Germany’s Floods “Catastrophic”

July 16, 2021

In one of the world’s richest nations with first class infrastructure, this kind of damage ought to be a wake up to anyone who thinks they are immune.

Posted by greenman3610
Filed in Crock of the Week

3 Comments »

3 Responses to “Germany’s Floods “Catastrophic””

ecoquant Says:

July 16, 2021 at 10:16 am
An environmental scientist I know has argued that while developing countries often lack the resources to respond to large natural disasters, in general, they are more robust and resilient since their societies are less dependent upon infrastructure. In the extreme, they simply migrate. He does not mean this is fun and he does not mean these people do not deserve our financial and technological support. After all, we (meaning U.S., Canada, Europe, and their transplants) caused most of this, historically, and we continue to be a big reason why it continues.

What he does mean is that our societies are more fragile. There are key points in our energy and transportation infrastructure which food supply, energy supply, and trade depends, and if these are compromised or destroyed, the repercussions for quality of life and economics are severe. We do not, for example, plan where to put refineries and things. They are put where people decide they can afford to place them, even if that means putting them in areas of potential flooding and potential big storms.

I guess summing up his comment, he meant that the U.S. and Europe, like the U.K., have populations which are “whiny”, a term I heard said of England in anticipation of disruptions in lifestyle and comforts as a result of a hard Brexit.

The experience in Germany could well be a bellwether.

Reply
Keith McClary Says:

July 16, 2021 at 4:09 pm
Video unavailable
The uploader has not made this video available in your country.

Reply
- rhymeswithgoalie Says:
  
  July 16, 2021 at 9:05 pm
  Try this BBC video:
  
  Reply