Wanna Argument?

Making Room for Water

Can climate change become a positive force for good? How should we cope with a greater incidence of flooding? Should we all pay for the costs of repairing the damage caused by floods? Can we really build more homes in areas under threat from rising water levels? This Argument follows some of the main themes, finding our feisty friends running the rule over this side of climate change. Can we make more room for water? Read on to find out more.

Positive Future

No Future

	What you doing round this side of town? Don't usually see you south of the river.
			Not my cup of tea, round here - too many yuppies in their riverside flats for my liking. Wouldn't normally be seen dead here. No, it's for my Charmaine and her young 'un. Since she and the kid's father split, she's been looking out for a new place.
	What? In one of these 'des res' flats? Not Charmaine's style, surely?
			Nah, she couldn't afford one of them. She's heard about that new 'affordable housing' that's going up near here. Now she's got her nursing course done, she's thinking she'll get a place as a key worker. You heard of them?
	Of course, priority given to nurses and teachers for low-cost housing - essential these days, I reckon. Even with house prices about to stall.
			Yeah, I heard about the crash that's about to happen - reckon it's a good thing - not that it'll ever help me, it's Charmaine and Dwayne I'm thinking about.
	Not sure about a crash - there's a difference between a slowdown and that sort of thing, y'know.
			Oh yes, I remember reading about that. You'll have to remind me... what's the story there?
	Well, a slowdown means cutting the pace of price rises, say to about a 2 or 3% increase every year - not the 15 to 20% rises we've had.
			Ah yes, that's it! And a crash is like the '90s, when house prices actually fell.
	Very good! It's worse when there's an actual fall in value - that's a price crash. But house prices could still rise but less than before - that's a market slowdown.
			Yeah, something like that! Anyway, just got back from looking at one of those flats - Millside Court - you know it?
	Umm, yes, hope her living accommodation won't be on the ground floor. That's flood plain there, you know?
			Funnily enough, you're right. It's garage and utility on the ground floor, living space on the first.
	Hmm, think you should get an insurance quote on one of those places, mate. From what I've heard the insurance companies are a bit wary of flood plain housing.
			But surely those places are safe, aren't they? They'd never build in a place that's going to get flooded regularly, would they?
	Well, there's a real push for more housing to be built, so I wouldn't be surprised if the rules of where you can build and where you can't are being relaxed.
			But what's the point? Why let builders put up houses in a place prone to flooding?
	Don't you remember when these fields round here would often be under water in Winter? Used to be quite an event back then. 'Course, they say they've put up adequate protection against floods. But what with this year's weather, you wouldn't bet against a repeat performance every year and not just in Winter.

The bigger picture

	Fingers crossed eh? Hopefully there's a good dam protecting Charmaine's flat, otherwise you could do with buying her a canoe for a flat-warming gift.
			Must have really caught a lot of people out, those floods this year. Wonder if they've all been sorted out now? Can't imagine they're still unable to get back into their homes.
	I wouldn't be surprised you know. Expect there's problems dealing with the backlog of claims - not to mention getting the repairs done. Must be a huge waiting list, too, for damp treatment and renovation. I imagine the furniture and carpet retailers are loving it too!
			Yeah. There's always some parasites waiting to take advantage of people unlucky enough to be affected by some kind of disaster.
	Oh, I wouldn't be so harsh on them. It's not their fault that there was a once-in-a-lifetime event, is it?
			'Once-in-a-lifetime'? Pah! These floods are happening so regular, I must keep being reincarnated!
	Yeah well, fact is the home improvement sector's gonna get hit hard by the housing market slowdown - they could do with a boost.
			I might not know much about economics, but even I know that floods would have to hit the whole country for there to be an impact on the entire home improvement sector. Anyway, they've had it good for so long, 'bout time they felt the pain.
	You cynic! It makes me wonder how other countries are coping with climate change. I don't mean the glaciers and polar bears - what about places where loads of people live?

Coping with Katrina and her cousins

			Wow, makes me think of Katrina and the Waves - remember that band? Echo Beach wasn't it? Who thinks up these storms' names, eh?
	You're right. Thing is, these hurricanes are named from a list they've come up with. You never know, you could quite easily get a Hurricane Dwayne! Rolls off the tongue quite nicely.
			Yeah, works quite well with Charmaine too, don't it! Well, having kids was quite a stormy time in my life, as you'll remember.
	Too well, my man! Would have been nice if you could have made it to their births, wouldn't it?
			Wasn't my fault! I was unavoidably detained in both cases.
	Yeah, by the law as I recall!
			All right, Mr Perfect! Anyway, you'd have thought these days that we could come up with new ways of living with the new climate situation. I mean, there's got to be benefits from all this water. Perhaps we'll become experts at sports like water polo or canoeing?
	Funny you should mention it, I was listening to a radio programme about the 2012 Olympics - sounds like your idea may well come true.
			Just shows I'm not thick, just mentally challenged! My point was that maybe, getting back to floods, the thing is to get used to rising water levels - try to enjoy it, you know?

When retreat is the best solution

			There you go, it's a question of thinking imaginatively about it. Amazing what we can do when we put our minds to it.
	Yeah well, amazing for you to come up with a good idea! I'm off for a fishing match anyway, down the lakes. Fancy coming down for the afternoon?
			Nah. I'm off to the bookies, laying a bet on the next election - reckon I can clean up. 50-1 on the Lib Dems! Sign me up!
	Ohh kay! Just thought you'd be interested in seeing how else we can make room for water. Those lakes used to be rough ground, you know, before they discovered all that aggregate underneath. They quarried it out and left a dirty great crater in the land. Few years later, they're prime carp ponds. Result!
			Alright if you've got time for fishing, I s'pose. Nice and quiet - don't get loads of people down there. Sounds quite tempting I must admit. Those old quarries are a bit weird aren't they? Don't suppose there's much else to do with them, other than turn them into fishing lakes.
	Suits me fine!

Reserved for the future

			OK, so we get a nice nature reserve. What's the point of that? Causes more problems than it's worth that sort of thing.
	What do you mean? How can nature reserves cause problems? Lots more good than bad, if you ask me.
			Well, I was reading about those bird strikes - major hazard they reckon.
	Who for? The birds?
			Yeah, of course. We're talking about birds hitting aircraft and possibly bringing them down. That's pretty hazardous by anyone's standards in my book.
	Alright, let's look at this positively: what would you expect the benefits to be, other than just giving me somewhere new to fish?

The benefits of creating more semi-natural habitats on former industrial sites

			That's a fairly comprehensive list!
	Uh huh, looks like we can do something with these old quarries after all.
			Yeah, maybe there's a future in working with nature, not just against it?
	And if Charmaine's place is on a flood plain, who cares? Think of the wildlife it could bring in!
			Steady! That's my girl you're talking about there.
	Well, perhaps she needs to stop over at your place, her and her kid? That way you save her from living with the threat of flooding
			Nah, I'm pretty sure she needs her independence these days. She wouldn't want to share her space with me.
	No personal agenda there at all, of course?
			'Course not!

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