Tim Morton is a literary critic and environmental philosopher, if you will, who teaches at Rice in Houston. Here’s a podcast where he talks about the hurricane:
Morton & his family are OK. 40cc of water at the end of his street. “Flood planes are hilarious, because they’re all based on kinda you know history. And history is changing right now.”
One underlying cause of Houston’s suffering is that developers and town officials in Harris County, which contains Houston, have for years advocated the development of the wetlands and prairies around the city—land that had long served to absorb the rainwater that now overwhelms the region’s sewers and streams every year. The flood-absorbent grasslands of the Katy Prairie have been cut by three-quarters over the past few decades as Houston sprawled west. The state played along, funding expansion of I-10, “the Katy Freeway,†and another road, the Grand Parkway, which further opened that land up for development. To make matters worse, money-hungry officials also encouraged development in low-lying, flood-prone areas without regard to future risk. There have been more than 7,000 units built in the hundred-year floodplain since 2010, according to a ProPublica/Texas Tribune analysis. Efforts to reform the city’s building codes have been met with strong resistance in an area where homebuilding has been a major economic engine.
Last year, the longtime head of the Harris County flood control district, Mike Talbott, told ProPublica that his agency had no plans to study the impact of climate change on the region’s flooding problems. Here’s a quote from that article, which is well worth reading in full:
Of the astonishing frequency of huge floods the city has been getting, he said, “I don’t think it’s the new normal.†He also criticized scientists and conservationists for being “anti-development.â€
“They have an agenda … their agenda to protect the environment overrides common sense,†he said.
New degree of cluelessness: Melania along with her incompetent husband, while visiting Texas and not meeting with even one flood victim, sported a cap that read FLOTUS.
Sorry engels about the pedantry.
The situation there is horrible. And no doubt enhanced from global warming, since the Gulf is unusually warm.
An excellent time to remember that all but one Republicans representing Texas in Congress (both Senators and 23 of 24 Representatives) voted against Hurricane Sandy relief. And these are the GOP Senators who voted against, grouped by state:
{ 13 comments }
Bill Benzon 08.28.17 at 1:46 pm
Tim Morton is a literary critic and environmental philosopher, if you will, who teaches at Rice in Houston. Here’s a podcast where he talks about the hurricane:
http://culturesofenergy.com/ep-87-hurricane-harvey-feat-timothy-morton/
Morton & his family are OK. 40cc of water at the end of his street. “Flood planes are hilarious, because they’re all based on kinda you know history. And history is changing right now.”
b9n10nt 08.28.17 at 2:46 pm
Houston, ignoring climate change
from the article:
One underlying cause of Houston’s suffering is that developers and town officials in Harris County, which contains Houston, have for years advocated the development of the wetlands and prairies around the city—land that had long served to absorb the rainwater that now overwhelms the region’s sewers and streams every year. The flood-absorbent grasslands of the Katy Prairie have been cut by three-quarters over the past few decades as Houston sprawled west. The state played along, funding expansion of I-10, “the Katy Freeway,†and another road, the Grand Parkway, which further opened that land up for development. To make matters worse, money-hungry officials also encouraged development in low-lying, flood-prone areas without regard to future risk. There have been more than 7,000 units built in the hundred-year floodplain since 2010, according to a ProPublica/Texas Tribune analysis. Efforts to reform the city’s building codes have been met with strong resistance in an area where homebuilding has been a major economic engine.
Last year, the longtime head of the Harris County flood control district, Mike Talbott, told ProPublica that his agency had no plans to study the impact of climate change on the region’s flooding problems. Here’s a quote from that article, which is well worth reading in full:
Of the astonishing frequency of huge floods the city has been getting, he said, “I don’t think it’s the new normal.†He also criticized scientists and conservationists for being “anti-development.â€
“They have an agenda … their agenda to protect the environment overrides common sense,†he said.
RD 08.28.17 at 3:59 pm
It’s a hoax.
All those wading people are actors.
William Timberman 08.28.17 at 4:45 pm
How far down the comeuppance list is Mar-A-Lago? Stay tuned.
engels 08.28.17 at 10:43 pm
Stay safe and stay as dry as you can.
I’m reminded of the classic Roger Moore line
Dr. Holly Goodhead: Hang on, James!
James Bond: The thought had occurred to me.
Alan White 08.28.17 at 11:46 pm
@ 8
007 was pointing out the redundancy of the imperative.
John in the OP was using a classic optative as expressing a wish.
BTW I’m reading Kory Stamper’s excellent Word By Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries, so I hope engels will forgive me.
I second John’s optative.
Alan White 08.28.17 at 11:47 pm
Whoops–I thought that @5 was an @8. Sorry.
Gbh 08.29.17 at 1:33 am
I can assure we are not actors. The city is devastated. We have been lucky so far and are thankful for that. But this will take years to repair.
RD 08.29.17 at 2:46 am
Let them secede.
engels 08.29.17 at 10:27 am
Pedantry aside I’ve been watching the news and it’s horrifying. Thoughts are with all affected
Alan White 08.29.17 at 11:12 pm
New degree of cluelessness: Melania along with her incompetent husband, while visiting Texas and not meeting with even one flood victim, sported a cap that read FLOTUS.
Sorry engels about the pedantry.
The situation there is horrible. And no doubt enhanced from global warming, since the Gulf is unusually warm.
TM 08.30.17 at 7:47 am
An excellent time to remember that all but one Republicans representing Texas in Congress (both Senators and 23 of 24 Representatives) voted against Hurricane Sandy relief. And these are the GOP Senators who voted against, grouped by state:
Alabama: Sessions (R-AL), Nay
Arizona: Flake (R-AZ), Nay; McCain (R-AZ), Nay
Arkansas: Boozman (R-AR), Nay
Florida: Rubio (R-FL), Nay
Georgia: Chambliss (R-GA), Nay; Isakson (R-GA), Nay
Idaho: Crapo (R-ID), Nay; Risch (R-ID), Nay
Illinois: Kirk (R-IL), Nay
Indiana: Coats (R-IN), Nay
Iowa: Grassley (R-IA), Nay
Kansas:Moran (R-KS), Nay; Roberts (R-KS), Nay
Kentucky: McConnell (R-KY), Nay; Paul (R-KY), Nay
Missouri: Blunt (R-MO), Nay
Nebraska: Fischer (R-NE), Nay; Johanns (R-NE), Nay
New Hampshire: Ayotte (R-NH), Nay
North Carolina: Burr (R-NC), Nay
Ohio: Portman (R-OH), Nay
Oklahoma: Coburn (R-OK), Nay; Inhofe (R-OK), Nay
Pennsylvania: Toomey (R-PA), Nay
South Carolina: Graham (R-SC), Nay; Scott (R-SC), Nay
South Dakota: Thune (R-SD), Nay
Tennessee: Corker (R-TN), Nay
Texas: Cornyn (R-TX), Nay; Cruz (R-TX), Nay
Utah: Hatch (R-UT), Nay; Lee (R-UT), Nay
Wisconsin: Johnson (R-WI), Nay
Wyoming: Barrasso (R-WY), Nay; Enzi (R-WY), Nay
https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=1&vote=00004
J-D 08.31.17 at 1:19 am
Agenda is not a dirty word
Agenda is not a dirty word
Agenda is not a dirty word
Don’t you believe what you’ve seen or heard
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