Comments on: The time to buy flood insurance is now … https://gregladen.com/blog/2011/01/31/the-time-to-buy-flood-insuranc/ Tue, 01 Feb 2011 15:13:08 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.6 By: Greg Laden https://gregladen.com/blog/2011/01/31/the-time-to-buy-flood-insuranc/#comment-498944 Tue, 01 Feb 2011 15:13:08 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2011/01/31/the-time-to-buy-flood-insuranc/#comment-498944 Megan, part of the reason the upper Mississippi was marshland is because the terrain was immature owing to the recent retreat of glaciers. In a post-glacial setting, that land wont’ go back to being marshlands.

I haven’t seen the exhibit so I’m not sure abut the middle Mississippi.

]]> By: Greg Laden https://gregladen.com/blog/2011/01/31/the-time-to-buy-flood-insuranc/#comment-498943 Tue, 01 Feb 2011 15:10:06 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2011/01/31/the-time-to-buy-flood-insuranc/#comment-498943 Johnfruh: Eric is correct. The Red River is in the “Lower 48” but the Winnepeg and Nelson Rivers are in the “Upper Ten+1”

]]> By: megan https://gregladen.com/blog/2011/01/31/the-time-to-buy-flood-insuranc/#comment-498942 Tue, 01 Feb 2011 07:28:59 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2011/01/31/the-time-to-buy-flood-insuranc/#comment-498942 Once I checked out the little display video showing at the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium(Iowa) documenting the Mississippi River history over the last couple of billion or million years. The key memorable section had to do with right after the last Ice Age. ALL, I said ALL of the plains to the Great Lakes areas surrounding both the Missouri and Miss. down to Missouri/Arkansas were basically large wetlands, marshes, lakes and swamps for CENTURIES. http://www.mississippirivermuseum.com/features.cfm

Once the waters got stabilized glaciers retreated dropping rocks, plant life helped build up land and rivers dug deeper paths but if the world is going to get wetter again from polar and glacial melts, the upper Midwest and plains are going to real wet again and only MAJOR terraforming and man-made constructions will save farmland and dwelling space. Farmers are saying their tiling isn’t working anymore, yet many don’t like CPR or keeping buffer strips around their creeks and near by rivers.

Why I’ve said the construction Brad Pitt’s company in New Orleans is promoting should be the new construction in many more regions with cities and neighborhoods in low lying flood plains now. Different food stock like rice that can live GMO’d hybrid with soybeans or oats/wheat. Becuz it’ gonna get wetter than drier. And food costs will rise regardless of ethanol using animal feed corn.

My prediction that’ll take another 20-30yrs just like many like me were saying Reagan’s push to outsource and NAFTA would ruin America’s economy and jobs, which finally hit. So keep whistling in the dark and poo-pooing. Nothing’s gonna change so it’ll get worse twice as fast.

]]> By: Johnfruh https://gregladen.com/blog/2011/01/31/the-time-to-buy-flood-insuranc/#comment-498941 Tue, 01 Feb 2011 02:10:31 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2011/01/31/the-time-to-buy-flood-insuranc/#comment-498941 @Eric… Please check your geography.
You said:
“it is the biggest (and perhaps only major) river in the Lower 48 to drain to the Arctic Ocean”
No, no, no … not even close.

The Red River drains into Lake Winnipeg.
Lake Winnipeg drains, by way of the Nelson River, into Hudson’s Bay!

]]> By: Ronald H. https://gregladen.com/blog/2011/01/31/the-time-to-buy-flood-insuranc/#comment-498940 Mon, 31 Jan 2011 22:28:22 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2011/01/31/the-time-to-buy-flood-insuranc/#comment-498940 The members of the City Council, Zoning Board and Department of Public Works of Fargo, North Dakota will be happy to take a European Fact Finding mission!

]]> By: Mu https://gregladen.com/blog/2011/01/31/the-time-to-buy-flood-insuranc/#comment-498939 Mon, 31 Jan 2011 21:29:23 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2011/01/31/the-time-to-buy-flood-insuranc/#comment-498939 Makes me wonder if we can sent every building contractor on a tour of the Rhine (or most other European river) valley to check for construction in flood prone areas. They would notice that houses are built of stone, with the entrance on what would be the second floor here. The ground level acting as basement filled with items that can either be flooded or are not a great loss if they get wet.

]]> By: Lorax https://gregladen.com/blog/2011/01/31/the-time-to-buy-flood-insuranc/#comment-498938 Mon, 31 Jan 2011 19:11:19 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2011/01/31/the-time-to-buy-flood-insuranc/#comment-498938 I bet people south of the equator would beg to differ Greg.

]]> By: Greg Laden https://gregladen.com/blog/2011/01/31/the-time-to-buy-flood-insuranc/#comment-498937 Mon, 31 Jan 2011 18:15:54 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2011/01/31/the-time-to-buy-flood-insuranc/#comment-498937 This is why all rivers should flow south, dammit.

]]> By: Eric Lund https://gregladen.com/blog/2011/01/31/the-time-to-buy-flood-insuranc/#comment-498936 Mon, 31 Jan 2011 17:43:45 +0000 http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2011/01/31/the-time-to-buy-flood-insuranc/#comment-498936 3) Ice and snow pack that flows down the river has to no[t] get stuck on any turns, bridges, or berms.

Or not-yet-thawed ice downstream. That’s why the Red River is particularly vulnerable: it is the biggest (and perhaps only major) river in the Lower 48 to drain to the Arctic Ocean, so it’s a safe bet that when the ice breaks up on part of the river it will flow downstream to a section where the ice hasn’t broken up yet. If we’re lucky that will only happen in places well north of Winnipeg, where there aren’t that many inhabitants. But even if I were a betting man, I wouldn’t place that bet; instead I’d bet that the ice will jam up somewhere south of Pembina.

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