Flood Warning

Question: What is the United State's more flood threatened city not named New Orleans?

Answer: According to the LA Times, it is California's Capitol, Sacramento.

A recent state report predicts that the right combination of unlucky weather conditions could put some parts of the city under more than 20 feet of water, causing a $25-billion disaster that would cripple state government and ripple through the California economy.

It could be that the global warming associated predictions of increased drought in the West may be a saving grace, just not one that we should welcome with open arms. Read the promo or just view it (about 50 minutes).

As a matter of fact, one of the ironies of the situation is that the warming could result in a more rapid melt of winter snowpack in the Sierra's and, is spite of the drought, actually increase the chances for flooding.

For those with the time, and the bandwidth, there is a very good video available from the Joint Institute for the Study of Atmosphere and Ocean at the Univ. of Washington: Climate Change, Sea Level, and Western Drought: Dangerous Anthropogenic Interference? Read the promo or watch the whole thing. This is a lecture by Dr. Johnathan Overpeck, Director of the Institute for the Study of Planet Earth at the University of Arizona and a principle author of the UN IPPC Report.

If we are serious about planning for our future, we need to understand what is going to happen.