Do you really think the recent floods are down to global warming?

Question

Have you considered the continual building on flood plains and the failure to dredge cannals and rivers?

Some good answers developing. So why are we hearing some local councillors cliam it proves the case for global warming?

Watch out Sheffield some of your councillors are really hooked on blaming anyone/thing but their own lack of foresight and consequences from short term cost cutting initiatives.

I have no problem with the need to recognise that resources need to be valued and not wasted, but it is true that science disproves Al Gores great theory and points out the fact that the increase in Co2 comes AFTER the temperature has risen and is not the cause of temperature increase. It is likely that the cycle is self fullfilling. I.E. it gets warmer, more of the sea evaporates(biggest source of Co2 into the atmosphere FACT) it takes longer to disipate, it gets warmer and so on.

We are more likely to be the cause of NO2 and SO2 which are also harmful, but unless you are going to tell the half of the world that is desperate for electricity to get out of poverty you can't have it. You are going to have to come 'clean' and tell the people why they really have to give up flying on holiday and using their cars.
It is to help the 2 Billion starving and homeless.

Answer 1

Nope.

But building on cheap lands with shoddy civil engineering seemed like SUCH a good idea at the time. I'm sure that city planners would love it if global warming would be the fall guy.

Answer 2

Before the "in" word global warming came about watching nature was a good indication of the weather to come. Hopefully the deluge we are experiencing points to a hot late summer.
Also this is Wimbledon fornight and going back through the years how often has this been disrupted by rain.
It is obvious that we have not looked after the planet as we should and for every argument "for" their is an argument against.
Some scientists claim that this has happened millions of years ago, but who told them or where di they read it?

Answer 3

YES I DO---The Mississippi Delta is dissapearing Rapidly---MANY Rivers have OverRun their banks too---The Oceans ARE WARMER,Forcing a Warm Moist Continuous Inflow From the Gulf Coast Up Through the Mid West---Causing a Repeating Storm Front BuildUp---MANY TROPICAL ISLANDS are Swamped---Ice IS MELTING at the Poles Faster,And this IS THE WARMEST YEAR SINCE 1999---When will PEOPLE OR THE GOVERNMENT PUT A CURB TO POLUTION???---Is the Economy So Dambed Important that we CAN'T SEE THE FOREST FOR THE TREES???---We MUST Begin to Work together to REDUCE the Systematic Destruction of our Environment---BEFORE Mother Nature REALLY TURNS ON US!!!---People Call me an Alarmest---I Don't Need to be---The Sky Full of Monsterous Thunder Heads For Weeks on end SHOULD TELL YOU SOMETHING!!!---Mother Nature is Just Clearing Her Throat---Wait Till She Really Gets Started!!!---Yee Of Little Faith WILL Wonder What Hit You!!!---Signed---JEM

Answer 4

It is often wet during the the late part of June, look at how often they are running late on Wimbledon due to rain. There is no doubt that the continued building on flood plains is not helping. But also as individuals we are concreting front gardens for extra parking, and therefore getting more "run off" rather than water soaking into the garden.
A lot of mature trees have been cut down and these absorb huge amounts of water from the soil. But the one I heard in all seriousness on Radio 4 last week was blaming sheep:-

the number of sheep in the upland areas has doubled in the last 20 years and the extra sheep are treading down the soil and therefore the rain runs off not soaking in.

Honestly?

Answer 5

The recent floods are to do with man's interventions. In the UK to comply with building regulations and planning all rainwater must be channeled away from buildings and roads. Farmers use intensive farming and agricultural methods (heavy machinery which compacts soil and leeches nutrients) which means that the soil is no longer open soil that drains water away. On top of this more and more of our land is being built on and more and more roads are being constructed.

So in short, instead of draining water away we should be keeping water on the land/gardens where it is needed. Instead we are covering more and more of the land with asphalt (bitumen).

