Unless you live in a bubble, you’ve no doubt observed significant flooding somewhere in the last few weeks. News sources are busy talking about how dangerous this is, how much damage it might cause, etc. But I have yet to hear any one of them mention this might just be a weather pattern we will continue to see in years to come. I hope I’m wrong, but I fear I may not be.
I happen to subscribe to the belief that global warming is a reality and we are going to see some significant weather shifts over the course of my lifetime. It will likely come as no surprise to anyone who reads this blog that NASA released a study last month citing road transportation as a key driver of global warming. We see a glimmer of hope from our Secretary of Transportation, Ray Lahood, when he announced a new US DOT policy statement concerning walking and biking. A day later, the Courthouse News Service reports that some members of congress
suggested LaHood was taking drugs, dismissed the very idea of bike lanes and derided any change to a car-dependent society.
I’m not biased against cars, but I will admit I’m biased towards transportation options that make the most sense. Frequently, this means the personal automobile is not the best choice. I’m still optimistic that American’s will come around to this way of thinking, some day. I just hope it’s not too late at that point.
As I walk around our flooded streets, I can’t help but think to myself, what would this World be like with less pavement? Perhaps we can slow global warming AND protect against flooding like this by ripping up some of this pavement and replacing it with grass, trees, and plants. Wouldn’t that be nice?