Whilst it might be tempting to kill the messenger, George Monbiot outlines what we instinctively know. We need a fully integrated approach to climate change, energy policy, flood defences, land management and lots more. He points out the contradictions and problems with our current ‘leadership’ on these issues. 

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/07/hide-evidence-storm-desmond-floods-paris-talks

George Monbiot (Guardian) ‘It’s as if it had come to remind us of what’s at stake. While the climate negotiations in Paris trudge their dreary road, Storm Desmond takes a great boot to our backsides. Yet still we fail to make the connection. The news records the spectacle and ignores the implications.

Flooding on this scale used to be described as a “once in 100 years”, or 200 years event. But in Cumbria, where some 30cm of rain fell in 24 hours, this is the third such catastrophe since 2005. Exceptional events are, perhaps, no longer exceptional.

If so, we should scarcely be surprised. More heat means more energy in the system, and more moisture in the atmosphere. An analysis by scientists at the Met Office, published last month, found that global warming raised the odds – by a factor of seven – that a string of storms of the kind the UK suffered two winters ago would result in exceptionally wet weather. At least 60,000 homes are without power, villages and towns are cut off and clean water could run out after storm affects treatment works and water mains

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Just as remarkable is the collective lack of interest in what happens when rain hits the ground. The government boasts that: “We are spending £2.3bn in flood management and defences over the course of this parliament – half a billion pounds more than in the previous parliament.” Yet almost all the money devoted to freshwater flood relief is being spent at the bottom of river catchments. This means waiting until the wall of water arrives before seeking to contain it; a perfect formula for disappointment.’ 

To read more go to: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/07/hide-evidence-storm-desmond-floods-paris-talks