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Global warming, something to worry about in the distant future?

Answers on a damp postcard.


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i am ignorant but can't the government build a large enough canal to handle the volume of flood? some countries have solved floods with dams and huge canals.
Because we have never experienced flooding before.
I always laugh when I see maps like that with triangles stuck all over it. I mean there's a black triangle stuck where I live on the small map. Not only do I live on the top of one of the biggest hills in county Durham but the nearest river is 7 miles away. Even if every bit of ice in the world melted my area still wouldn't flood.

My point is the triangles are so big the maps become irrelevant and scaremongering. Even in the more localised bigger map there you have a triangle bigger than the city of Manchester. Like that's any use.
Original post by HucktheForde
i am ignorant but can't the government build a large enough canal to handle the volume of flood? some countries have solved floods with dams and huge canals.


yeah but some countries also handle several feet of snow each year. Yet a few centimeters of snow here will close schools and bring traffic to standstill. They probably have the mindset that it only happens now and then so spending millions to build something like that, and millions more to maintain it is a waste of money. With more flooding in recent years I suspect that this will change. Then again, it isn't the south of England that has been affected, so it probably won't be sorted out adequately.
Original post by Sephiroth
I always laugh when I see maps like that with triangles stuck all over it. I mean there's a black triangle stuck where I live on the small map. Not only do I live on the top of one of the biggest hills in county Durham but the nearest river is 7 miles away. Even if every bit of ice in the world melted my area still wouldn't flood.

My point is the triangles are so big the maps become irrelevant and scaremongering. Even in the more localised bigger map there you have a triangle bigger than the city of Manchester. Like that's any use.


They have accurate maps too - I just copied the high level map, when you click on those on the environment agency site, they drill down to the actual flood location.

I don't think the authorities are scaremongering, the problem is actually pretty huge. For example, some towns like Carlisle and the ones in the Lake District, are heading towards being uninhabitable if conditions like this become regular, as they are apparently.
Original post by HucktheForde
i am ignorant but can't the government build a large enough canal to handle the volume of flood? some countries have solved floods with dams and huge canals.


Britain is riddled with reservoirs and flood management systems - the issue is that they are currently overwhelmed. When you see the video of the River Irwell thundering down through Lancashire, it's hard to imagine any scale of flood protection that could handle it.

The floods are terrible, all over the place and worse than some have seen it. I've been up in Yorkshire and loads of people affected. Many roads are flooded, one plain was like a huge lake.

Climate warming is definitely something to worry about as it means we will have to do lots of things differently. I wonder what it means for our agriculture industry in particular as plant life cycles are well and truly messed up.
Original post by Fullofsurprises
They have accurate maps too - I just copied the high level map, when you click on those on the environment agency site, they drill down to the actual flood location.

I don't think the authorities are scaremongering, the problem is actually pretty huge. For example, some towns like Carlisle and the ones in the Lake District, are heading towards being uninhabitable if conditions like this become regular, as they are apparently.


Irwel flooded Peel Park some time in the 1800s I think.

They erected a monument to mark the water level :yes:

Original post by HucktheForde
i am ignorant but can't the government build a large enough canal to handle the volume of flood? some countries have solved floods with dams and huge canals.


Pretty much all of those area that are at risk of flooding are on known flood plains.

Part of me thinks that half of the problem is the flood defenses. We just push the problem somewhere else.

Although canals are an option. Maybe we should start dredging rivers again.
Original post by Captain Jack
The floods are terrible, all over the place and worse than some have seen it. I've been up in Yorkshire and loads of people affected. Many roads are flooded, one plain was like a huge lake.

Climate warming is definitely something to worry about as it means we will have to do lots of things differently. I wonder what it means for our agriculture industry in particular as plant life cycles are well and truly messed up.


Some people have very short memories.

Was the huge lake on a plain you saw a flood plain by any chance?
Original post by Sephiroth
I always laugh when I see maps like that with triangles stuck all over it. I mean there's a black triangle stuck where I live on the small map. Not only do I live on the top of one of the biggest hills in county Durham but the nearest river is 7 miles away. Even if every bit of ice in the world melted my area still wouldn't flood.

My point is the triangles are so big the maps become irrelevant and scaremongering. Even in the more localised bigger map there you have a triangle bigger than the city of Manchester. Like that's any use.


That's all very well but people actually "live" in spaces larger than 7 miles. I'm sure you and many others do not work in the same Durham village you live in. The local economy is best described at a wider radius than that. If floods devastate the town where everyone works you are going to suffer much the same hardship as anyone else, if not the flood waters themselves.
Original post by Fullofsurprises
They have accurate maps too - I just copied the high level map, when you click on those on the environment agency site, they drill down to the actual flood location.

I don't think the authorities are scaremongering, the problem is actually pretty huge. For example, some towns like Carlisle and the ones in the Lake District, are heading towards being uninhabitable if conditions like this become regular, as they are apparently.


I suppose it's the media who are at fault here. They only ever show the tiny maps with the country covered in triangles which makes it look like the whole country is under water.

I don't think it's a bad thing that some towns become uninhabitable due to flooding, it's inevitable. It was bad planning to begin with to build up these places on a flood plain, but I guess we can put that down to lack of knowledge in earlier centuries. Instead of spending money on flood defences that will eventually be overwhelmed or push the problem on to communities up/down stream we should be looking at permanent solutions such as building homes and living spaces safe from floods and relocating people.
Original post by scrotgrot
That's all very well but people actually "live" in spaces larger than 7 miles. I'm sure you and many others do not work in the same Durham village you live in. The local economy is best described at a wider radius than that. If floods devastate the town where everyone works you are going to suffer much the same hardship as anyone else, if not the flood waters themselves.


My point is the triangles aren't representative of the problem. There's 0 chance of floods devastating any towns in Durham because even the ones near rivers are on significant gradients. When our rivers overflow it tends to only affect properties along the banks of the river, and you have to question why anyone would build a property that close to a river knowing what's coming.

The nearest actual flood risk to me seems to be the river Wear in Durham city about 10 miles away but if you've been there you'll know what a steep gradient the city is built on. The only risk are the buildings along the river banks. Again why build there? Stupidity.
Original post by MatureStudent36
Some people have very short memories.

Was the huge lake on a plain you saw a flood plain by any chance?


No, just over fields. It swamped an entire A road.
Original post by Captain Jack
No, just over fields. It swamped an entire A road.


Which was also built on a flood plain.
I couldn't care less about global warming.
Global warming ain't my problem.

The strange thing is how a lot of people seem to dedicate large amounts of their lives to an issue that won't even affect them :lol:
Original post by driftawaay
I couldn't care less about global warming.


Well then there will be no room for you on the Ark.
Yes, clearly, but most people don't care because even when the evidence is staring them in the face, they think it won't affect them.

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