That title is a quote from the chairman of the UK Environment Agency informing people that there is no way the country has the money to save–that is, build flood defenses for–both city and rural areas:

     Britain faces choice of saving town or country from floods, says agency chief

What’s happening in Britain is a perfect example of what people in an increasing number of regions are facing: a relentless parade of major, deadly storms. Decades back, England was William Blake’s “green and pleasant land,” celebrated for its mild weather with the occasional major storm. Now it’s a rare week that doesn’t have 100mph winds strafing some part of the British Isles. Here’s a bit of high surf in Wales:

(Photo source: Huge waves smash into British coastline, swells up to 75 feet recorded off-shore, UK government considers establishing tsunami-warning system)

And a lighthouse in Cornwall:

(Photo source: UK storms: While some FLY in 80 mph winds, others wade through murky water to salvage what little they have left (amazing photos) )

Even where houses are not on coasts or in flood plains, 1.6 million homes are said to be at risk of flooding from the water table rising.

From the BBC:

     10 key moments of the UK winter storms

And CNN:

     Atlantic storm brings more misery to drenched Britain: heaviest rainfall in 250 years

     UK government sends 5,000 military personnel to flood zones as hurricanes keeping coming

(Photo source: UK Floods Could Last Months, Scientist Warns  )

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Food For Thought

The bigger question is whether the UK Environment Agency will be able to save town or country. In my view, they won’t have the time or money to save either. How often do people have to hear about unprecedented winds, rain, and waves–storms that almost everyone now realizes are ramping up in intensity, not receding–before they move away from coasts, flood plains, and low-lying areas? Perhaps some few will move to high ground, but it’s almost certain that most will not. Most, even faced with complete destruction of their homes, show a Monty Pythonesque “bravado and derring-do” and vow to rebuild on the same spot, egged on by clueless newscasters and politicians. As someone who studies cycles, I conclude that, if every culture on the planet has, in their oral and written traditions, reports of floods that totally cleanse the land, there is a reason. And it isn’t because there was one really big worldwide flood. It’s that cyclically, repeatedly, the Earth’s surface gets an intensive cleansing. From the way we are treating the planet, isn’t it obvious why? If the Earth didn’t do this cyclic cleansing of its own surface, would there be any humans here at all? As I said: food for thought. I know many will reject such thinking. All I am suggesting is that eyes and minds be kept open to the steadily emerging evidence.

For example, the British storms have swept away the sand from many beaches. Here’s a story that the storms uncovered human footprints from 800,000 years ago. If that’s correct, then we could be talking about lots of cycles:

     Ancient footprints dating back 800,000 years found in Norfolk