of the planet I would be very interested to participate and contribute in that discussion. If you start a topic maybe you could include the bulk of your above post in it, along with the links you posted, because I think the challenge you posted there is one that should be addressed.
There doesn't seem to be any topics in the Canada forum about climate change. I know there are other very politically charged topics about it in the General Topics sections of CD but I would be more interested to see one in the Canada forum, one that really is about climate change and is less politically charged along the lines of "American liberals vs. republicans" rhetoric. I do think climate change is something that needs to be discussed but it deserves a seperate topic of its own here so it can be more ongoing in diversity and inclusive of other events besides what has just happened in Alberta. If you want to start a new topic devoted to climate change, about how it pertains to Canada in particular and its potential future impacts on Canada as well as the rest of the planet I would be very interested to participate and contribute in that discussion.
If you start a topic maybe you could include the bulk of your above post in it, along with the links you posted, because I think the challenge you posted there is one that should be addressed.
.
I agree. I wasn't trying to start the discussion here in this forum. I just thought the issue deserved some consideration since no one had mentioned it.
Actually, it seems a lot of people want to hear and discuss the issues I've raised right now
And I have no agenda, unless by agenda you mean discussing an issue that apparently you and some others just don't want to hear about.
But this is a discussion forum, and I am discussing an important related issue. If discussing this extremely relevant subject which has received widespread commentary in the mainstream news media is "proselytizing" then either you need to check the OED definition of the word you are casually throwing around, or perhaps I should find a board where open, honest discussion doesn't receive the typical "I don't want to hear it now" defensiveness of people who don't think something this important should be spoken about in any other away except expressions of sympathy and "prayers" for those affected. All the prayers in the world aren't going to help a High River flood survivor rebuild their lives. However, taking action on climate change and addressing the issue of building highly populated areas in river valleys and flood plains might prevent a future disaster like this.
Oh, but this isn't the time for that kind of talk. Better we wait a few years when everyone has forgotten about it, and the will to engage in this discussion and make the necessary changes to the way we live no longer exists because people have been lulled back into the their usual state of complacency.
If anyone here has an agenda, it is those who don't want the words "climate change" mentioned in the same sentence as the Alberta flood. Their agenda is to keep people from discussing the connection, from talking about our government's could-care-less attitude regarding the issue, and most of all from mentioning that all those climate disasters we've been watching all these years have finally hit home. But if I'm the guy with the agenda, I'm glad to know I'm far from alone.
I suppose all these news agencies are also prosyletizing?
A quick Google search will lead you to hundreds more articles, OP-eds, blogs, news reports, articles in scientific journals, etc. that make a direct connection between the Alberta floods and climate change. If now is not a good time to talk about this issue, when is?
This isn't about climate change, it's about class, tact and having a modicum of respect for people's loss.
Perhaps the floods are out of the headlines in the rest of the world and everyone's assumed that we're all back home, ready to rebuild. I hate to break it to you, but that's not the case.
I still have a pair of High River flood survivors living with me. They're still under evacuation orders. I'm not praying for them, either. I'm trying to provide a small amount of comfort to them until they can go home - assuming they have a home to go to.
On the other hand, they're dealing with the death of friends better than I probably would, so there's that, I suppose.
Your first post was a tasteless joke and advice that, frankly, belied a general unawareness as to the situation at hand. There's certainly a time and place for a discussion of climate change and building practices. A thread that has, up to that point, consisted of posts from those directly involved (myself and several Calgarians), the curious, concerned and those able to offer advice from previous experiences, is most definitely not that place.
The last sentence you wrote makes me wonder just how insulated from the rest of the world you are (...If now is not a good time to talk about this issue, when is?)
When you wrote that first post evacuations were still actively happening and cell and electrical services were still down in large parts of the affected areas, leaving many people unaccounted for.
Imagine yourself off the internet for a moment. Place yourself at an emergency reception center in Blackie, AB. You're speaking to people who have no idea if their house is still standing, let alone dry, and who are unaware as to the location and safety of their family, friends and neighbours. Imagine that you start telling them about what a stupid location High River is for a town and how their own lack of concern regarding climate change resulted in the flood.
Ask yourself if that would be an appropriate thing to do because that's more or less what you did.
This isn't about climate change, it's about class, tact and having a modicum of respect for people's loss.
Perhaps the floods are out of the headlines in the rest of the world and everyone's assumed that we're all back home, ready to rebuild. I hate to break it to you, but that's not the case.
I still have a pair of High River flood survivors living with me. They're still under evacuation orders. I'm not praying for them, either. I'm trying to provide a small amount of comfort to them until they can go home - assuming they have a home to go to.
On the other hand, they're dealing with the death of friends better than I probably would, so there's that, I suppose.
Your first post was a tasteless joke and advice that, frankly, belied a general unawareness as to the situation at hand. There's certainly a time and place for a discussion of climate change and building practices. A thread that has, up to that point, consisted of posts from those directly involved (myself and several Calgarians), the curious, concerned and those able to offer advice from previous experiences, is most definitely not that place.
The last sentence you wrote makes me wonder just how insulated from the rest of the world you are (...If now is not a good time to talk about this issue, when is?)
When you wrote that first post evacuations were still actively happening and cell and electrical services were still down in large parts of the affected areas, leaving many people unaccounted for.
Imagine yourself off the internet for a moment. Place yourself at an emergency reception center in Blackie, AB. You're speaking to people who have no idea if their house is still standing, let alone dry, and who are unaware as to the location and safety of their family, friends and neighbours. Imagine that you start telling them about what a stupid location High River is for a town and how their own lack of concern regarding climate change resulted in the flood.
Ask yourself if that would be an appropriate thing to do because that's more or less what you did.
Perhaps my comment about the name of High River was uncalled for, but otherwise I don't imagine that people in the midst of this disaster would be on an urban discussion board looking for emergency resources or help. There are far more suitable places for people in need of services to seek them. This is a discussion board, and I was discussing an issue relevant to the title of the thread - South Alberta Flooding. I think your analogy is a false one, because as you mentioned, people in the midst of to disaster are facing many serious crises, including the loss of power and Internet service. I don't imagine they would be on City Data seeking help and information. So I don't think my mention of climate change in this thread is the same as bringing up the issue to those who are struggling through the crisis - do you think those people have time to be on a message board called City Data?
I'm sorry if I've offended you, but every news agency in the country and beyond is talking about the relationship between this disaster and climate change. I think perhaps this is a wake up call for our nation that our government's stance on the issue is untenable.
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