Two National Problems, and a Solution No One Wants
Water is a curious thing. Without it, life isn’t possible. Yet, too little or too much can destroy and kill, either in a dramatically fast and violent fashion, or through slow, miserable wasting away.
And we are at Nature’s mercy to maintain a healthy balance.
In recent years, however, Nature has not been merciful.
Whether you believe this is a natural cycle of weather patterns or a direct result of humanity’s negative impact on the natural world is irrelevant. The reality is that droughts are becoming more frequent, tropical storms are growing stronger, and the damage caused by both is becoming more extensive of difficult to recover from.
In the last couple of weeks, the state of Kentucky has experienced some of the worst rainstorms and flash-flooding in its history. According to the National Weather Service, Clay and Owsley counties in Eastern Kentucky received 14–16 inches of rain between July 26th and July 30th, causing record amounts of flash floods[1].
Other areas nearby experienced 6–10 inches of rain, causing most forks of the Kentucky River to overflow and breaking several records for rainfall and flooding events[1].
Just how bad was it?
