There are stark choices available on sea defences in today's papers.
And as it also says:
Both are about sea defences. The threats are different. One is remote in the extreme. The other very real. One has real impact on lives now. The other would probably end life as we know it making a great many other decisions almost irrelevant.
So there are decision criteria to be used.
Which one is about hope?
Which one is about community?
Which one can enhance life?
Which one ensures we have time to adapt to a better future?
There's only once choice, and it is not the one the government is backing.
Why is that?
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The choice over whether to protect the towns or the countryside should be an easy one. Protect the countryside – they all vote Tory there!
You would have thought the environment agency would be capable of sufficient planning.
After all, they have over 11,000 staff (the US EPA have 16,000) and a budget of over one billion to play with.
The EA is almost the size of the Canadian, Danish, French, German, Swedish and Austrian EAs´ combined.
Still, they won´t have any transport worries:
http://www.hitachicapitalvehiclesolutions.co.uk/docs/pdfs/case-studies/ea.pdf
over 4700 cars….hmmm…. (if the file won´t download, or the page/s disappear, I have downloaded and saved it…..I find anything to do with .gov tends to be sensitive to hits)
Although…it seems that flood risk management is now an EU competency, or incompetency.
Favouring ¨natural¨ management of flood risk:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/flood_risk/pdf/Note%20-%20Better%20environmental%20options.pdf
So, really, the EA is on a hiding to nothing, riding a horse with no legs.
Parret estuary flood plan:
http://www.tauntondeane.gov.uk/irj/go/km/docs/CouncilDocuments/TDBC/Documents/Forward%20Planning/Evidence%20Base/Parret%20Catchment%20Flood%20Management%20Plan.pdf
¨The holistic approach involves setting flood and coastal erosion risk assessment and management more fully in the context of sustainable development while continuing to adopt a strategic approach. This has led us to adopt Making space for water as the working title for the new strategy. This reflects the desire to manage the adverse consequences for people and the economy that can result from flooding and coastal erosion while achieving environmental and social benefits in line the aim of sustainable development¨
http://www.met.reading.ac.uk/~sws00rsp/teaching/consultation%5B1%5D.pdf