Removal of trees and forests also means that the land is now over illuminated. This means that the temperature gradient is no longer conducive to the absorption of cool rain. Try this simple experiment: Take some water from the fridge and try watering a dry pot plant. Then do the same with warm water and see what the difference is. You will notice that the warm water is absorbed more easily. Now if you put the pot plant in the fridge then try the experiment again you will find that the cooler water can now be absorbed more easily. So hot illuminated fields ie plowed and not shaded by woods do not absorb water as well.

Try pouring water onto your patio then try pouring water at the roots of a tree. Notice the difference?

Drainage systems are not designed to carry so much water at once. However, Nature is perfectly designed to disperse large amounts of water and store it. If we let her. So it is because of asphalt. We are asses and its our fault (asphalt = assfault).

Answer 6

Maybe not where your from but the rest of the world are having tornado's were they have never had them before !! The ice caps are melting this is a fact and polar bears are running out of ice to hunt on!! The snow packs here just about caused some major flooding that has not been seen since 1946 but we have better dams now but it doesn't seem to matter !! The world is changing !! Weather patterns are out of whack!! One day it's hot then the next day it's almost freezing!! I've never seen it like this before and I've been around for a long time!! I believe it's more than just a failure to dredge or the building on flood plains at least not here!!

Answer 7

Global warming is caused by mankind who failed to discipline themselve with the luxuries they been enjoying on earth. Allowing themselve to indulge imprudent behaviour in lifestyle,business,social activities and so on without thinking of the ensueing consequences like wastages, by-products, noxious gases emitting the atmosphere thus resulting in the thinning of the ozone layer.
When the stratosphere corrects itself naturally, it increases the rotating speed of the earth because it depends on the ceiling or height of the stratosphere and mountains for the wind to maintain it speed and velocity.
In addition, man made artificial rivers like the one that been progressing between Thailand and Malaysia for more than 25years which changes the natural flow of the sea contributing to the obstructions of planetary movement and gravitational aspect which based on the land mass.
Invariably,global warming causes the ice melting at the northpole and southpole of the earth too.
We are witnessing what is happening and everyone of us is responsible one way or another and we do really think.

Answer 8

global warming
global warming is an increase in average temperature of the earths atmosphere.we are putting large amounts of carbon dioxide into the air, and it "blankets" up in the atmosphere trapping warm air in the earth.

global warming is melting the artic. the artic is the earths natural air conditioner. without the earth will become unbearibly hotter. if the artic fully melts the ocean will rise 20 feet. think of every foot of the ocean having an extra 20 feet of water on it. places will flood. one place in india, home to 60 million people will flood. the world trait centre memorial would be under water. in the year 2050 it is estimated the artic will be ful,ly melted . huge amounts of people will be starving and looking for a home. a million species of animals will be extinct.

things you can do:
-change a regular lightbulb to a compact florescent lightbulb
-walk instead of driving more often
-for your washing maching use cold water instead of hot
-install a low flow shower head for your shower

global warming is not a joke. be part of the solution, not part of the problem!

Answer 9

I don't know much about the flooding you have experienced up there.. but here in Sydney flooding is caused by urbanisation. Too much rain water hits hardstand, paved or tiled roof surfaces and it is then discharged into the street curb where it is meant to flow through pipes leading to channels, into rivers and discharge pipes on beaches and out to sea. If only we harvested more of that water. If only we cleaned it up a bit before it meets the rivers and the ocean.. if only we stored it before it left our properties.... I suspect I could harvest at least 200,000 litres of rain water every year from my little house and its small parcel of land... now I suppose that we use about 800 litres a day.. I mean we try to conserve it but.. we are a family of five and we get a lot of visitors... ... but that would cut our reliance on town purified water back to about 1/3rd of its present use. If everyone did that.. we would have the most beautiful natural waterways in the world here in Sydney, I think.... and they wouldn't need dredging would they?

Answer 10

It's a mistake to link any specific weather events to global warming. Short term weather is just short term weather.

It can be said that, over the long haul, global warming will generally make weather more extreme. Global warming raises heat levels overall, and heat is the fuel of storms. And it increases differences between the upper atmosphere and the lower, which also tends to cause more severe storms.

Saying the floods are related to global warming is bad science. Saying we're likely to see more extreme weather events as a general thing is quite correct.